by OpenAI
OpenAI dots review, pricing and verdict
Always-on ChatGPT agents with their own cloud computer.
- Best for
- Product leads who need launch materials revised whenever scope changes
- Not for
- Hobbyist wanting a free or self-hosted agent
Should you use OpenAI dots?
Best for professionals with a steady stream of recurring work, such as watching customer feedback, revising launch materials, or chasing invoices. The first dot is bundled with Pro and Business Premium, and Enterprise workspaces get dots by default after the admin preview unless an admin opts out. Personal plans in the EEA, Switzerland and the UK are left out.
An agent with its own cloud computer that keeps working on standing goals and reports through ChatGPT, Slack, and Teams.
Bundling into paid ChatGPT plans and the existing plugin ecosystem gives it distribution rivals lack, but the agent category is crowded and access is limited at launch.
Also for
- Developers who want customer feedback turned into tested pull requests
- Sales engineers preparing proposals and proof-of-concept integrations
Show 3 more
- Content creators turning interview transcripts into clips, notes, and posts
- Product manager running frequent launches
- Engineering lead triaging customer feedback
Also not for
- Compliance officer needing a fully deterministic workflow
Main trade-off
Narrow availability: Pro outside the EEA, Switzerland and the UK, Business Premium, and Enterprise workspaces without UAE data residency.
OpenAI dots pricing
- Top plan
- $500/mo
- Billing model
- Subscription
OpenAI includes a first dot in ChatGPT Pro and ChatGPT Business Premium at no extra cost. Pro has three monthly plans: Pro 100 at $100, Pro 200 at $200 and Pro 500 at $500, which adds Ultrafast speed, per OpenAI's Help Center on 9 November 2026. A Business Premium seat is $125 a month, or $100 a month on annual billing, per OpenAI's business pricing page. Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare workspaces pay through flat rates tied to the kind of work or through scaled consumption; dots are free to preview from 4 to 18 November 2026 and billing starts on 18 November for every enabled dot. Conversations with a dot do not count toward ChatGPT usage limits, but work it hands to Codex or ChatGPT Work is billed at standard rates. OpenAI says extra dots, and more speed or monthly output per dot, will be sold later.
Before you commit
- Work a dot hands to Codex or ChatGPT Work is billed at standard rates
- Enterprise billing starts 18 November 2026, and extra dots or more speed are to be sold separately
As a personal agent
No per-purchase approval promised
- Where you talk to it
- Own app, Web, Desktop app, Slack, SMS text, Voice
- Countries
- Most countries, except the EEA, Switzerland, UK
- Price
- Included in ChatGPT Pro and Business Premium
- Can it pay for things?
- Yes: Buys within your Custom rules, which can be set to take action without asking
- Asks before it spends or sends?
- Asks first: Anything your Custom rules mark 'Ask before taking action'; Sending something you only asked it to draft; Password changes stay with you. Without asking: Background research and proactive memories from connected apps; Scheduled and recurring tasks you set up; Actions you set to 'take action without asking' in Custom rules
- Remembers you?
- Starts from your ChatGPT memory, then saves its own memories, including from connected apps; you can delete it
Recent changes
- OpenAI dots: Texting your dot starts as a limited beta for ChatGPT Pro users in the US source
What OpenAI dots does on its own
- Scope of autonomy
- Semi-autonomous
- Human approval boundary
- Human in the loop
- Maturity
- Generally available
Safety controls
- Runs sandboxedSupported
- Audit loggingSupported
- Human in the loopSupported
What it can operate
- Web browsing
- Code execution
- API calls
- Document reading
- Calendar
Where OpenAI dots runs
- Deployment
- Cloud
- Where it runs
- Web · Desktop
- Memory
- Long term
Models it runs on
- GPT-6 Astra
Systems it connects to
| System | Type |
|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Native |
| Slack | Native |
| Microsoft Teams | Native |
| OpenAI Codex | Native |
| ChatGPT Work | Native |
| ChatGPT plugins | Plugin |
What OpenAI dots does
OpenAI dots is an always-on AI agent launched in ChatGPT on September 29, 2026. Each dot is powered by GPT-6 Astra, has its own cloud computer and browser, and connects to more than 4,000 apps through plugins. It reports through ChatGPT, Slack and Teams, and asks for approval before consequential actions.
Own cloud computer
Each dot works on its own cloud computer and browser, separate from your laptop, and you can open that computer to inspect what it did.
Plugin reach
Connects to thousands of apps through plugins, so one dot can read a Slack thread and act in a project tracker.
Proactive research
Between conversations the dot scans your connected apps with read-only tools and prepares work before you ask for it.
Custom Rules and approvals
Custom Rules set each action to run without asking, run only if pre-approved, ask first or hand off to you, and auto-review checks anything that could touch your accounts.
Show all 8 features
Activity View
A running log shows what the dot did, including background work, so you can redirect it mid-task.
Voice and chat everywhere
Reach one dot by chat or voice call in the ChatGPT apps and by message in Slack, with texting in beta for some US Pro users; it keeps the same context in each.
Scheduled and recurring work
Ask a dot to run a recurring check, such as reviewing your calendar each morning; scheduled runs and updates appear in its conversation.
Optional local computer access
Connect your laptop through the desktop app and the dot can work on it alongside its own cloud computer; access starts off and you can revoke it at any time.
Strengths and limits
Strengths
- Runs on its own cloud computer, so your laptop and its files stay separate unless you choose to connect them.
- Saved passwords can be used to sign in to supported websites without being exposed to the model, which limits a common agent risk.
- Your first dot is bundled into the plan, and chatting with it does not draw down ChatGPT usage limits.
- Sensitive actions such as changing a password always stay with you, whatever rules you set.
Limits
- Available only on Pro and Business Premium, and Pro is not offered in the European Economic Area, Switzerland or the United Kingdom, so most ChatGPT users cannot try it.
- OpenAI states that dots can still make mistakes and tells users to review consequential work, so it is not a hands-off replacement for approval.
- Tasks a dot starts in Codex or ChatGPT Work count against your usage limits, so heavy delegation can still hit a cap.
- Texting is a beta for a limited number of US Pro users and runs through a third-party provider without end-to-end encryption; a dot cannot call you first or have its own email address.
OpenAI dots alternatives
| Agent | Where it runs | Price | Maturity | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpenAI dots This page | Cloud | $100/mo | Available | 3.6 |
| ChatGPT WorkPick ChatGPT Work for tasks you start and watch yourself in documents and spreadsheets; pick dots for standing work that continues without you. | Cloud | Free plan | Available | -- |
| OpenAI CodexPick Codex when the whole job is a code change in a sandboxed repo; pick dots when the job spans several apps and channels. | Cloud · Your machine · API | Free plan | Enterprise | -- |
 OpenClawOpenClaw is open source and you host it yourself; with dots, OpenAI runs the infrastructure and you give up that control. | Cloud · Your machine · API | Free | Beta | -- |
Also compared
Claude DuetPick dots if your work lives in ChatGPT, where a first dot comes with Pro and Business Premium; pick Claude Duet if you already pay for Claude and are in the US, where its research preview runs.
Grok BotGrok Bot signs into your apps from a shared cloud computer and comes with xAI's lower-priced plans; pick dots if your work already lives in ChatGPT and Codex.
OpenAI dots facts
- Works offline
- No
- Minimum skill level
- Basic
- Budget fit
- Enterprise
- Open source
- No
- Last major update
- Maker founded
- 2015
- Headquarters
- San Francisco, California
- Team size
- 9,000-10,000
- Total funding
- $138.4B total, most recently a $122B round anchored by Amazon, Nvidia, and SoftBank
What changed
- Release Dots launch in ChatGPT for Pro and Business Premium source
Questions about OpenAI dots
How much do I need to pay to get a dot?
Your first dot costs nothing extra on ChatGPT Pro or Business Premium. Pro starts at $100 a month, while Business Premium seats cost $125 monthly or $100 on an annual plan. Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare workspaces preview dots free, then pay by flat rate or consumption. Tasks it starts in Codex or ChatGPT Work cost extra at standard rates.
Can a dot read or send from my accounts without asking?
Background research runs on read-only tools that cannot send messages or edit app content. For other actions, Custom Rules let you choose between acting without asking, acting only if pre-approved, asking first, or handing the step to you, and auto-review screens actions that might affect your accounts. Changing a password always stays with you. OpenAI advises reviewing consequential work, since dots can make mistakes.
What should I look at if I do not want OpenAI hosting my agent?
OpenClaw is the open-source choice if you want to host the agent yourself, and Hermes Agent is another self-hosted, model-agnostic option. Claude Code fits when the work is mostly software engineering in a terminal. None of the three ships bundled into a ChatGPT plan, which is the main convenience a dot adds.
Do dots replace ChatGPT Work?
No. ChatGPT Work is a task-by-task agent you start, and its sessions count toward your usage limits. A dot is meant to keep running on standing goals and can start Work or Codex tasks for you, which then count against those same limits. If you only need one-off documents or spreadsheets done, Work is the simpler fit.
Where can I use dots, and where can I not?
Setup works in the desktop app, the iOS or Android app, or on desktop web; mobile web is not supported. Pro covers most markets except Europe's EEA, Switzerland and the UK, Business Premium covers supported regions, and Enterprise workspaces get it by default after the November preview unless an admin opts out. Texting is in beta for some US Pro users only.
About OpenAI dots
OpenAI dots are always-on agents that live inside ChatGPT and work in the background on tasks you have handed them. OpenAI announced them on September 29, 2026, and describes each dot as an agent with its own cloud computer, its own browser, and the apps you have connected. That is what separates a dot from a chatbot: a chatbot waits for the next message, while a dot keeps several projects moving at once and messages you when it needs a decision.
Read the full background
Each dot is powered by GPT-6 Astra, and OpenAI said on November 3 that GPT-6.1 Terra joins the models a dot can draw on for different parts of its work. It reaches more than 4,000 apps through OpenAI's plugins. You can open the dot's computer at any time to inspect its work, and you can give it permission to connect to your laptop, an option that starts switched off. When you are not talking to it, the dot does what OpenAI calls proactive research, reading your connected apps with read-only tools so it can prepare work before you ask, and it can run reminders and recurring checks you schedule. It learns your preferences from feedback, so the tenth draft should need fewer corrections than the first.
The launch examples are concrete: a developer's dot watches customer feedback and returns finished pull requests with videos of the changes, a sales lead's dot builds a proof of concept for an integration, and a scientist's dot reruns analyses when new data lands. You create a dot in the ChatGPT desktop app (Mac or Windows), the mobile app on iOS or Android, or desktop web, and you can message or call it from the mobile app; mobile web is not supported. Slack connects from ChatGPT on desktop, and OpenAI's launch post also names Teams. Texting is now a beta for a limited number of Pro users in the US, over iMessage or RCS through a third-party provider, so those texts are not end-to-end encrypted. A dot cannot call you first and has no email address of its own at launch; you connect your own mailbox instead. If a task needs coding or document work, the dot can hand it to OpenAI Codex or ChatGPT Work, which are separate agents with their own usage limits.
Availability is narrower than the announcement's reach suggests. Pro users get dots if they are adults outside the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, Business Premium users get them in supported regions, and rollout is gradual. Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare workspaces moved from beta to general availability: an admin preview runs from November 4 to November 18, 2026, after which dots switch on by default unless an admin opts out, and workspaces with UAE data or inference residency are excluded. Skip a dot if you want a free or self-hosted agent: compared with options such as OpenClaw or Hermes Agent, a dot trades control of the infrastructure for a managed, ready-made setup from OpenAI, and xAI's Grok Bot and Claude Duet are the closest always-on rivals. OpenAI also previewed specialist dots with their own identity and credentials for enterprise pilots, and said it is working with Microsoft to manage them through Agent 365.
Sources and guides
Official sources
- OpenAI dots official site Vendor
- GitHub repository GitHub
Autonomy, guardrails, integrations and pricing on this page are read from OpenAI's own documentation. The verdict is Hokai's reading of them, not the vendor's claim.
Hokai guides covering OpenAI dots
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