# Dots

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.

- Maker: OpenAI
- Model: GPT-6 Astra
- Launched: September 29, 2026
- Official site: https://chatgpt.com

## How it works

You create a Dot in ChatGPT on the web or in the desktop app, give it a name and a look, and then treat it like a coworker. It has its own browser, terminal and file system in the cloud, so your laptop does not need to be on. It touches your own computer only if you connect it from the desktop app, and you can cut that link whenever you want.

What sets it apart is proactive research. While you are away, the Dot reads through the apps you connected with read-only access and comes back with work it thinks it can take on, such as an invoice you forgot to send. Nothing goes out until you approve it.

OpenAI's plugin catalog gives a Dot access to more than 4,000 apps, among them Gmail, Google Docs, GitHub, Slack and QuickBooks, and coding jobs are passed to Codex. Guardrails come in layers: OpenAI's own policies, Custom Rules you write to allow, gate or ban actions, an automatic review of anything that touches accounts or shares information, and an Activity View that logs what it did.

## Strengths

- Reaches more than 4,000 apps through OpenAI's plugin catalog
- Finds work on its own, but only with read-only access
- Custom Rules let you allow, gate or ban specific actions
- Uses saved passwords without the model ever seeing them
- Chatting with your Dot does not eat into ChatGPT usage limits

## Limits

- Costs at least $100/month through ChatGPT Pro
- Not yet offered on Pro in the UK, Switzerland or the EEA
- Codex and ChatGPT Work jobs it launches still use your plan limits
- OpenAI has not said what heavy proactive use will cost
- Arrived the same week OpenAI disclosed incidents involving its research agents

## Best for

ChatGPT subscribers who want a single agent keeping track of work spread across email, documents, Slack and code.

## Skip it if

Skip it if you are a Pro subscriber in Europe or the UK, or if $100/month is more than an experiment is worth to you.

## Privacy

Business, Enterprise and Edu workspaces are not used for training by default, while personal plans follow whatever ChatGPT training setting you already have; according to OpenAI, a Dot's background research and private notes are not used directly for training. The main risk is breadth: a Dot connected to many apps can see a great deal. Connect only what a task needs and review the Activity View regularly.

## Plans that include it

- ChatGPT Pro: $100 — The entry route to Dots: one Dot, 5x Plus usage in ChatGPT Work and Codex, and unlimited chat with your Dot, which suits most individual professionals.
- ChatGPT Pro (20x): $200 — Still one Dot, but since DevDay 2026 it gives 10x Plus usage instead of 20x and 100 GPT-6 Pro messages a week instead of 200, so check whether the $100 tier already covers you.
- ChatGPT Pro 500: $500 — One Dot with the highest usage limits and Astra Ultrafast at up to 300 tokens per second in Codex and Work, built for people who keep their Dot busy all day.
- ChatGPT Business Premium: $125 — One Dot for each Premium seat with 5x Standard usage and a two-seat minimum, sold in every ChatGPT region including the EU and UK.
- ChatGPT Enterprise / Edu / Healthcare: Contact sales — A Dots beta that an admin has to switch on, with specialist Dots that have their own identity and credentials still in pilots.

## Verdict

The most capable operator of the five for anyone already on ChatGPT Pro outside Europe. Write your Custom Rules before you connect your inbox, and let it earn write access slowly.

## Questions

### Is OpenAI Dots free?

No. Your first Dot costs nothing on top of ChatGPT Pro or Business Premium, but those plans start at $100/month. OpenAI plans to charge later for additional Dots, more speed and more monthly work.

### Can I use Dots in Europe or the UK?

Not on a personal plan for now. ChatGPT Pro in the UK, Switzerland and the EEA does not include it, but a Business Premium seat includes a Dot in all ChatGPT regions, the EU and UK among them.

### Does a Dot run on my own computer?

Not by default. It works on its own isolated cloud computer. You can give it access to your laptop through the ChatGPT desktop app and take that access back at any time.

### Do I need the $500 ChatGPT Pro plan for Dots?

No. One Dot comes with every Pro tier, from $100/month up. The $500 tier adds the highest usage limits and Astra Ultrafast speed, which matters mainly for heavy, time-sensitive work.