AI Agents in Workflows
- Vendors are shifting from chat assistants to agents that execute tasks across Slack, Google Workspace, and Salesforce. - OpenAI's workspace agents move from research preview to paid billing after the May 6 end of the preview. - That shift raises governance needs—approval chains, audit logs and rollback processes become critical for enterprise deployments (digit.in) (techcrunch.com) (theverge.com).
Artificial intelligence agents are moving from answering questions to doing office work inside the apps companies already use. (openai.com) OpenAI said on April 22 that its new workspace agents can run long tasks in the cloud, work across connected tools, and be shared inside a company in ChatGPT or Slack. OpenAI said the feature is in research preview for ChatGPT Business, Enterprise, Edu, and Teachers plans. (openai.com) OpenAI said the preview will be free until May 6, 2026, and then switch to credit-based pricing. Its business pricing page now says ChatGPT Business starts at $20 per user per month and can “automate workflows with workspace agents.” (openai.com 1) (openai.com 2) Google made a similar move on April 22, when it said Chrome for enterprise users would get Gemini-powered “auto browse” features for tasks like booking travel, entering data, and scheduling meetings. Google said users will have to review and confirm the final action. (techcrunch.com) The basic shift is simple: a chat assistant waits for a prompt, but an agent follows a multi-step process across tabs, documents, calendars, and messaging tools. OpenAI said its agents can gather context from company systems, follow team processes, ask for approval, and keep work moving across tools. (openai.com) That changes the software buying question for employers from “which chatbot do we allow?” to “which systems can take actions in our name?” Google is pairing its new Chrome features with Chrome Enterprise Premium tools that look for “anomalous agent activity” and unsanctioned artificial intelligence services. (techcrunch.com) (theverge.com) OpenAI’s own rollout points in the same direction. Its enterprise and education release notes say admins can enable workspace agents with role-based controls, and business release notes told owners and admins on April 16 to review enabled apps, role-based access, and app action settings. (help.openai.com 1) (help.openai.com 2) The operational problem is not just whether an agent gets an answer wrong. It is whether an agent updates a customer record, sends a message in Slack, or copies data between systems without the right approval, logs, or recovery steps in place. (openai.com) (techcrunch.com) OpenAI is also framing workspace agents as the successor to custom GPTs inside companies. The company said GPTs will remain available during testing and that it plans to make it easy to convert GPTs into workspace agents. (openai.com) The next two weeks are the handoff from demo to budget line. After May 6, companies testing agents in Slack, Google tools, and internal systems will have to decide not only what to automate, but who approves each step and how to unwind mistakes when they happen. (openai.com) (techcrunch.com)
