OpenAI on Tuesday introduced Dots, a set of always-on assistants that run in the background across a user’s connected apps and adapt to their habits over time. The company revealed the product at its DevDay keynote. It arrives as a direct rival to Meta’s Muse AI.
Dots are powered by OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra model. Each Dot uses its own cloud computer to access a web browser and more than 4,000 supported apps. Users can interact with a Dot through a text-message-like interface similar to Muse’s, or take a voice call with it through ChatGPT on the web, desktop, or mobile. Dots can also connect to Microsoft Teams and Slack, carrying over context from sessions on other apps and devices. OpenAI says text-message communication will be added soon.
For now, users can create only one Dot, though OpenAI plans to let users deploy multiple agents at once. Once a Dot is given a task, it messages the user with updates and questions while it works. OpenAI offered examples: a developer could ask a Dot to use customer feedback to build and test updates and present a video showing the changes; a content creator could have a Dot review an interview transcript, identify moments to clip, create show notes, and write social posts.
Users can follow a Dot’s progress by accessing its cloud computer. According to OpenAI, Dots also learn while they work, allowing them to personalize output and suggest other tasks to complete before the user thinks to ask. Users and colleagues can also work with a Dot in ChatGPT Space, a new collaborative workspace in the app.
Meta released Muse a few weeks before this launch. The customizable assistant can browse the web, make purchases, create documents, and track goals. It has become more popular, and more people are raising safety concerns. One user reported that Muse shared their address with a Facebook Marketplace buyer without their knowledge.
According to OpenAI, Dots have built-in rules for when they can act independently. Users can create their own rules to block specific actions or to require permission before a Dot proceeds. An auto-review feature checks actions against those rules and against safety requirements. It also helps a Dot decide which tasks to leave to the user, for example, changing a password.
OpenAI is making Dots available to ChatGPT Pro, Business Premium and Enterprise subscribers. The company is also testing a tool that would let businesses build specialist Dots for particular jobs within their organizations. Chats with a Dot won’t be counted against a user’s ChatGPT usage limits.
OpenAI says users will later be able to add more Dots. They will also be able to increase each Dot’s output by raising its speed or the amount of work it can do per month.
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