Microsoft Releases Fara1.5: A Family of Browser Computer-Use Agents (4B/9B/27B) That Outperform OpenAI — 2026-05-22

## Short Segments OpenMythos offers a new way to build recurrent-depth transformers for advanced AI tasks. Today, we're diving into how OpenMythos enables the creation of recurrent-depth transformers for tasks like MLA, GQA, and loop-scaled reasoning. Later, we'll explore Microsoft's release of Fara1.5, a new family of browser computer-use agents that outperform existing models. OpenMythos is a community-driven project that reconstructs the hypothesized architecture of Anthropic's Claude Mythos model using PyTorch. In a recent tutorial, developers demonstrated how to build advanced recurrent-depth transformers using OpenMythos in Google Colab. This setup allows for the creation of MLA and GQA model variants, enabling deeper computation through recurrent loops. By leveraging these loops, a single model can reuse its parameters, enhancing its ability to perform complex reasoning tasks. OpenMythos provides a unique opportunity for developers to experiment with cutting-edge AI architectures, offering insights into the potential of recurrent-depth transformers. As AI continues to evolve, tools like OpenMythos are crucial for pushing the boundaries of what's possible in machine learning and artificial intelligence. ## Feature Story Microsoft's Fara1.5 sets a new benchmark in browser-based AI agents, outperforming competitors in task success rates. Microsoft Research's AI Frontiers lab has unveiled Fara1.5, a family of computer-use agent models designed to operate within a browser environment. These models, available in three sizes—4B, 9B, and 27B—are integrated with Microsoft's MagenticLite, a sandboxed browser interface that facilitates their operation. Fara1.5 models are pixel-to-action systems, meaning they interpret browser screenshots and execute mouse and keyboard actions to complete tasks. This approach places them in the same category as other recent agent products like OpenAI's Operator and Google's Gemini 2.5 Computer Use. What sets Fara1.5 apart is its performance on the Online-Mind2Web benchmark, which evaluates task success across 300 tasks on 136 popular websites. The Fara1.5-27B model achieved a 72% task success rate, significantly outperforming OpenAI's Operator at 58.3% and Google's Gemini 2.5 at 57.3%. Even the smaller Fara1.5-9B model scored 63.4%, nearly doubling the performance of its predecessor, Fara-7B, which scored 34.1%. This leap in performance highlights the advancements Microsoft has made in developing efficient and effective AI agents for web-based tasks. The architecture of Fara1.5 is built on Qwen3.5 base checkpoints, utilizing an observe-think-act loop to process information and determine actions. At each step, the model considers the prior conversation history and the three most recent browser screenshots before emitting thoughts and a single next action. This method allows the model to navigate complex web environments with greater accuracy and efficiency. Microsoft's integration of these models with MagenticLite further enhances their capabilities, providing a robust platform for AI-driven browser interactions. The release of Fara1.5 marks a significant advancement in the field of computer-use agents, offering a powerful tool for automating web-based tasks. For developers and enterprises, this means access to more reliable and efficient AI agents that can handle a wide range of online activities. As these models continue to evolve, they promise to transform how we interact with web environments, making complex tasks more accessible and manageable. Looking ahead, the success of Fara1.5 could pave the way for further innovations in AI-driven browser technology, setting new standards for performance and usability.