Dots
OpenAI's always-on AI agents, launched in September 2026. A dot works in the background toward goals you set, without being tied to the ChatGPT window or any one device. You name your first dot, give it work, and message it from ChatGPT, Slack, or Microsoft Teams. At launch it needed one of ChatGPT's top paid plans.
In plain English
ChatGPT waits for you to type. A dot doesn’t. You give it a goal, like “keep an eye on customer feedback and fix what breaks,” and it keeps at it in the background, checking in through the apps your team already uses.1
In the real world
- Messaging your dot in Slack or Teams the way you’d message a coworker.1
- An office version: a dot that watches the shared feedback inbox, sorts what comes in, and posts a summary to your team channel every Friday.
- Developers start them from Codex to watch a project and fix bugs as reports come in.1
- OpenAI’s own pitch: one dot to start, later a team of dots that each handle one job, with their own logins and tools.1
When to use it
- Goals that stay open: monitoring, follow-ups, rerunning a report when new data lands.
- You’re already on a plan that includes it and live in ChatGPT, Slack, or Teams.
When not to use it
- One-off questions. Use ChatGPT.
- Giving it logins to anything you couldn’t easily undo. It works with little oversight by design.1
Good, bad, ugly
- Good: work keeps moving without you starting it each time.
- Bad: at launch, only on the most expensive plans and only in some countries.
- Ugly: “minimal oversight” is the selling point and the risk in the same phrase. Decide what it can touch before it starts. See prompt injection.
Key facts
- Made by
- OpenAI
- Launched
- September 29, 2026, at OpenAI's DevDay
- Reach it from
- ChatGPT, Codex, Slack, and Microsoft Teams
- Plans at launch
- ChatGPT Pro and Business Premium, OpenAI's highest paid tiers, in selected countries
Common questions
What is a dot for?
Ongoing work with a goal. OpenAI's examples at launch: a developer's dot watching customer feedback and fixing reported bugs, and a scientist's dot rerunning analysis when new data arrives.
Is it the same as ChatGPT?
No. ChatGPT answers when you ask. A dot keeps working on its goal in the background, with little oversight, until you change the goal.
Can I have more than one?
You start with one main dot. OpenAI said later dots can each specialize in one job, with their own logins and tools, and work as a team.
References
- OpenAI launches dots, its bubbly agentic avatarTechCrunch · 2026-09-29View source