Week of 28 September 2026: new agent tools and California’s rules for AI at work

A busy week for the platforms smaller companies build on. OpenAI and Anthropic each released a model at $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output, OpenAI’s Agents API gained browser control and California’s governor signed laws that put a person back in charge of some AI decisions about workers and customers.

OpenAI adds computer use to its Agents API and ships GPT-6.1 Sol

At DevDay on 29 September, OpenAI added computer use to its Agents API, letting agents carry out tasks on websites through a browser OpenAI runs, with the developer’s own application deciding which sites they may open and taking care of logins. The same day brought gpt-6.1-sol, a model aimed at coding and professional work that costs $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output, about a fifth of GPT-6 Astra’s standard rates. OpenAI also introduced Dots, always-running ChatGPT agents that an admin has to switch on before anyone in an Enterprise, Edu or Healthcare workspace can use them, and opened a limited preview of a Decisions API that picks from fixed answers for jobs such as classification and routing.

Why it matters: Agents that can operate a browser can reach older systems with no API, so decide now who approves which sites and how those runs are logged.

Sources: Changelog (OpenAI, 29 Sep 2026), OpenAI DevDay 2026 Recap for Developers (InfoQ, 2 Oct 2026), The Biggest Announcements From OpenAI DevDay: Dots, Agents and a $500 Plan (Reworked, 1 Oct 2026).

Anthropic releases Claude Sonnet 5.5 at the same price as Sonnet 5

Anthropic made Claude Sonnet 5.5 (claude-sonnet-5-5) available on 28 September through its own platform, AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure, keeping Sonnet 5’s list price of $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output. By Anthropic’s measure it writes output more than 30% faster than Sonnet 5 and can finish a task for up to 30% less, mainly by spending fewer tokens and tool calls, though VentureBeat noted the numbers were the company’s own and said it had asked how the speed gain was measured. It is the first Sonnet to ship with cyber safeguards, which pass higher-risk security requests back to Sonnet 5, and Anthropic says Haiku 5.5 will arrive within weeks.

Why it matters: Teams on Sonnet 5 can try the switch at no change in list price, but they should rerun their own task evaluations rather than rely on the vendor’s benchmarks.

Sources: Introducing Claude Sonnet 5.5 (Anthropic, 28 Sep 2026), Anthropic launches Claude Sonnet 5.5 with 30% cost reduction per-task due to faster speeds and fewer tool calls (VentureBeat, 28 Sep 2026).

California will require human review of AI-driven firings and a way to reach a person

Governor Newsom signed SB 947, the No Robo Bosses Act, on 30 September: from 1 July 2027 a California employer may not discipline or fire someone on an automated system’s output alone, a person must check the information behind it and the worker must be told the system was used. Two days earlier he signed AB 1609, under which companies with more than $500 million in yearly revenue may not pass a chatbot off as a person and must try in good faith to put a customer who asks through to a human within 15 minutes or offer an appointment within one business day. He also signed SB 951, which requires layoff notices to say when AI or automation played a part, and AB 1883, which bars workplace monitoring tools that infer how workers feel.

Why it matters: California employers that use scoring or monitoring tools in discipline or firing decisions need a documented human review step before July 2027, and larger consumer brands should check that their chatbot hands off to a person quickly and visibly.

Sources: Newsom Signs McNerney’s No Robo Bosses Act of 2026 Requiring Human Oversight of AI in the Workplace (Office of Senator Jerry McNerney, California State Senate, 30 Sep 2026), On AI, Newsom gives labor most of what it demanded (CalMatters, 30 Sep 2026), Newest Slate of AI Laws Keeps California at the Forefront of US Regulation (Latham & Watkins, 5 Oct 2026), California Law Gives Consumers the Right to Reach a Human Agent Instead of AI (Gadget Review via Yahoo News, 1 Oct 2026).

Microsoft makes Fabric IQ generally available inside Copilot

On 28 September, at FabCon and SQLCon in Barcelona, Microsoft made Fabric IQ generally available in Copilot Chat and Cowork, so Copilot can ground its answers in the metrics and business definitions kept in Power BI semantic models without extra AI token charges. It also previewed Database Hub, a single place to manage SQL Server, Azure SQL, PostgreSQL, Cosmos DB and SQL database in Fabric, and said database agents for SQL and PostgreSQL would reach preview soon. Fabric IQ support for the new Code experience will follow later through Microsoft’s Frontier program.

Why it matters: Copilot’s answers will only be as consistent as your Power BI definitions, so teams should tidy the measures people rely on and confirm who can see each model before staff start asking it questions.

Sources: FabCon and SQLCon 2026 in Barcelona: Building the data foundation for Microsoft Copilot and agents (Microsoft Azure Blog, 28 Sep 2026), Microsoft rewires AI’s context layer for business (CIO, 29 Sep 2026).

Meta launches an enterprise platform and a small business agent

On 28 September Meta set up Meta Enterprise Platform, a business unit selling its Muse agent, Meta Business Agent, Muse API and Muse Code to companies, run by CJ Desai, who left his post as MongoDB’s chief executive the same day. Meta named no prices or launch dates, and MongoDB shares dropped more than 17% within hours of the news. A day later it opened Muse for Small Business, which is free up to a usage cap, offers a paid plan for heavier use and connects to tools such as Shopify, Stripe, QuickBooks, Slack, Notion and Klaviyo.

Why it matters: Small teams on Shopify or QuickBooks now have another agent to evaluate, but until Meta publishes enterprise pricing it is better treated as something to trial than something to build on.

Sources: Launching Meta Enterprise Platform (Meta Newsroom, 28 Sep 2026), Meta is expanding its AI agent Muse to small businesses (TechCrunch, 29 Sep 2026), Meta Launches Enterprise AI Platform, Taps MongoDB CEO (VKTR, 28 Sep 2026).

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