The AI agent that cracks on with work (rather than JUST chatting about it)
ChatGPT’s Agent can take control of a virtual desktop window and take on some tasks for you…
ChatGPT Agent landed in my account late in July 2025, just a couple of days after OpenAI officially announced it. As ever, I wasted no time whatsoever before mucking around with the little blighter.
If you're not familiar with what Agent's all about, let me give you a bit of a low down.
Agent is a new bit of functionality in ChatGPT which is capable of undertaking work on your behalf. You feed it a well-written prompt, Agent fires open an onscreen virtual machine and cracks on with the task before your very eyes.
Essentially, ChatGPT Agent moves things beyond simply gathering intel and research by actually doing some of the work for you. It proactively chooses from a set of skills like navigating websites, running analysis, creating slide decks and spreadsheets, and securely handling logins when required.
So...first thing I did?
Channelled my inner narcissist and got Agent to pull together a spreadsheet of online mentions about me and Diagonal Thinking. An OK start...but no mention of a certain video I made with OpenAI. Colour me a big head.
Next: I uploaded flight tickets and accommodation details for an upcoming family holiday and asked Agent to knock up a relaxed day-by-day itinerary in a spreadsheet, complete with a deck to pitch the whole break to the family. And blimey, Agent did a decent job. Bonus is that you get to watch Agent getting on with its / your work via a visual of the browser window and terminal.
For someone like me, who regularly watches the robot vac clean around my feet, it's strangely captivating.
One really cool feature is that you can schedule Agent, something we caught a glimpse of when ChatGPT Tasks first appeared earlier this year. Therefore, once you're happy with how Agent's taking on a given activity for you, you can set it up to repeat them on a regular basis. Which kinda fries my mind with possibilities.
Imagine practical scenarios: businesses trawling regularly for tenders can now automate weekly searches across key sites, organise the results into a Google Sheet, and even have them ranked automatically according to how closely they match company credentials and past projects. Automating this kind of weekly grind could significantly reduce unnecessary busywork. And anyone who's attended my AI Advantage workshops knows that reducing churn is genuinely one of my favourite things. Unlike raindrops on roses...
I’ll report back on whether the family signs off on Agent’s holiday planner, or as is more likely, they roll their eyes with the usual level of indifference. Watch this space.
Anyhow, if you're curious about AI and want practical help making it work for your business, let's talk about THE AI ADVANTAGE. These tailored workshops and services are built exactly around your needs: leadership strategy, team training, real-world business solutions, or ongoing guidance. Or all of the above.
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