OpenAI rolls out always-on ChatGPT agents called dots

OpenAI on Tuesday introduced a feature it calls dots: always-on agents in ChatGPT that, the company says, work toward a user’s goals around the clock, each with its own cloud computer and browser.

Who gets it. OpenAI says dots are rolling out today in ChatGPT to Pro and Business Premium users in eligible markets. Enterprise users, including Edu and Healthcare, can try a beta once their workspace admin turns it on. The company says it plans to expand dots to more users soon.

What it costs. OpenAI says your first dot is included in a Pro or Business Premium plan at no extra cost, along with an allowance for deeper work that has extended limits for the first month after launch. It did not publish a separate price. In the future, OpenAI says, users will be able to add more dots and scale each one’s output by increasing its speed or how much work it can take on per month. Chatting with a dot doesn’t count toward ChatGPT usage limits, the company says, but tasks a dot starts in Codex or ChatGPT Work do.

What it does. OpenAI says dots are powered by GPT-6 Astra and can connect to more than 4,000 apps through its plugins. You can message or call a dot in ChatGPT on desktop, web and mobile, and message it in Slack and Teams, with texting “coming soon.” Setup happens in the ChatGPT desktop app or a desktop browser. OpenAI says you can open a dot’s computer at any time to inspect its work, and can give it permission to use your laptop.

The guardrails. When you aren’t working with it, a dot does what OpenAI calls “proactive research” using connected apps through read-only tools that can’t send messages or change content, the company says. Custom Rules let users allow, require approval for, or block specific actions, and some sensitive tasks, such as changing a password, always stay with the user. OpenAI says its monitoring system can pause or stop a dot’s work if it detects a safety concern, and it warns that dots “can still make mistakes.”

For companies. OpenAI is also previewing “specialist dots” with their own identity and credentials for set jobs inside organizations, starting with focused enterprise pilots, and says it is working with Microsoft to bring them to Microsoft’s Agent 365 controls.

— Rowan Keel