Amazon Unveils Nova Act, an AI Agent to Control Web Browsers

Amazon launched the Nova Act SDK on Monday, an AI agent trained to perform tasks within a web browser. 

The Nova Act SDK is built to automate workflows by breaking down complex tasks into smaller commands, such as searching, completing checkouts, and answering questions based on on-screen content. It also allows developers to provide detailed instructions and integrate API calls to enhance reliability.

US-based customers with an Amazon account can access nova.amazon.com to explore the Nova models, generate text and images, and test the Nova Act SDK for building browser-based agents.

“Nova.amazon.com puts the power of Amazon’s frontier intelligence into the hands of every developer and tech enthusiast, making it easier than ever to explore the capabilities of Amazon Nova,” said Rohit Prasad, SVP of Amazon Artificial General Intelligence. 

“We’ve created this experience to inspire builders, so that they can quickly test their ideas with Nova models, and then implement them at scale in Amazon Bedrock.”

Nova Act is the first product to come out of Amazon’s AGI lab, which was formed in December last year.

Moreover, Amazon first introduced its Nova foundation models at re:Invent in December 2024. These models, including Nova Micro, Lite, and Pro, generate text from different modalities, while Nova Canvas and Nova Reel create high-quality images and videos. Nova models are integrated with Amazon Bedrock, offering customers scalable AI applications.

Amazon describes agents as systems capable of performing tasks in digital and physical environments on behalf of users. The Nova Act SDK marks a step toward improving agent reliability by allowing developers to refine workflow commands. 

“It is an exciting step forward for rapid exploration with AI, including bleeding-edge capabilities such as the Nova Act SDK for building agents that take actions on the web. We’re excited to see what they build and to hear their useful feedback,” Prasad added.

Amazon’s Nova Act will directly compete with OpenAI’s agent, Operator, and Anthropic’s Computer Use.

OpenAI’s Operator can perform web-based tasks independently. It can fill out forms, order products, book flights, and make reservations by interacting with a browser as a human would. 

Similarly, Anthropic’s Computer Use feature allows it to control software on a PC. This agent can perform on-screen tasks such as moving the cursor, clicking buttons, and typing text, mimicking human-computer interactions.