THIS WEEK IN AGENTS

The latest products, partnerships & predictions

• OpenAI’s Operator vs. Browser Use: Hands on with AI agents that control your computer

• One of Boston’s most influential tech leaders is working on a new AI agents platform

• Microsoft and PwC team up to bring AI agents to industries

• Introducing Browser Use: a free, open-source web browsing agent

• Postman launches API-first AI agent builder

• MIT researchers discover novel training approach that improves AI agent performance

• Google’s Deep Research AI agent now available in the Gemini Android App

• Block’s new open-source AI agent does everything from writing code to ordering dinner

• NTT DATA unveils AI agent to speed up generative AI adoption

• DigitalOcean launches platform to make AI agents more affordable for SMBs

• AI agents will rival skilled engineers this year, Zuckerberg predicts

• The most powerful ways AI agents will accelerate sales and marketing teams

What’s happening in agents right now

Browser use takes on OpenAI's Operator

Microsoft, Meta, and a host of startups are racing to build AI agents that can autonomously handle complex tasks - from browsing the web to writing code. This week's developments reveal how quickly the technology landscape is evolving beyond basic chatbots toward more sophisticated automated systems and teams.

The new players

OpenAI recently launched Operator, an AI assistant integrated with ChatGPT Pro that can autonomously browse the web and complete online tasks. While the $200 monthly subscription fee may limit adoption, it represents an important step toward AI systems that can independently take action rather than just engage in conversation.

Mark Zuckerberg predicts that Meta's AI agents will match mid-level software engineers in capability by 2025. The company is also positioning its open-source Llama model as the foundation for widespread adoption of autonomous coding systems.

Meanwhile, HubSpot co-founder Dharmesh Shah's Agent.ai platform, “the #1 Professional Network For AI Agents,” has quietly amassed 230,000 users, demonstrating significant demand for tools that can handle multi-step tasks independently.

The enterprise push

Major consulting firms aren't sitting idle. PwC has partnered with Microsoft to develop AI agents for enterprise use, leveraging Microsoft 365 Copilot and PwC's Agents Factory. With access to 85% of Fortune 500 companies, this collaboration could accelerate enterprise adoption.

In the developer tools space, Postman launched an AI Agent Builder platform that integrates large language models with APIs and workflows. This move highlights how quickly traditional development tools are adapting to the agent paradigm.

The open source challenge

The emergence of Browser Use, an open-source alternative to OpenAI's Operator, signals growing competition in the space. At $30/month for its cloud version (versus Operator's $200), it demonstrates how open-source solutions could democratize access to agent technology just like what is being witnessed on the model level with DeepSeek and Llama.

Real-world applications

Early applications are emerging in sales and marketing, where AI agents can handle lead qualification and administrative tasks while complementing human relationship-building. MIT researchers have also made an intriguing discovery about training these agents - they actually perform better when trained in simplified environments rather than complex ones.

Looking ahead

The rapid development of AI agents raises important questions about the future of software development and workplace automation. Will Meta's prediction about coding capabilities prove accurate? How will enterprise adoption evolve as these tools mature? The next few quarters should provide clearer answers as these platforms move from experimental to production use.

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