Technology companies are in a race to develop so-called artificial intelligence agents that will improve our productivity at work by helping with some of the more mundane or routine tasks.
The Financial Times put some of the most popular free and subscription-based applications to the test, using products from AI companies including OpenAI, Anthropic and Perplexity, and Big Tech groups Google, Microsoft and Apple.
These tools are broadly available, already offering workers assistance with common day-to-day tasks, although many of the more advanced agents are still being worked on and improved. Users can pay for subscriptions for better performance or more access to special features.