OpenAI launches platform to manage AI agents
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Illustration: Allie Carl/Axios
OpenAI on Thursday released a new enterprise platform, Frontier, designed to let large companies build, deploy and manage fleets of AI agents that plug into their existing systems.
Why it matters: OpenAI is stepping up its push into enterprise services as rivals gain ground with business customers.
Driving the news: OpenAI's Frontier is meant to help companies integrate and manage AI agents inside business applications, said Denise Dresser, chief revenue officer at OpenAI.
- "What's really missing still for most companies is just a simple way to unleash the power of agents as teammates that can operate inside the business without the need to rework everything," Dresser said on a briefing call with reporters.
Between the lines: OpenAI is pitching Frontier as a solution to companies lacking the tools to manage the waterfall of AI capabilities coming their way, including features like:
- Identity and governance: Each agent gets a defined identity, explicit permissions, and guardrails aimed at regulated environments.
- Quality improvement: Built-in evaluation and optimization tools to help agents learn what good work looks like over time through feedback.
- Shared business context: Connects data warehouses, CRMs, ticketing tools, and internal apps so agents can understand enterprise-specific workflows.
- Execution environment: Allows agents to plan and act across files, tools and code in a dependable runtime that can run locally, in an enterprise cloud, or OpenAI-hosted.
Zoom in: Dozens of companies have already adopted Frontier, including Intuit, Uber, State Farm and Thermo Fisher.
- A global financial services firm using the technology got 90% more time back for their client-facing team, according to OpenAI.
- Another customer in tech said it saved 1,500 hours a month in its product development.
Zoom out: This is a move for OpenAI to compete with Anthropic and Google, both of which are viewed as more competitive when it comes to enterprise adoption.
- Claude Code and Cowork cemented Anthropic as a tool for major business customers, ranging from engineering teams to lawyers.
- Google's strong existing relationships with enterprises gives it a leg up as well.
What they're saying: "OpenAI's broad focus gave them success early, but I think it's coming back to bite them right now," Greg Osuri, founder and CEO of Overclock Labs, told Axios.
- OpenAI's general purpose approach may present scaling challenges as other AI firms race to increase revenue through wider enterprise adoption.
The bottom line: Managing AI agents is fast becoming a major enterprise challenge, and OpenAI wants to be the system that keeps them in check.
Disclosure: Axios and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement that allows OpenAI to access part of Axios' story archives while helping fund the launch of Axios into four local cities and providing some AI tools. Axios has editorial independence.
