The Daily AI Show

Is Agent Mode Really What We Need? (Ep 509)


Listen Later

Want to keep the conversation going?

Join our Slack community at thedailyaishowcommunity.com


Intro

In this July 17th episode of The Daily AI Show, the team breaks down OpenAI’s upcoming Agent Mode, speculating on its design, impact, and strategic importance ahead of a live announcement. They debate whether Agent Mode represents a true agentic leap for ChatGPT or simply OpenAI catching up to Claude, GenSpark, and other multi-step tools. The episode highlights possible browser automation, DOM-level actions, and workflow orchestration directly inside ChatGPT.


Key Points Discussed


OpenAI teased “Agent Mode” as an upcoming feature combining Deep Research, Operator, and Connectors for ChatGPT.


Screenshots suggest Agent Mode will allow document analysis across Google Drive, Slack, HubSpot, and other connectors.


Andy proposed that OpenAI’s Agent Mode may shift from pixel-level mouse emulation to DOM (Document Object Model) browser control, offering precise web navigation and interaction.


DOM-based browsing would let agents interact with page elements like buttons and forms, avoiding prior layout shift problems that broke Operator.


Unlike Operator, which mimicked a human user, Agent Mode could act more like a browser API, enabling efficient deep research workflows.


The team debated whether this represents OpenAI catching up to competitors like Claude, GenSpark, and Perplexity Labs, or establishing a new standard.


Claude’s MCP+ connectors already allow file control, SaaS integrations, and desktop operations—Agent Mode may be OpenAI’s response.


The group stressed that Agent Mode will likely not be fast; latency will be acceptable if accuracy and hands-off execution improve.


For businesses, Agent Mode may automate document processing, report generation, and data gathering across dispersed resources.


Karl highlighted the browser-building trend across AI companies: OpenAI’s rumored browser, Perplexity’s Comet, Arc Browser, DS Browser, and GenSpark’s efforts.


Future potential includes agents learning repeatable workflows via observation and offering automation proactively.


The group emphasized that organizations with poor data management will struggle, as agents cannot extract accurate insights from chaotic document stores.


Agent Mode could eventually replace no-code workflow platforms like Make and Zapier if triggers, memory, and scheduling are integrated.


While excitement is high, skepticism remains about how much Agent Mode can deliver immediately, especially without robust data foundations.


Timestamps & Topics

00:00:00 🚨 Agent Mode speculation intro

00:01:11 🛠️ Deep Research + Operator + Connectors = Agent Mode?

00:04:16 🕸️ DOM-level browsing explained

00:06:48 🔎 Browser-based agents vs. API-only agents

00:10:24 🧭 Claude and GenSpark comparison

00:14:00 ⏳ Why Agent Mode won’t prioritize speed

00:17:30 📁 Document analysis and report generation use cases

00:21:25 🌐 Browser-building trend across AI labs

00:24:40 🛡️ Data governance as Agent Mode bottleneck

00:28:30 🧹 Data cleansing before document automation

00:32:00 🏗️ Trigger, memory, and workflow gaps

00:38:00 🤖 Future of proactive workflow suggestions

00:44:00 ⚙️ Agent Mode as OpenAI’s AI operating system

00:47:30 📊 Claude’s connectors and desktop control edge

00:50:20 📈 Scheduling, triggers, and prompt history needed

00:54:00 🗣️ Live reaction show planned after OpenAI event

00:57:00 📅 Upcoming demos, sci-fi show, and conundrum drop


Hashtags

#AgentMode #ChatGPT #OpenAI #AgenticAI #WorkflowAutomation #BrowserAgents #Connectors #Claude #AIOperatingSystem #DeepResearch #AIWorkflow #DailyAIShow


The Daily AI Show Co-Hosts:

Andy Halliday, Beth Lyons, Brian Maucere, Jyunmi Hatcher, and Karl Yeh



...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The Daily AI ShowBy The Daily AI Show Crew - Brian, Beth, Jyunmi, Andy, Karl, and Eran

  • 2.3
  • 2.3
  • 2.3
  • 2.3
  • 2.3

2.3

3 ratings


More shows like The Daily AI Show

View all
a16z Podcast by Andreessen Horowitz

a16z Podcast

1,040 Listeners

The TWIML AI Podcast (formerly This Week in Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence) by Sam Charrington

The TWIML AI Podcast (formerly This Week in Machine Learning & Artificial Intelligence)

441 Listeners

NVIDIA AI Podcast by NVIDIA

NVIDIA AI Podcast

331 Listeners

AI Today Podcast by AI & Data Today

AI Today Podcast

156 Listeners

Last Week in AI by Skynet Today

Last Week in AI

298 Listeners

Me, Myself, and AI by MIT Sloan Management Review

Me, Myself, and AI

106 Listeners

The Artificial Intelligence Show by Paul Roetzer and Mike Kaput

The Artificial Intelligence Show

173 Listeners

AI Chat: ChatGPT & AI News, Artificial Intelligence, OpenAI, Machine Learning by Jaeden Schafer

AI Chat: ChatGPT & AI News, Artificial Intelligence, OpenAI, Machine Learning

142 Listeners

This Day in AI Podcast by Michael Sharkey, Chris Sharkey

This Day in AI Podcast

201 Listeners

Latent Space: The AI Engineer Podcast by swyx + Alessio

Latent Space: The AI Engineer Podcast

75 Listeners

The AI Daily Brief (Formerly The AI Breakdown): Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis by Nathaniel Whittemore

The AI Daily Brief (Formerly The AI Breakdown): Artificial Intelligence News and Analysis

491 Listeners

Everyday AI Podcast – An AI and ChatGPT Podcast by Everyday AI

Everyday AI Podcast – An AI and ChatGPT Podcast

94 Listeners

Beyond The Prompt - How to use AI in your company by Jeremy Utley & Henrik Werdelin

Beyond The Prompt - How to use AI in your company

52 Listeners

The Next Wave - AI and The Future of Technology by Hubspot Media

The Next Wave - AI and The Future of Technology

61 Listeners