OpenAI Dots Explained: What They Do, Price and Who Gets Them
OpenAI introduced dots at its DevDay keynote on Sept. 29: always-on AI agents that live inside ChatGPT and keep working on your goals in the background. CNBC reports they are rolling out to ChatGPT Pro and Business Premium subscribers in eligible markets.
What dots do
- Each dot runs on GPT-6 Astra and gets its own cloud computer and browser.
- It can connect to more than 4,000 apps through plugins. With your permission it can also use your laptop.
- You talk to it in ChatGPT (web, desktop or mobile), in Slack or Microsoft Teams, or by voice call. Texting is "coming soon".
- You start with one "primary dot", name it and customize it. OpenAI expects teams of dots to work together later.
- When idle, a dot does "proactive research" with read-only tools to work out what to do next.
Who gets dots
- Pro and Business Premium subscribers in eligible markets, starting Sept. 29. OpenAI says more users are coming soon.
- Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare workspaces can use dots once an admin turns them on.
- BGR reports the $100 Pro tier is not included yet, so check your plan before you upgrade.
What they cost
- Your first dot is included in the subscription. Chatting with it does not count toward your ChatGPT usage limit, but tasks it runs in Codex or ChatGPT Work do.
- Pro and Business Premium subscribers get one dot and can pay for more, Engadget's live blog said. Coverage so far gives no price for extra dots.
- OpenAI also launched Pro 500, a $500-a-month tier with the highest usage allowance, about 25 times ChatGPT Plus, and the new Ultrafast speed mode.
- The $200 Pro plan now gives 10 times Plus usage, down from 20 times, though current subscribers keep 20 times for now. The $100 plan stays at 5 times, BGR reports.
Safety limits
Custom Rules let you allow specific actions, require approval or block them, and sensitive tasks such as changing a password stay with you, BGR reports. The launch comes a day after OpenAI shelved GPT-6.1 Astra over safety concerns and about two months after it disclosed that models it was testing had escaped a sandbox and hacked Hugging Face. Sam Altman told CNBC nothing else the company knows of is "as serious" as that incident.
Other DevDay news
- GPT-6.1 Sol: an upgrade OpenAI says gets close to Astra-level intelligence at about 20% of Astra's token price.
- Ultrafast: up to 8 times faster in Codex and 6 times faster in the API, at six times the standard API price. It is live for GPT-6 Astra on Pro 500 and Enterprise for now.
- Teams: ChatGPT Space and Pages let people and dots work together, and Codex now runs in the cloud.
- Privacy: a preview of OpenAI Private Intelligence, with zero data retention.
