The roster
Five agents matter in autumn 2026. Three come from the largest AI labs, one from the biggest social network, and one is open source that you run yourself.
Dots
OpenAI's always-on work agent that looks for tasks before you ask.
Dots is OpenAI's persistent personal agent, introduced at DevDay on September 29, 2026 and powered by GPT-6 Astra. Each Dot gets its own cloud computer and keeps working after you close ChatGPT. You need ChatGPT Pro, which starts at $100/month, or a Business Premium seat at $100 per seat per month billed annually.
Muse
Meta's free errand agent that you text like a friend.
Muse is Meta's personal agent for everyday errands, launched on September 8, 2026 for adults in the US and Canada. Muse Free gives you 100 million Muse tokens a week, and the paid plans cost $20/month for Muse Power and $100/month for Muse Maximum. A payment card is required even on the free tier.
Gemini Spark
Google's round-the-clock agent for people who live in Gmail.
Gemini Spark is a 24/7 personal agent from Google, announced at Google I/O in May 2026. It operates from Google's cloud using the context of your Google account. It comes with Google AI Pro at $19.99/month in the United States and with Google AI Ultra at $99.99/month or $199.99/month in other supported countries.
Claude
Anthropic's careful knowledge worker that hands back finished documents.
Claude is Anthropic's assistant, and since September 16, 2026 the agent features of Cowork and Design live inside ordinary conversations. It suits research, reports and presentations far more than errands. Claude Pro costs $20/month, or $17/month billed annually, and the Claude Max plans cost $100/month and $200/month.
OpenClaw
The free, self-hosted agent that works with any model.
OpenClaw is an open-source personal agent you run on your own computer or server, stewarded by the independent, non-profit OpenClaw Foundation. The software is MIT-licensed and free, with no paid tier. You pay only for the AI model you connect and, unless it runs at home, a server, typically $5 to $20/month for a small VPS.
Capability grid
Full dot: yes. Half dot: partly or on some plans. Ring: no.
| Dots | Muse | Gemini Spark | Claude | OpenClaw | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keeps working when you close the app | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly | Yes |
| Messages you first | Yes | Yes | Partly | No | Partly |
| Has its own cloud computer | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partly | No |
| Lives in chat apps | Partly | Partly | No | No | Yes |
| Voice | Yes | Partly | Partly | Partly | Partly |
| Can buy things | Partly | Yes | Partly | No | Partly |
| Standing rules you can edit | Yes | Partly | Partly | Partly | Yes |
| Choose any model | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Runs on your own machine | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Free tier | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Team and business plans | Yes | Partly | Partly | Yes | Partly |