OpenAI Is Developing a ‘Persistent’ AI Agent

OpenAI added “Persistent mode” to the command-line Codex agent, enabling the model to continue work across sessions until stopped and to generate follow-up tasks proactively. The mode uses a “proactivity” system prompt that lets the agent create tasks, reference prior interactions, and message the user sparingly while prohibiting system-modifying actions without approval. OpenAI is testing the feature, has no immediate launch plans, and sees it as a step toward always-on AI assistants.