OpenAI Chairman Bret Taylor on the Future of A.I. Agents
OpenAI chairman Bret Taylor has held many notable titles in tech, and his current focus is on the potential of A.I. agents to revolutionize the industry. According to Taylor, A.I. agents are the next big platform shift in tech, comparable to the dawn of the internet 30 years ago and the rise of mobile apps a decade ago. Speaking at the Skift Global Forum in New York City, Taylor argued that enterprises are now racing to adopt A.I. agents, much like they once scrambled to build websites or launch mobile apps.
OpenAI chairman Bret Taylor has held many notable titles in tech. Katelyn Tucker/ Slava Blazer Photography
The Rise of A.I. Agents
Taylor has seen several waves of disruption firsthand, having helped launch Google Maps at Google in the early 2000s, served as chief technology officer at Facebook (now Meta), co-CEO of Salesforce, and chair of Twitter’s board during Elon Musk’s tumultuous takeover. In 2023, he was tapped as chairman of OpenAI’s board after the ChatGPT-maker briefly ousted and reinstated CEO Sam Altman. Now, his focus is on Sierra, the conversational A.I. startup he co-founded two years ago with former Google colleague Clay Bavor.
Sierra has quickly become a “decacorn,” hitting a $10 billion valuation earlier this month after raising $350 million from Greenoaks Capital. The company already counts hundreds of enterprise customers across financial services, health care, and retail, with a fifth of Sierra’s customers having annual revenue over $10 billion. Taylor insists that A.I. agents are more than just cost-cutting tools, but also revenue drivers, helping companies sell mortgages, make outbound sales calls, and even manage payroll for small businesses.
The Evolution of A.I. Agents
Taylor believes that the form factor of A.I. agents is evolving, with voice-enabled A.I. being “as, or more important, of a channel than chat.” Multi-modal agents are also emerging, with retailers beginning to process warranty claims by analyzing photos of damaged products. As the internet gave rise to search engines and aggregation platforms, Taylor expects agentic A.I. to spawn entirely new business categories. However, the challenge will be ensuring that these agents meet consumer expectations as their desires inevitably evolve with the technology’s development.
“Consumers are moving faster than most companies can make decisions,” Taylor warned, noting that ChatGPT became the fastest-growing consumer app in history. “It’s on all of us leaders to push decisively towards this new world.” With his extensive experience in the tech industry and his current role as chairman of OpenAI, Taylor is well-positioned to provide insights into the future of A.I. agents and their potential impact on businesses and consumers alike.
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Image Source: observer.com
