OpenAI is developing agentic AI which could cost $20,000 a month

By now, we’re sure you’re all familiar with AI and AI models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT. These AI models are basically the super smart versions of digital assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, Alexa, and so on. They can think, they can reason, and they can piece together complex replies. However, OpenAI wants to go further by developing what are known as agentic AI.

According to a report from The Information (paywall), OpenAI wants to launch agentic AI in the future, but it won’t come cheap. Apparently, depending on the complexity of the AI, could cost businesses as much as $20,000 a month! Obviously these AI agents are designed for regular consumers, so businesses will have to decide if spending $20,000 a month is worth it.

What is agentic AI?

Here’s what it means if you’re hearing about agentic AI for the first time. Like we said, current AI models are essentially supercharged digital assistants. They’re way smarter than the digital assistants we’ve grown accustomed to and can handle way more complex queries. However, they don’t really think for themselves.

AI models like ChatGPT are trained on existing data. When you ask it a question, it pulls information from its data and formulates the most appropriate response. It doesn’t think, it just does. However, agentic AI is the next level of AI, where these AI agents can think for themselves and solve problems without users having to do anything.

A good example would be self-driving cars. These cars come with a host of sensors that collect road data, like obstacles, other vehicles, and pedestrians. Based on that data, it can make decisions for the driver, like jamming on the brakes when the car in front suddenly stops. If this was normal AI, you would have to ask it to brake before it did.

Agentic AI can also sometimes be mistaken for AI agents. AI agents are like chatbots that you encounter when trying to get your airline ticket issues resolved, or asking your local mail service to track your parcel. It is definitely the next frontier of AI, but at those costs, it might only appeal to a niche audience—for now.