Key Points

OpenAI's introduction of OpenAI Presence looks to have sparked the sell-off in UiPath shares.
The new AI tool is unlikely to significantly affect UiPath or its future outlook.
10 stocks we like better than UiPath ›

News from OpenAI and Anthropic keeps shaking up parts of the market, and the newest target seems to be UiPath (NYSE: PATH), which fell nearly 15 percent from recent highs as of midday Thursday. The share price decline followed OpenAI's release of a new tool called OpenAI Presence this week. The offering aims to assist companies in rolling out AI agents by linking them to data systems, policies, workflows, safety measures, and current software.

Presence supports live voice and chat exchanges while also automating processes like handling employee IT queries, sorting billing problems, and aiding insurance claims. It limits AI agents to only the data and tools needed for their specific roles, and users can set rules for when a human should step in or approve actions.

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Software bots retain key roles

Although this may resemble UiPath's work in robotic process automation and agentic AI, important distinctions exist. OpenAI Presence focuses mainly on AI agents for customer service, sales, human resources, and IT support. These areas benefit from probabilistic approaches that AI manages effectively. UiPath software bots, however, target deterministic tasks such as rules-based data entry or payroll processing. Companies often prefer to avoid risks of AI errors in these areas, and software bots cost less for suitable automation jobs.

UiPath has launched its own agentic AI system named Maestro. While Presence might overlap with this product, Maestro offers distinct benefits. It can identify tasks best suited for AI agents versus lower-cost bots and route work accordingly. With rising AI costs, firms seek ways to control spending. Maestro helps achieve savings while overseeing multiple third-party AI agents and maximizing returns on those investments.

Maestro also stands out as model-agnostic. Enterprises avoid over-reliance on one provider and prefer flexibility across AI models. Using OpenAI Presence ties users to OpenAI models, which carries added risk if a model is withdrawn or surpassed by competitors. Independent software layers reduce this exposure.

Overall, the stock reaction to OpenAI Presence appears excessive. UiPath stands to contribute meaningfully to enterprise AI agent management, and at a forward P/E near 13.5 and P/S just over 3, the shares represent an attractive AI investment.

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Geoffrey Seiler has positions in UiPath. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends UiPath. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.