OpenAI’s journey toward building truly capable AI agents didn’t start with ChatGPT — it started with math. A small team called MathGen quietly trained models to solve high school-level math problems. That focus on reasoning helped OpenAI develop o1, the company’s first serious step toward general-purpose AI agents.

These agents are designed to use a computer like a person would — clicking, searching, deciding. OpenAI’s breakthrough combined reinforcement learning, “chain-of-thought” techniques, and a flexible training system that lets models spend more time thinking. That mix produced models that can backtrack, reason through complex tasks, and even win gold medals at the International Math Olympiad.

The rise of o1 changed the game. Meta poached several top researchers, offering hundred-million-dollar deals. Other labs followed OpenAI’s lead, chasing similar models that don’t just generate text — they solve problems.

Now, OpenAI is racing to build agents that can handle subjective tasks like shopping or decision-making, not just code or math. They’re working on intuitive tools that understand your needs and act accordingly — without toggling settings or prompting step-by-step.

It’s all part of a bigger vision: an AI that does anything online for you, thoughtfully and reliably. The tools aren't perfect yet, but OpenAI’s focus is clear — not just smarter chatbots, but digital brains that truly think.