What Is ChatGPT Dots? OpenAI's Always On Agents Explained
ChatGPT dots are OpenAI's always on agents, launched 29 Sep 2026. What a dot does, who can get one, what it costs and what it cannot do yet.
ChatGPT dots are always on agents that OpenAI launched on 29 September 2026 at DevDay. A dot runs on GPT-6 Astra, has its own cloud computer and browser, and takes on an ongoing responsibility rather than one task, so it keeps working between your conversations. At launch it comes with ChatGPT Pro and Business Premium.
The facts below come from OpenAI’s announcement, its getting started help page and its Pro tiers page, all checked on 30 Sep 2026. When we read them, the help page noted that DevDay features are rolling out gradually, and on the ChatGPT pricing page the dot was listed on the Pro card only, not on Free, Go or Plus.
If what you want is a team of agents on your own computer, running the AI engines you already use, you can have that today with Munder Difflin, free and open source. We put the two side by side in Munder Difflin vs ChatGPT dots.
Dots land three weeks after Meta Muse, and Fortune framed the launch as a rival to it. We covered those hosted agents in Meta Muse alternatives and Grok Bot alternatives. What sets a dot apart is that it keeps a standing job instead of a single request, the long running agent pattern.
What is a dot in ChatGPT?
A dot is an agent that owns a piece of work over time, while a normal chat answers and then waits for you. OpenAI’s own line is that dots “take on ongoing responsibility and keep making progress between conversations.”
Task based agents such as ChatGPT agent or a Codex cloud task take one job, run it and hand back a result. A dot can start tasks like that itself, but its unit of work is a responsibility: watch this, keep that current, chase this until it is done. TechCrunch reported OpenAI’s examples: a developer whose dot monitors customer feedback and fixes the bugs it finds, and a scientist whose dot reruns an analysis when new data arrives.
What a dot has to work with:
- Its own computer. A cloud computer and browser you can open at any time to inspect its work. Access to your local computer is optional and off by default.
- Memory. It receives memories from ChatGPT, creates its own (including from connected apps) and learns from your feedback.
- Proactive research. When you are not working with it, it looks for ways to help using read only tools in your connected apps. In that mode it cannot send messages, change app content or control your browser or computer.
- Apps and Codex. Over 4,000 apps through plugins. It can create cloud tasks in Codex, and with local access it can start Work or Codex tasks, use local skills and use your local browser.
- Schedules. Scheduled tasks and reminders. Its profile shows what is In progress, Scheduled and Completed.
How do you talk to a ChatGPT dot?
You message or call it in ChatGPT on desktop, web and mobile, or message it in Slack and Microsoft Teams. Texting is a limited beta for Pro users in the US, run through a third party provider. You can call your dot, but it cannot call you at launch.
You name your dot during setup. The handle is @yourname-dot by default, or @yourname-agentname if you name it. The avatar is a character or a pet.
How do you control what a dot does?
You set a Custom Rule per action, choosing one of four behaviours: “Take action without asking”, “Take action if pre-approved”, “Ask before taking action” or “Hand off to you”. Built in rules already decide when to act and when to ask.
On top of that, auto review checks actions that affect your accounts or share information, and some tasks, such as changing a password, always stay with you. Saved passwords are used without exposing them to the model. You can follow progress in the Activity View and pause the dot from its profile menu.
Reset deletes the dot, its conversations, memories and scheduled tasks. Disconnecting an app does not delete what the dot already learned from it; only Reset does. OpenAI’s warning: “Dots can still make mistakes, so always review consequential work.” Our piece on human in the loop AI agents covers where such approvals belong.
On training: Business, Enterprise and Edu content is not used by default. On personal plans you choose. OpenAI says it does not train directly on proactive research or on the dot’s notes to itself.
Are ChatGPT dots available in the UK or EU?
Not on a personal Pro plan. Pro users in the EEA, Switzerland and the UK are excluded at launch, while Business Premium covers all supported ChatGPT regions.
ChatGPT dots at launch, checked 30 Sep 2026
| At launch | |
|---|---|
| Plans | Pro 100, Pro 200, Pro 500, Business Premium. Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare get a beta an admin must turn on |
| Not included | Free, Go, Plus |
| Markets | Pro: outside the EEA, Switzerland and the UK. Business Premium: all supported ChatGPT regions |
| Age | 18 and over |
| Rollout | Gradual from 29 Sep 2026, may take several days |
| Where to create one | ChatGPT desktop app or desktop web only |
| Channels | ChatGPT (desktop, web, mobile), Slack, Teams, texting beta (Pro, US), voice calls to your dot |
| Dots per person | One primary dot |
| Own email address | No; you can connect your personal email |
How much do ChatGPT dots cost?
Your first dot is included at no extra cost with Pro or Business Premium. On 30 Sep 2026 OpenAI listed Pro 100 at $100 a month, Pro 200 at $200 a month and Pro 500 at $500 a month, billed monthly only, with Astra Ultrafast only on Pro 500.
Chatting with your dot does not count toward ChatGPT usage limits. Tasks it starts in Codex or ChatGPT Work do. For the first month, dots usage does not count toward eligible Pro, Business and Enterprise allowances, and OpenAI says it will share usage terms after that. OpenAI plans paid options for more dots and for more speed or work per dot, with no price yet.
What can’t ChatGPT dots do yet?
At launch a dot cannot:
- Be one of several. You get one primary dot. “Over time, we envision teams of dots working together,” OpenAI writes, and specialist dots with their own identity and credentials are in enterprise pilots only.
- Have its own email address.
- Call you. You call it.
- Be created on mobile or mobile web.
Who should use ChatGPT dots?
If you already pay for Pro outside the EEA, Switzerland and the UK, set one up: the first month’s usage is not counted against your plan. Dots suit personal and business errands across many apps, with zero setup, a mobile app, voice, and a hosted computer that works while your laptop is closed.
They suit you less if you are in the UK or EU on a personal plan, if you want several agents with separate roles today, or if you want agents on your own machine running Claude Code, Codex and Gemini CLI side by side with your files kept local. For those cases, see ChatGPT dots alternatives.
FAQ
Are ChatGPT dots available in the UK or EU?
Not on a personal Pro plan. At launch, Pro users in the EEA, Switzerland and the UK are excluded. Business Premium is available in all supported ChatGPT regions, so a company workspace on that plan can use dots there.
How much do ChatGPT dots cost?
Your first dot is included in ChatGPT Pro or Business Premium at no extra cost. Pro starts at $100 a month (checked 30 Sep 2026). For the first month, dots usage does not count toward plan allowances, and OpenAI says it will share usage terms after that.
Can I have more than one ChatGPT dot?
Not at launch. Each person gets one primary dot. OpenAI says you will be able to add more dots in the future and that it envisions teams of dots, but neither is available today.
Do ChatGPT Plus or Free users get dots?
No. Dots are not included in Free, Go or Plus. You need Pro, Business Premium, or an Enterprise, Edu or Healthcare workspace where an admin has turned on the beta.
Can a ChatGPT dot use my own computer?
Only if you allow it. Local computer access is off by default, and you turn it on or revoke it in the ChatGPT desktop app on that computer. Without it, the dot works on its own cloud computer and browser.