Adept Unveils "ACT-1," a Browser-Operating AI: A New Take on the "Action Transformer"

Adept unveiled “ACT-1 (Action Transformer),” a large Transformer model trained to operate digital tools. Its key feature is the ability to observe on-screen state through a Chrome extension and carry out clicks, text entry, and scrolling based purely on natural-language instructions.

Details

• Capabilities: Trained on browser usage, it observes the screen via a Chrome extension while carrying out actions. Rather than a simple automation script, it interprets the intent behind an instruction and operates existing web apps accordingly
• Vision: Adept explained that building “a foundation model that can use every software tool, API, and web app” is the most practical shortcut to useful general intelligence
• Goal: To let AI operate the very software people already use every day, without requiring any coding — a distinct departure from traditional automation, which requires custom API integrations for each case
• Scope of release: Released as a research preview, positioned not as a general product but as a demonstration of technical direction

What happened next

ACT-1 did not immediately become a widely used product, but it served as an important step in demonstrating Adept’s technical direction to the world. In March 2023, the company would raise $350 million in a Series B round to fund the continuation of this path.