OpenAI dots are always-on agents inside ChatGPT that keep working between conversations, and they went live on 29 September 2026. Each dot runs on GPT-6 Astra, gets its own cloud computer and browser, and connects to more than 4,000 apps. One is included with ChatGPT Pro, from $100 a month.
What a Dot Actually Does
A dot is a named agent you give a standing goal to, rather than a chat you start and finish.
You connect the apps it needs, set what it is allowed to do without asking, and it carries on in the background. Because it has its own cloud computer and browser, it can research, read data, draft documents or build software through Codex without borrowing your screen — the distinction OpenAI draws with ChatGPT’s existing Computer Use feature, which drives the machine in front of you.
You reach the same dot in the ChatGPT desktop, web and mobile apps, on a voice call, and in Slack and Microsoft Teams, and it keeps its context across all of them. OpenAI says texting is coming. At launch each eligible account gets one dot; the company has said it expects to let people run several, writing that “over time, we envision teams of dots working together on your behalf”. Engadget quotes OpenAI’s description of the range: “Dots can do nearly anything using their own cloud computer, their own browser, and the apps”.
What a Dot May Do Alone, and What It May Never Do
A dot does not get blanket permission: OpenAI splits its actions into a ladder, and the most sensitive rungs cannot be delegated at all.
| What the Dot Is Doing | What It Needs From You |
|---|---|
| Proactive research while you are away | Nothing. Access is read-only — it cannot send messages, alter app content or drive a browser or computer |
| Routine actions that fall inside your rules | Nothing, but a checking system called Auto-review tests the plan first |
| Sending email or changing files | Auto-review clearance against your instructions, your Custom Rules and OpenAI’s safety requirements |
| Deleting data permanently, installing software | Your approval, each time it is asked |
| Changing a password, transferring money | You take over and complete the step yourself |
Custom Rules let you move individual actions up or down that ladder — allowing something outright, banning it, or forcing an approval prompt. If Auto-review blocks a step, it hands the reason back to the dot, which can ask you for more information, try a permitted alternative, return the step to you, or stop.
The read-only rule for background work is the part worth understanding before you connect a work inbox. A dot left alone can look through your connected apps for something useful to do, but it cannot act on what it finds until you are back. Anyone weighing that trade-off can read our earlier coverage of the security guidelines drafted after a 700-agent intrusion.
Which Plans Include a Dot
Dots are paid-only. Neither the free tier nor the $8 Go plan, both of which carry advertising, includes one.
| Plan | Price per Month | Dot Included |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | No |
| Go | $8 | No |
| Plus | $20 | No |
| Pro | $100 | Yes, one |
| Pro 200 | $200 | Yes, one |
| Pro 500 | $500 | Yes, one |
| Business | $25 per user | No |
| Business Premium | $125 per seat | Yes, one |
| Enterprise, Edu, Healthcare | Not published | Beta, once an administrator switches it on |
Talking to your dot does not eat your plan allowance, but work it starts in Codex or ChatGPT Work does. Additional dots and extra capacity cost more, and OpenAI has not published those prices.
The newsletter Implicator.ai, which tracked the full price ladder, also reports that the Pro 200 plan is being cut back from 30 October: its ChatGPT Work and Codex allowance falls from twenty times the Plus level to ten, and GPT-6 Pro chat messages drop from 200 a week to 100, with existing subscribers keeping today’s limits until 29 October and receiving a one-off $2,500 usage credit that expires at the end of the year. That reduction has been reported by a single outlet and OpenAI has not confirmed it publicly.
Why UK, EU and Swiss Pro Subscribers Are Locked Out
As of 30 September 2026, Pro subscribers in the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the United Kingdom cannot use dots, while Business Premium customers in those same countries can.
OpenAI has not explained the split and has given no date for opening Pro access in those markets. The asymmetry is the telling part: this is not a market where the product is switched off, but a restriction that applies to consumer Pro accounts and not to business ones in identical jurisdictions. Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare workspaces everywhere start with dots switched off until an administrator enables the beta.
Reports of the rollout also describe it as limited to users aged 18 and over in supported markets. Anyone outside the eligible regions has no announced workaround, and OpenAI has not said whether the restriction is temporary.
What Else OpenAI Announced at DevDay
Dots led a DevDay slate that OpenAI billed as more than twenty announcements.
- GPT-6.1 Sol: a cheaper model that OpenAI says matches GPT-6 Astra on coding, computer use and professional tasks at roughly a fifth of Astra’s standard token cost, with cached input quoted by 9to5Mac at $0.10 per million tokens.
- GPT-6.1 Astra: held back over safety concerns rather than released, as covered in our report on the OpenAI training pause.
- ChatGPT Space: a shared workspace where people and models work on the same living documents, with charts, images, checklists and dashboards.
- Decisions API: a tool for developers that answers a fixed set of questions with predefined options, useful for classifying content or routing a request. It entered limited preview on 29 September.
- Pro 500: a new $500-a-month individual tier, sitting above the $100 and $200 Pro plans.
The model pricing sits alongside a wider round of reductions we covered earlier this month, when API prices fell by half at OpenAI and by a fifth at Anthropic.
What OpenAI Has Not Said
Several things that decide whether a dot is worth $100 a month remain unpublished.
OpenAI has not given a price for additional dots or extra capacity, has not dated the Pro rollout in the United Kingdom, the European Economic Area or Switzerland, and has not said when texting will arrive or when users will be able to run more than one dot. It has also not published figures for how much work a single dot can get through in a month, which makes the practical value of the included allowance hard to judge before you buy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is an OpenAI Dot?
It is a named agent in ChatGPT that holds a standing goal and keeps working between your conversations with it. It runs on GPT-6 Astra and has its own cloud computer and browser rather than using your screen.
How Much Does a Dot Cost?
The cheapest individual plan that includes one is ChatGPT Pro at $100 a month. Business Premium includes one at $125 per seat a month. Free, Go at $8 and Plus at $20 do not include a dot.
Can I Use Dots in the UK or the European Union?
Not on a Pro plan. Pro subscribers in the United Kingdom, the European Economic Area and Switzerland are excluded at launch, though Business Premium customers in those countries do have access.
Can a Dot Act Without Asking Me?
Within limits you set. It acts freely only on steps your rules permit, and its background research is read-only. Moving money or changing a password always requires you to take the action yourself.
How Many Dots Do I Get?
One per eligible account at launch. OpenAI has said it plans to let people run several at once but has not given a date or a price.
