OpenAI announced on Tuesday the introduction of a beta feature called Tasks for ChatGPT, marking its entry into the virtual assistant market and positioning itself against established rivals like Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Alexa. The new feature allows users to set tasks for future execution, such as one-time reminders (e.g., concert ticket sales) or recurring actions (e.g., weekly news briefings or daily weather updates). Additionally, ChatGPT will suggest tasks based on user interactions, although users can choose to accept or decline these suggestions.

The release of ChatGPT in late 2022 sparked widespread investment in AI technology, prompting Amazon to enhance its Alexa service with generative AI capabilities to stay competitive with chatbots powered by the same technology. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy revealed in December that a revamped version of Alexa, which will proactively perform tasks for users, is expected to launch soon.

Meanwhile, Apple has integrated its “Apple Intelligence” system into Siri, incorporating elements of ChatGPT’s expertise and requiring user consent before accessing the OpenAI service, following a collaboration with the Microsoft-backed startup.

OpenAI plans to begin rolling out the beta feature to its Plus, Team, and Pro users globally over the next few days, starting with the web platform.