ChatGPT Tasks: The Agent Revolution Goes Mainstream
After teasing it during their "12 Days of Christmas" announcements, OpenAI has delivered on their promise to introduce agents in ChatGPT. OpenAI is rolling out Tasks, or more specifically, GPT-4o with scheduled tasks.
Tasks allows you to assign a task that ChatGPT will execute later. Tasks is really “agent lite” due to its limitations. For example, I don’t think you can have tasks interact with each other yet. But Tasks gives hints about what will be possible in the future. GPT-4o with scheduled tasks is being rolled out, so you may not have it yet. Right now it’s available to Pro and Plus users only. If you’re a Pro or Plus user and don’t have access, update your ChatGPT app.
Getting Started with Tasks
You can create tasks by choosing GPT-4o with scheduled tasks from the model selection window (see below). Then, just tell ChatGPT what you want done and when you want the output delivered.
Pro tip: Ask ChatGPT to help you create your prompt. Here’s an example:
ChatGPT gave me a fairly detailed prompt to use with Tasks.
Certainly, here’s a prompt tailored to your needs:
Prompt:
Please monitor the latest developments in generative artificial intelligence (AI) as they pertain to higher education. Every Friday at 8:00 AM Central Time, compile a concise summary of the most recent news articles, research publications, and significant events from the past week. Ensure the summary includes:
• Key Highlights: A brief overview of each item, emphasizing its relevance to higher education.
• Implications: An analysis of how each development could impact teaching, learning, administration, or policy within higher education institutions.
• Sources: Citations or links to the original articles or publications for further reading.
After compiling the summary, send it to my email address: [your.email@example.com]. Please ensure the email is well-formatted for easy reading. Begin this task starting this coming Friday and continue on a weekly basis.
All I had to do was make a couple of small edits such as changing the day to Thursday and adding my email address and I was ready to go. (I only changed the day so I didn’t have to wait to see the results.) The entire process took less than five minutes.
Thursday at 8:06 AM, I received this email.
Clicking on the message took me to ChatGPT’s report, which is shown below.
Key Highlights:
1. AI’s Growing Role in Education: Recent discussions highlight the transformative potential of AI in education, with predictions that AI could soon perform tasks at the level of doctoral students or professionals. This evolution suggests a future where AI autonomously handles complex tasks, such as making reservations or gathering information, acting as “agents” on behalf of users.
2. Integration Strategies for Generative AI: Institutions are exploring ways to incorporate generative AI (GenAI) to support administrators, staff, faculty, and students. The focus is on easing burdens and enhancing work through AI, while navigating the challenges of safe and effective implementation.
3. Student and Faculty Adoption of GenAI: Surveys indicate that approximately 50% to 65% of students and faculty have used tools like ChatGPT for teaching, learning, and research. This widespread adoption points to GenAI becoming integral to the core mission of higher education institutions.
4. Responsible Use of GenAI: There’s an emphasis on leveraging GenAI as part of inclusive practices in higher education. This approach considers how AI can be used responsibly to promote equity and excellence within academic settings.
5. Challenges and Concerns: Studies highlight concerns regarding the use of GenAI, including issues of academic integrity, the potential for plagiarism, and the need for clear policies and guidelines to govern AI use in educational contexts.
Implications:
• Teaching and Learning: The integration of AI into educational practices necessitates a reevaluation of teaching methodologies. Educators are encouraged to adapt their approaches to incorporate AI tools, fostering an environment where AI enhances learning experiences rather than undermines academic integrity.
• Administration: AI offers opportunities to automate administrative tasks, potentially increasing efficiency within higher education institutions. However, this requires careful consideration to ensure that automation aligns with institutional goals and supports the needs of staff and students.
• Policy Development: The rapid adoption of GenAI underscores the need for comprehensive policies that address ethical considerations, usage guidelines, and the promotion of equitable access to AI resources. Institutions must engage in ongoing dialogue to develop frameworks that support responsible AI integration.
Sources for Further Reading:
• Tech in 2025 - Hi, I’m your AI-powered assistant
• How higher education can realize the potential of Generative AI
• Generative AI in Higher Education - Ithaka S+R
• Leveraging Generative AI for Inclusive Excellence in Higher Education
• Generative AI and the future of higher education: a threat to …
ChatGPT also gave me a list of fourteen sources, which included EDUCAUSE (a well-known education technology association), Cornell University, MIT’s Sloan School, Financial Times among others. All the sources were reputable.
Since I liked the report so much, I created another task to give me reports every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. (It’s Saturday as I write this so I haven’t received those reports yet.
Simple but Powerful: Reminder Functions
I thought Tasks might be good for reminders as well so I created a simple task to remind me to do some grading:
Please remind me to grade synthesis papers at 4PM today.
Sure enough, at 4PM my phone’s ChatGPT app sent a notification to remind me. This is a small thing, but could be immensely useful for some situations. Be mindful of privacy though. Don’t provide any private or confidential information when creating your tasks.
The Future of AI Agents
The bottom line is that even though Tasks is currently quite limited, it represents a significant step toward making AI agents accessible to non-technical users. From simple reminders to complex reports, this feature offers a glimpse of how AI assistance might become a seamless part of our daily workflows. As someone who works in higher education, I'm particularly impressed by its potential to help faculty and staff manage their various responsibilities more efficiently.
Practical Applications in Higher Education
Looking beyond simple reminders, there are many possibilities for Tasks in higher ed. Here are a few:
Research monitoring: Set up weekly summaries of new publications in your field.
Teaching support: Schedule reminders for grading, posting assignments, important deadlines and the like.
Administration: Receive summaries of relevant academic news or policy changes that might affect your area.
Professional development: Track emerging teaching methods or technological innovations in your field.
Daily Dad jokes: Start each day with a chuckle or a groan depending on the quality of the joke.
Although most of these examples focus on productivity, even the dad joke reminder shows how Tasks can make academic life both simpler and more enjoyable. As the capabilities improve, the uses will expand, so stay tuned to AI Goes to College to keep up with the latest developments.
Well, that’s all for this time. If you have any questions or comments, you can leave them below, or email me - craig@AIGoesToCollege.com. I’d love to hear from you. Be sure to check out the AI Goes to College podcast, which I co-host with Dr. Robert E. Crossler. It’s available at https://www.aigoestocollege.com/follow. Thanks for reading!