Put your AI agents to work with these 5 killer tasks

This idea may sound familiar. More than 10 years ago, tech companies such as Amazon, Apple and Google tried to offer virtual assistants that could do things like call an Uber or order takeout. But these products never became popular with consumers. The technology was so slow and difficult to use that people found it easier to do the tasks themselves.

Today's AI agents, such as Muse and dots, are much more flexible and efficient. In time, it may become normal to let agents handle certain boring tasks that we have to repeat often. On Wednesday, Anthropic, the company behind the Claude chatbot, announced that it was testing a similar agent called Duet.

(The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft, saying they used news content in ways that violate copyright laws when developing AI systems. Both companies have denied the claims.)

To show what these agents can do, I tested OpenAI's dots alongside Muse for two weeks and came up with a list of five useful tasks. I was pleasantly surprised when I managed to get a booking at one of the hardest-to-book restaurants in the country. I also asked the agents to apply for jobs for my former nanny and plan school lunches for my toddler.

Here's what happened.

Getting set up

OpenAI's dots is a feature included with ChatGPT. To start using it, you must sign up for a subscription called ChatGPT Pro 100, pay $100 and click a button to set up your dots agent. You can then give your agent a name. I named mine after my golden retriever, Homer. You can also connect different apps, such as Gmail.

To set up Muse, download the free Muse app from the Google or Apple app store and create a free account. I named my agent Momo, after my late Labrador.

Be careful when using AI agents. Only give them access to apps and information that you feel comfortable sharing with a big technology company. These companies may review your personal information and use it to improve their products. For this reason, I connected a Gmail account that I use only for shopping.

One of the most impressive things about AI agents is that they can work for you at any time of day or night. To get used to Muse and dots, try these five tasks. They can automate work that would normally take time and effort to do yourself.

1. Book a restaurant table

Booking a restaurant table is usually easy, but it can be much harder at popular restaurants. Sun Moon Studio, a fine-dining restaurant in Oakland, California, with a Michelin star, is one example. It has only 12 seats. If you want a table at noon on a weekend, available bookings can appear several weeks ahead. Every time I tried to book a table, someone else took every available slot right away.

So why not ask a bot to sit at a computer and wait for a table to become available?

I told Muse and dots that getting a table at Sun Moon Studio was very difficult and that they could book any table that opened up. Both agents tried again and again but failed. Then, last week, dots sent me good news: It had reached the confirmation screen for a table booking in late November.

Fine dining may not be for everyone, but you can use the same idea for other popular items that go on sale at set times. These include concert and sports tickets, sneakers, game consoles and smartphones. A bot might help you get ahead of other buyers.

2. Get a workout plan when you arrive at the gym

Whenever I go to my local rock climbing gym, I spend a few minutes planning my workout before I start. I do this each time to track my progress and work toward my goals.

This month, I tried asking the agents to handle this task for me. I wrote: “Whenever I arrive at my climbing gym, send me a workout plan based on my goals for the day.”

Dots refused because it cannot start an action based on my current location. Muse, however, could do it. As soon as I entered the climbing gym, it sent me a message with my workout plan for the day.

You can adapt this idea to your own needs. For example, you could get a shopping list of your favorite groceries as soon as you arrive at Costco, or receive a to-do list when you get to the office.

3. Apply for jobs faster

I recently remembered how exhausting job hunting can be when I helped my former nanny look for a new family to work with. She is not comfortable with technology. I replied to dozens of online ads from parents looking for nannies. I used the same copy-and-paste message recommending her each time, changing a few words to match the details in each job ad.

I was glad to have Muse and dots help speed up this tiring process. I told each agent to look for new job ads every day on a website that connects parents with caregivers. I also told them to reply automatically to every suitable ad using the message I had written to recommend my nanny.

Dots struggled with this task because its web browser kept running into problems. But the other day, while I was putting groceries into my car, Muse replied to eight job ads. Within an hour, two parents had responded and said they were eager to meet my nanny.

4. Plan meals every day

As a parent, planning meals for my toddler's school lunches and the family's dinners throughout the week takes a lot of thought and effort. Chatbots were somewhat helpful when I asked them to make weekly meal lists. But Muse and dots are better suited to the small, daily tasks of meal planning because they can send you a plan every morning.

I told the agents what my daughter likes to eat at school and what I enjoy cooking for dinner. I also listed the food currently in my fridge. Then I asked them to send me meal ideas every day at 7 a.m. for my daughter's lunch and our family dinner.

The other day, Muse suggested grilled cheese and strawberries for my daughter's lunch and beef stew for dinner. Dots suggested buttered noodles with shredded chicken for her lunch and, by chance, recommended the same dinner. I followed their suggestions.

5. Get lower prices on products

I needed new tires for my car. Instead of reading reviews to find good tires and searching for the best price myself, I asked Muse and dots to do the research and contact a nearby tire shop to ask it to match the lowest price online. Both agents found a deal on a set of highly rated Michelin tires that cost $80 less than the price at the tire shop. They then filled out a form on the shop's website to request the lower price.

When I got home from walking my dogs, I was happy to find two emails from the tire shop confirming that it would match the lowest price.

Bottom Line

For now, Muse is an obvious choice because it costs nothing each month and has better features than dots, which costs $100 a month.

Alexander Embiricos, OpenAI's head of enterprise product, said in an interview that the company first designed dots to handle much harder tasks than the everyday chores I tested. For example, it was meant to help a freelancer run a business. He also said the company expected dots to eventually become free after it had tested the technology with paying users.

Even before that happens, it feels as if AI has reached a turning point. After each of these tests, I found myself asking, “Why would I ever do this the old way again?”