Virtual Employees Could Enter Workforces This Year, OpenAI CEO Predicts

Artificial intelligence agents, capable of autonomously performing tasks, could join workforces as early as this year, transforming business operations, according to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

In a blog post published Monday, Altman stated that AI-powered virtual employees could revolutionize the company output by taking on tasks traditionally handled by humans. The Guardian points out that Microsoft, OpenAI’s largest backer, has already introduced AI agents, with consulting giant McKinsey among the first to adopt the technology.

“We believe that, in 2025, we may see the first AI agents “join the workforce” and materially change the output of companies. We continue to believe that iteratively putting great tools in the hands of people leads to great, broadly-distributed outcomes,” Altman wrote in the blog post.

OpenAI is reportedly set to launch an AI agent, codenamed “Operator,” later this month. The tool is expected to automate tasks such as writing code or booking travel on behalf of users. This move follows the release of Microsoft’s Copilot Studio, Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Meta’s AI agents with physical-like bodies, and Salesforce’s new AI features in Slack.

McKinsey is already developing an agent to streamline client inquiries, including scheduling follow-ups. The firm projects that by 2030, up to 30% of work hours across the U.S. economy could be automated, as noted by The Guardian.

Microsoft’s head of AI, Mustafa Suleyman, has also expressed optimism about agents capable of making purchasing decisions. In an interview with WIRED he described witnessing “stunning demos” of AI completing transactions independently but acknowledged challenges in development. Suleyman predicted these advanced capabilities could emerge “in quarters, not years.”

Altman’s blog also touched on OpenAI’s confidence in creating artificial general intelligence (AGI)—AI systems that surpass human intelligence. “We are now confident we know how to build AGI as we have traditionally understood it,” he wrote.

Looking beyond AGI, Altman outlined OpenAI’s ambitions for “superintelligence,” which he described as tools that could significantly accelerate scientific discovery and innovation.

“Superintelligent tools could massively accelerate scientific discovery and innovation well beyond what we are capable of doing on our own, and in turn massively increase abundance and prosperity,”Altman wrote, expressing enthusiasm for a future where such advancements reshape human potential.

The rapid growth of AI in the workforce has broad implications for business productivity and the economy. However, as AI agents evolve, new security risks emerge.

A recent survey, published by Medium, highlighted vulnerabilities such as unpredictable multi-step user inputs, internal execution complexities, variability in operational environments, and interactions with untrusted external entities.

Unclear or incomplete user inputs can trigger unintended actions, while AI agents’ internal processes often lack real-time observability, making security threats hard to detect.

Furthermore, agents operating across diverse environments may exhibit inconsistent behaviors, and trusting external entities without proper verification can expose agents to attacks.

These challenges underline the need for robust security frameworks to protect AI agents and ensure their safe deployment in real-world scenarios.