OpenAI Operator
by OpenAI
Operator was OpenAI’s browser-using research-preview agent for completing web tasks through a visual browser. Its core capabilities were later integrated into ChatGPT agent mode, and the standalone Operator site was sunset.
Reason for Shutdown
OpenAI says Operator’s core functionality was integrated into ChatGPT agent mode and that the standalone Operator research-preview site would shut down in the following weeks. The former Operator URL now redirects to ChatGPT.
🩺 Health Signals
- HTTP Status
- 403
- Response
- —
- SSL
- —
- Confidence
- 98%
- Domain expires
- —
- Last content change
- —
- Last tweet
- —
- API status
- —
📅 Timeline
Operator research preview launched
OpenAI introduced Operator, an agent able to use its own browser to perform web tasks, initially for ChatGPT Pro users in the United States.
Operator expanded internationally
OpenAI began making Operator available to Pro users in additional countries, while excluding the European Economic Area, Switzerland, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland at that stage.
Operator capabilities moved into ChatGPT agent
OpenAI launched ChatGPT agent, combining Operator’s web-interaction capabilities with research and conversational tools inside ChatGPT.
Standalone Operator site slated for shutdown
OpenAI announced that the standalone Operator research-preview website would shut down in the coming weeks because its functionality had been integrated into ChatGPT agent mode.
🔄 Alternatives to OpenAI Operator
Bardeen
🟢ActiveBardeen is an AI workflow automation platform for building browser-based and cloud automations. It connects web apps, extracts structured data from websites, and uses AI agents to execute multistep business workflows.
ChatGPT
🟢ActiveOpenAI's conversational AI assistant that sparked the generative AI revolution.
Bard / Gemini
🟢ActiveGoogle's AI assistant, originally Bard, rebranded to Gemini with multimodal capabilities.
Perplexity AI
🟢ActiveAI-powered answer engine that provides cited, real-time answers to complex questions.
🪦 Other dead AI Browsers tools
SigmaOS
🟠Possibly DeadSigmaOS is a macOS-focused browser organized around workspaces and vertical tabs. It later added AI features such as Airis for asking questions, summarizing pages, and assisting with web-based research.
Mighty
🟡Acquired / MergedMighty was a Chromium-based web browser that streamed browser workloads from cloud servers to users’ computers. The company later pivoted to an AI product before its team joined Google in 2023.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
What was OpenAI Operator?
OpenAI Operator was a research-preview AI agent that used a visual browser to interact with websites and carry out tasks such as completing forms, ordering items, and making reservations, subject to safeguards and user confirmation for sensitive actions.
Is OpenAI Operator still available?
No, not as a standalone product. OpenAI announced in July 2025 that the separate Operator site would shut down after Operator’s core browser-use capabilities were integrated into ChatGPT agent mode.
What replaced OpenAI Operator?
ChatGPT agent mode replaced the standalone Operator experience. It combines browser interaction inherited from Operator with broader research, reasoning, terminal, and connector capabilities.
When did OpenAI Operator launch?
OpenAI launched Operator as a research preview on January 23, 2025, initially for ChatGPT Pro subscribers in the United States.
How did OpenAI Operator control websites?
Operator used OpenAI’s Computer-Using Agent model, which interpreted screenshots and interacted with graphical interfaces through actions such as clicking, typing, and scrolling rather than relying only on website APIs.