Sabrina Halper Show OpenAI’s Isa Fulford on Building Deep Research, ChatGPT’s Agent, and the Future of the Internet
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Nov 14, 2025 
Isa Fulford, a rising star at OpenAI, discusses her journey from childhood violin discipline to leading the Deep Research team. She reveals insights on building the ChatGPT Agent and how AI is evolving into tools that can automate complex tasks. Isa predicts a future where AI agents act on our behalf, enhancing communication and efficiency online. She also addresses safety concerns and the implications of powerful models, emphasizing a shift from doing tasks to managing them. Her experience illustrates the thrilling potential of AI for personal and professional growth.
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Janky Demo Became A Real Product Signal
- Isa recounts building a janky web demo for research and coding agents that people actually used.
- Early internal users depended on it and would message the team when it went down, signaling product-market fit.
Uses Deep Research For Shopping And Travel
- Isa uses Deep Research for shopping and travel and says she won't plan trips without it anymore.
- She shares a CEO's story who found a tiny shoe brand using the tool and was amazed.
Tool Composition Powers ChatGPT Agent
- Combining Deep Research's text browsing with Operator's tools produced ChatGPT Agent that can use visual browsing and a terminal.
- That composition lets the agent perform many computer tasks and keep shared state across tools.