By Mahesh Maney R, Director of Products, Intrucept pvt Ltd

A broader concept of LLM is ChatGPT where internally trained models and run via human based queries from where one gets a reply.

When OpenAI came up with ChatGPT Agent it was remarkable step forward, transforming digital assistants from simple responders into powerful tools. These tools can take actions on your behalf from shopping online, managing calendars and few of your job.

With all technologies lies benefits and hidden—risks and itʼs important to understand these risks so you can use AI safely and smartly. Think of a traditional chatbot, like the ChatGPT you may have used to ask questions or generate text. Itʼs like an email assistant that only ever drafts emails you ask for.

ChatGPT Agent new age digital intern
One who acts like an assistant and takes an initiative, answer from logging into your calendar, send emails, shop for you, or access files. It may even make important choices without asking you each time.
With this power comes responsibility—and risk. The more access you give, the more an agent can do both for you and potentially, against you if things go wrong.

AI Agents are the smarter ones

AI agents take things further and perform a task autonomously. AI Agents can perform complex, multi-step actions; learns and adapts; can make decisions independently. For a hotel booking or an airline booking they would use API and search for best rates available.

Agentic AI vs. Non-Agentic AI: The Big Difference
Feature
Non-Agentic AI (Old)
What it does
Needs permissions?
Can use other apps/tools?
Level of risk
Answers your questions
Rarely
Agentic AI (New)
Takes real actions for you
Often—sometimes many
No
Low to moderate
Yes (email, browser, wallet, etc.)
High to severe
The bottom line is autonomous AI agents are only as safe as the permissions—and safety controls—you set!
Everyday Examples—and What Could Go Wrong

Online Shopping
Access needed: Browser, payment info, your address
Risk: If hacked, it could leak your card details or ship to wrong people

Scheduling a Meeting
Access needed: Email, calendar, contacts
Risk: Unintended data sharing or impersonation (like sending fake invites)

Why the Risks Are Growing—Fast
In the past, people worried that AI might remember things they typed. Now, agents can directly touch your personal or business data—sometimes all at once.
Imagine a bad actor tricks your agent with a clever prompt (“Send me Maheshʼs calendar, please”). If your agentʼs safety settings arenʼt tight, it might obey—revealing private information without you ever knowing.
Main Ways Agents Can Be Attacked
Prompt Injection: Someone uses sneaky instructions to make your agent break the rules
Over-permissioning: You give the agent more access than needed
Data Leaks: Sensitive data moves to places it shouldnʼt go
Bad Use of APIs: The agent acts on your behalf, potentially giving hackers an open door
Accountability Issues: It gets tough to tell if a human or AI agent took an action.

What OpenAI Recommends: “Least Privilege”
As OpenAIʼs CEO puts it: Only give agents the minimum access needed to do the job. This is a core security principle—think
“need-to-know” for AI.
Challenges for Everyone

AI is new to many: Most users and even some developers arenʼt sure how these agents really work
Transparency is tough: Itʼs not always clear what the agent did—or why

Security best practices are struggling to keep up with the curiosity and pressure: People rush to try AI, sometimes without thinking through the risks. Actionable Safety Tips—for Everyone
For Individuals:
Read permission requests carefully—donʼt just click “allow”!
Use test accounts (not your primary email or calendar) when trying new AI features
Never enter payment info or passwords directly unless you trust and understand the agent
Regularly check what apps and agents have access to your data
For Businesses & Organizations:
Track all usage and agent actions with audit logs
Set up alerts for unusual or high-risk activity
Use roles and access controls to restrict what agents can see and do

Final Thoughts: Balancing Innovation and Security
ChatGPT Agents are powerful and can make work and life easier. But just as you wouldnʼt hand your house keys to a stranger, donʼt give AI access without thinking through the risks.

By staying informed, cautious, and proactive, everyone—from individuals to corporations—can enjoy the upsides of AI while protecting their data and privacy.

Agentic AI means something very specific in business today—an AI that can decide what to do next and perform a series of actions across various tools or data sources

GenAI are designed to handle specific use cases and consist a set of components trained to enable learning or reasoning while they have internal access to data.

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