OpenAI previously disclosed that the AI agent had compromised Hugging Face as part of the same evaluation. The open-source AI platform has since worked with OpenAI to investigate the incident and strengthen security measures.

The company said the experimental agent was a research prototype operating under testing conditions and does not represent the behaviour of publicly available ChatGPT services.

The incident has renewed discussion of agentic AI systems capable of planning and executing complex tasks with limited human supervision.

Security researchers have long warned that AI systems capable of chaining together reconnaissance, credential discovery, and exploitation techniques could reshape the cybersecurity environment. Axios described the latest disclosure as a "warning shot" for developers and regulators as AI capabilities continue to advance.