OpenAI launches “Frontier,” A new platform for enterprises to build and manage AI agents

New Platform bridges enterprise data silos and introduces "Agent IAM" to securely deploy AI coworkers at scale.

OpenAI last week unveiled “Frontier’, a new enterprise platform designed to help companies build, deploy, and manage "AI coworkers" that don't just chat, but execute real-world operations across inside business systems. The announcement marks a major step by OpenAI into the corporate software market and signals a shift in how organizations will integrate AI into daily operations.

In a surprisingly "open" move, OpenAI confirmed that Frontier is compatible with agents built by Anthropic, Google, and Microsoft, as well as internal custom-built bots.

Onboarding for bots

Much like a human hire, agents in Frontier go through a "structured onboarding" process in which they are given specific role definitions, access to necessary files, and a list of "guardrail" behaviors.

"Agent IAM": Identity Management for machines

One of the most innovative features is Agent Identity and Access Management (IAM). This treats every AI agent as a distinct entity with its own digital ID.

Admins can grant an agent permission to "Read" a database but not "Delete," or "Draft" an email but not "Send" it without human approval.

Every action taken by a Frontier agent is logged and auditable, meeting the strict SOC 2 and ISO compliance standards required by regulated industries like banking and healthcare.

Forward Deployed Engineers (FDEs)

Borrowing a page from Palantir’s playbook, OpenAI is sending its own engineers to work on-site with "Frontier Program" partners to help design these autonomous architectures.

The early adopters: Fortune 500 rollout

OpenAI Frontier is currently available in "Limited Access," but several global giants have already moved past the pilot phase:

• Uber & HP: Using agents for complex revenue operations and supply chain simulations.

• State Farm: Implementing agents to predict natural disaster impacts and automate claims triaging.

• Oracle & Intuit: Accelerating software engineering and financial forecasting.

The "SaaS Threat"

Industry analysts are calling Frontier the "Agentic Operating System." By allowing agents to operate across apps, OpenAI is effectively creating a new interface that sits on top of traditional software.

The announcement coincides with the recent "SaaSpocalypse" on Wall Street, where legacy software stocks dipped as investors realized that autonomous agents might soon replace thousands of per-seat licenses.