(Reuters) -OpenAI launched an artificial intelligence agent for its popular chatbot ChatGPT on Thursday that can complete complex tasks as the Microsoft-backed startup looks to get ahead of competitors in the AI race.

AI agents - considered to be an evolution of an assistant - have been embraced across the tech world with large firms, including Microsoft, Salesforce and Oracle, spending billions on the technology to boost productivity and make operations more cost efficient.

OpenAI's agent will combine aspects of its previous agentic features, operator, which can interact with websites, and deep research that can conduct multi-step research for advanced tasks.

Starting Thursday, users of ChatGPT's Pro, Plus and Team tiers can activate the chatbot's agentic capabilities.

ChatGPT's agent can complete tasks such as ordering an outfit for a wedding while taking into account factors like dress code and weather.

The chatbot does this by using its own virtual computer equipped with a number of tools that can interact with the web. It also allows the user to connect apps such as Gmail and Github so ChatGPT can find information relevant to a prompt.