The year of the agent showed up late

AI agents were supposed to transform work in 2025. Now easier-to-use tools are bringing them to millions of people, raising new questions about trust

In January 2025, Sam Altman wrote a blog post predicting that "in 2025, we may see the first AI agents 'join the workforce' and materially change the output of companies." Plenty of agent tools shipped that year. Outside of coding, none broke out, because they were too complicated for most people to set up.

This month made a better case for 2026 being the year of the agent. The breakout tool was easy enough for nearly anyone with an internet connection to use. 

It just wasn't made by OpenAI.

Agents everywhere

Meta $META launched Muse on Sept. 8, as an agent that ran on the cloud, so users could shut their laptops and it kept working. With a cute cuddly avatar as its mascot, more than 2.5 million people in the U.S. downloaded it within two weeks, making it hit the top of Apple $AAPL's App Store.