On March 11, OpenAI unveiled new tools for developers to create advanced AI agents using a set of application programming interfaces (APIs). The move comes as Chinese AI startups pose increasing competition.

AI agents are crafted to autonomously carry out intricate real-world tasks without direct human intervention. An API is a code string facilitating standardized communication, data exchange, and functions between software components.

The newly introduced tool, the Responses API, is accessible to all developers at no extra cost. It supersedes OpenAI's Assistants API, which is scheduled for phased-out by the second half of 2026.

This development follows the recent release of cutting-edge AI models by Chinese startups, which assert competitiveness with or superiority to leading U.S. models at a reduced cost.

In the limelight lately is Chinese startup Monica, which launched its autonomous AI agent Manus shortly after DeepSeek gained attention.

Monica, claiming Manus outperforms OpenAI's DeepResearch agent, announced a partnership with the team responsible for Alibaba's Qwen AI models on Tuesday.