ChatGPT has unveiled a new "tasks" assistant, which uses scheduled prompts for weather updates and reminders. CNBC's Deirdre Bosa joins 'The Exchange' to discuss what this means for the artificial intelligence agent race.

San Francisco

The release of Open AI's ChatGPT has accelerated the development of artificial intelligence and warnings about its impact on society.

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OpenAI has announced a new feature for its ChatGPT platform, called "tasks." This enhancement allows ChatGPT to schedule reminders and automate certain tasks, entering the competitive landscape of digital assistants like Apple's Siri and Amazon's Alexa. The feature can proactively manage simple tasks such as weather updates or reminding users to book appointments.

OpenAI President and co-founder, Greg Brockman, has described this development as a modest step towards creating more advanced AI agents. While Perplexity CEO Arvind Srinivas emphasized its straightforwardness, market experts believe these changes will compete with existing AI assistants, which have been slower to implement upgrades. Despite this advancement, OpenAI acknowledges that there are still technical challenges to overcome before fully realizing the potential of this new feature.

Although the introduction of "tasks" does not signify a breakthrough, it marks incremental progress in AI development. It demonstrates OpenAI's momentum in transforming ChatGPT from a purely reactive tool into a more proactive assistance platform. Meanwhile, Apple's updated version of Siri may face delays, indicating that OpenAI could leverage this momentary advantage in the AI assistant market space.



OpenAI announces new 'tasks' assistant, rivaling Siri and Alexa

The war between AI chatbots will intensify this year. OpenAI is announcing yet more new features. ChatGPT can now be used to schedule reminders and automate tasks. Who does that threaten exactly? Deirdre Bosa has the latest in tech check. Deirdre? I mean, that's kind of the point, Callie. OpenAI president and co-founder Greg Brockman, he summed up the feature as baby steps on the way to agents. Perplexity CEO Arvind Srinivas, he was more blunt, writing, Because tasks really is as simple as it sounds. They're scheduled prompts for things like weather updates or reminders to book appointments. The reason we're highlighting it now on Tech Check is because the notion itself that this is incremental, not a breakthrough, has implications for the AI trade at large. Over the last few years, we've been fed these Gen AI demos from OpenAI and others that showed us a very different kind of Gen AI world, one in which your AI assistant can manage your entire schedule, coordinate complex tasks across multiple apps, and even make decisions for you based on personalized context and preferences. This really highlights that we're still a long way from that. And tasks is a reminder that 2025, or maybe a reminder that 2025, will be slow and steady as well. So don't expect the big use case breakthroughs to materialize if this is any indication. Now, that is not to say that incremental progress isn't also interesting or important. Tasks moves ChatGBT into a new space, making it a reactive tool versus a proactive one that will compete with existing digital assistants that have been slow to upgrade, like Amazon's Alexa-powered devices, which is the current market leader in AI assistants. Now, the company's head of AGI telling the FT that there are still technical challenges they need to overcome before they can really roll this out. And Apple, a recent report saying that a fully revamped Siri may not even be launched this year. Incremental progress, Kelly, it may be how open AI maintains momentum. So even though this is baby steps, it could end up being sort of a lot, especially when the incumbents in a space like voice assistants are moving relatively slower. So let me just make sure I follow. They announced the ability to schedule reminders and automate tasks, but that is seen as a direct hit against Alexa and Siri? Yes, because it's doing something that is proactive. I mean, Alexa can already do these things. You can say, set an alarm and tell me what the weather is and the more. I don't know if they can do both of those things at the same time, but essentially they have this kind of capability, even if it's lesser than. The key thing here is that open AI is becoming something that is more proactive. So far, you just go to the website, right? Or open your app and you ask a question, it responds. This moves it into a space where it can do things for you, getting closer to the agent space and competing just on those voice assistants with the likes of Amazon and Apple. Very interesting. I wonder if they'd ever get into the hardware front, kind of have their own pod or? That's a key question. Yeah, interesting. Deirdre, thanks. As always, Deirdre Bosa.

Whenever, wherever, however - that's the Venezuelan President's offer to sell more oil to the U.S., as he pleads for diplomacy, not conflict. It comes after Washington hit five more alleged drug boats with airstrikes and reportedly struck Venezuelan soil for the first time. Meanwhile, the U.S. Coast Guard is in hot pursuit of an oil tanker which is suddenly claiming to be Russian.

Caracas

Maduro open to talks with Trump over fight against drug trafficking

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened on Friday (January 2) to come to the aid of protesters in Iran if security forces fire on them, days into unrest that has left several dead and posed the biggest internal threat to Iranian authorities in years.

Washington

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Israel says more than 30 aid groups have failed to comply with new rules to register their workers and will have access to Gaza suspended. The banned organizations say the rules will have horrific consequences during deadly floods as it tries to rebuild just months into a fragile ceasefire.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Israel’s ban on dozens of aid groups from Gaza begins

A U.S. intelligence assessment has determined that Ukraine is not responsible for what Russia claims was a drone strike targeting Vladimir Putin’s residence. Both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave year-end news conferences amid continuing discussions about a peace deal held up by key unsettled issues.

Moscow

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Zohran Mamdani was officially inaugurated as the mayor of New York City, becoming the first Muslim and first immigrant in half a century to hold the position. The public ceremony at City Hall featured Senator Bernie Sanders administering the oath of office, followed by a community celebration on Broadway.

New York

Mayor Zohran Mamdani inaugurated at New York’s City Hall

Taiwan’s president has struck a defiant tone after China launched fresh military drills near the island. In a New Year’s Day speech, Lai Ching-te said 2026 would be a critical year and vowed to defend Taiwan’s sovereignty.

Taipei City

Taiwan president signals tougher stance on Beijing

For several years, the French government has explored ways to limit teenagers’ access to social media due to its harmful impact on mental health, and new guidance from the European Commission could now make it easier for France to pass legislation on the matter.

Paris

France proposes social media ban, following Australian model

Israel will enforce a ban on 37 international NGOs in the Gaza Strip, citing failure to meet security and transparency standards.

Israel says it 'will enforce' ban on 37 NGOs in Gaza

Zohran Mamdani became mayor of New York City just after midnight on Thursday, marking a historic moment with a low-key swearing-in ceremony held deep beneath Manhattan. The Democrat, who at 34 is the city’s youngest mayor in generations, takes office as one of the most closely watched political figures in the U.S.

Mamdani becomes New York City mayor

Dozens of people have been killed and 100 injured, most of them seriously, after a fire tore through a crowded bar during a New Year's Eve party in the upscale ski resort of Crans-Montana, Swiss officials said.

Crans-Montana

Dozens killed, 100 injured in fire in Swiss ski resort bar

President Donald Trump said his administration was removing the National Guard from Chicago, Los Angeles and Portland, but he added in his social media post that federal forces will "come back" if crime rates go up.

Chicago

Trump: National Guard being removed from Chicago, LA and Portland

Finnish police have seized a cargo ship suspected of sabotaging an undersea telecom cable between Helsinki and Estonia on December 31. Authorities say the vessel was sailing from Russia to Israel when it was intercepted in the Gulf of Finland.

Helsinki

Finland seizes Russia-linked ship over suspected cable sabotage

Russia's defense ministry released video footage on Wednesday (December 31) of what it said was a downed drone at a briefing intended to show Ukraine tried this week to attack a presidential residence and challenge Kyiv's denials that such an attack took place.

Russia releases video footage to challenge Kyiv over alleged attack

Severe humanitarian needs in Gaza are worsening as dozens of aid groups are forced to halt operations under new Israeli restrictions.
Up to 48 organizations have stopped work, leaving fewer clinics, food distributions and shelters for civilians.

Israel to block dozens of aid groups working in war-battered Gaza

The world has begun saying goodbye to 2025, with South Pacific nations first to welcome 2026.

Council of the City of Sydney

Fireworks light up the globe as nations ring in 2026

CNN, citing sources, reported that the CIA had carried out a drone strike earlier this month on a port facility on the coast of Venezuela. U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. struck a facility where boats accused of carrying drugs "load up."

Trump says U.S. strike hit dock in Venezuela

President Trump says the U.S. "knocked out" a "big facility" last week linked to alleged drug boat operations. Unlike previous operations at sea, this strike occurred on Venezuelan territory, though the president did not disclose specific details about the timing, location, or the party responsible for the attack.

Trump says U.S. launched strike on boat dock inside Venezuela

Tatiana Schlossberg, the granddaughter of President John F. Kennedy and an environmental journalist, has died at the age of 35 following a battle with cancer, the JFK Library Foundation announced Tuesday.

Tatiana Schlossberg, JFK's granddaughter, dies at 35

The United Arab Emirates says it's withdrawing its remaining forces from Yemen. The move comes after Saudi Arabia bombed a port in Yemen, saying it targeted an arms shipment intended for a UAE-backed separatist force.

Al Mukalla

Saudi Arabia bombs port in Yemen

In an overnight strike, the Saudi military hit a Yemeni port saying they were neutralising a weapons shipments arriving from UAE. The UAE has denied the shipment contained weapons and claimed the vehicles were not intended for any groups. Both countries have supported the fighting sides in the over-decade long war in Yemen, but this strike has turned this rivalry into an open dispute.

The UAE denies shipping weapons to Yemen after overnight Saudi strike

The Kremlin said Tuesday it would toughen its negotiating position in talks on ending the war in Ukraine after accusing Kyiv of attacking a Russian presidential residence — an allegation that Kyiv said was baseless and intended to prolong the conflict.

Russia will toughen negotiating stance on war in Ukraine

China fired rockets into waters off northern and southern Taiwan on Tuesday (December 30) and deployed new amphibious assault ships alongside bomber aircraft and destroyers on the second day of its most extensive war games.

China fires rockets towards Taiwan in war games simulating blockade

President Donald Trump on Monday confirmed an alleged drug-related site was targeted during a recent strike, saying, "they load the boats up with drugs, so we hit all the boats and now we hit the area." Trump did not say when the strike happened or exactly where.

U.S. strike hits Venezuelan port facility

The search for Malaysia Airlines flight 370 that went missing in 2014 with 239 people on board is expected to resume Tuesday (December 30). The Malaysian government and a private marine robotics company say they will use advances in technology to aid in the search.

Kuala Lumpur

Search resumes for Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared in 2014

The two countries have agreed to hold fire, freeze troop movements and allow civilians to return home under a new agreement.

Krong Poi Pet

Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire holds as 72-hour observation period ends

Head of Yemen's presidential council, which is supported by Saudi Arabia, says UAE-backed forces in the country should leave within 24 hours.

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U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States could support another major strike on Iran were it to resume rebuilding its ballistic missile or nuclear weapons programs and warned Hamas of severe consequences if it does not disarm.

Florida

Trump warns Iran of possible strike, urges Hamas to disarm

U.S. hit an area in Venezuela where boats are loaded with drugs, Trump says, as Pentagon carries out another deadly strike in the Pacific. This claim follows a series of U.S. strikes on boats in the Eastern Pacific, raising the total number of known strikes to 31 and resulting in over 100 deaths.

Trump claims attack on a dock in Venezuela, strikes kill two in Pacific

The Taiwanese government says it has placed its forces on alert as China intensifies its military presence in the Indo-Pacific Ocean and launches air, navy and rocket drills around the island.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is denying Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s claim that Ukraine tried to attack President Vladimir Putin's residence in northern Russia.

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