All topicsSTATE OF AI REPORT.

Agents gain tools, memory, and room to work

AI agents began moving beyond conversation into software that could use a computer, call tools, and carry information between tasks. The important question was whether those pieces produced reliable completed work, especially when a task required many steps.

Questions in this section

Could agents reliably use a computer in 2025?What is Model Context Protocol?Does a longer context window give an agent lasting memory?Why do agent results need expert audits?

Computer use improves unevenly

ByteDance’s UI-TARS-2 combined demonstrations and reinforcement learning in environments containing computers, browsers, games, and developer tools. The report recorded substantial benchmark improvements, including 47.5% on OSWorld and 73.3% on AndroidWorld. Yet harder browsing and long-horizon games remained brittle. Progress on one interface did not establish general reliability across computer work.

Computer use improves unevenly - 2025 report, slide 81
Computer use improves unevenly. 2025 report, slide 81 (PDF page 82)

A common connection to tools takes shape

Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol gave applications a common way to expose tools and data to models. By the report’s publication, OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft had adopted it across major products. This reduced the need to build a separate connector for every pairing of model and service. It also made the trustworthiness of tool servers and their software dependencies part of the agent’s security boundary.

A common connection to tools takes shape - 2025 report, slide 84
A common connection to tools takes shape. 2025 report, slide 84 (PDF page 85)

Memory becomes part of the system

Research moved from filling a context window toward persistent records, state tracking, and ways to consolidate or forget information. These systems aimed to preserve useful context across longer work. They were research directions rather than proof of dependable lifelong learning. The report also called for domain experts to audit impressive agent results: an apparent speedup can hide an incorrect solution.

Memory becomes part of the system - 2025 report, slide 87
Memory becomes part of the system. 2025 report, slide 87 (PDF page 88)

Evidence you can use

UI-TARS-2 computer-use results

Results reported in the 2025 edition

UI-TARS-2 computer-use results
MeasureReported valueDefinition and source
OSWorld47.5%Benchmark score2025 report, slide 81 (PDF page 82)
WindowsAgentArena50.6%Benchmark score2025 report, slide 81 (PDF page 82)
AndroidWorld73.3%Benchmark score2025 report, slide 81 (PDF page 82)
Online-Mind2Web88.2%Benchmark score2025 report, slide 81 (PDF page 82)

These are separate benchmarks with different tasks and environments. Their percentages should not be averaged or interpreted as a universal probability of an agent completing office work. The report identifies continuing long-horizon failures.

Frequently asked questions

Sources and dates

Historical snapshot published October 9, 2025. This web edition was prepared on October 10, 2026 from the online deck and original launch posts. Findings and forecasts retain their original time frame.

  1. 2025 report, slide 31 (PDF page 32)Original 2025 report. Slide numbers printed in the deck are one lower than PDF page numbers because the cover is unnumbered.
  2. 2025 report, slide 81 (PDF page 82)Original 2025 report. Slide numbers printed in the deck are one lower than PDF page numbers because the cover is unnumbered.
  3. 2025 report, slide 83 (PDF page 84)Original 2025 report. Slide numbers printed in the deck are one lower than PDF page numbers because the cover is unnumbered.
  4. 2025 report, slide 84 (PDF page 85)Original 2025 report. Slide numbers printed in the deck are one lower than PDF page numbers because the cover is unnumbered.
  5. 2025 report, slide 87 (PDF page 88)Original 2025 report. Slide numbers printed in the deck are one lower than PDF page numbers because the cover is unnumbered.
  6. 2025 report, slide 175 (PDF page 176)Original 2025 report. Slide numbers printed in the deck are one lower than PDF page numbers because the cover is unnumbered.
  7. State of AI Report 2025: online slides
  8. Nathan Benaich: The State of AI Report 2025Air Street Press, October 9, 2025.
  9. Welcome to State of AI Report 2025Original website launch post, October 9, 2025.

Cite this page

Benaich, Nathan. “Agents gain tools, memory, and room to work.” State of AI Report 2025. Historical report snapshot; web edition prepared 2026-10-10.