Sam Altman outlines third wave of AI with persistent agents acting as digital colleagues

Sam Altman just laid out his vision for where AI is headed next, and it goes well beyond the chatbots we’ve all been arguing with for the past two years. The OpenAI CEO describes a “third wave” of artificial intelligence built around three pillars: chatbots, coding agents, and persistent AI agents that will essentially function as staff, co-workers, and colleagues. From tools to teammates Altman isn’t talking about AI as a productivity tool you open in a browser tab. He’s describing systems that operate autonomously, handling complex tasks independently, with persistence, meaning they don’t forget what they were doing when you close your laptop. The first wave of AI was predictive. Think recommendation algorithms and spam filters. The second wave was generative, the ChatGPT era of creating text, images, and code on demand. This proposed third wave is agentic: AI that doesn’t just respond to prompts but takes initiative, manages workflows, and executes multi-step processes without constant human oversight. Altman has predicted that the first AI agents will join the workforce in 2025, meaningfully boosting company output. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff has set a target of deploying one ...