ChatGPT Dots Explained: What It Is, Pricing, and How to Get Access

What ChatGPT Dots actually are#

Dots are OpenAI's answer to a simple limitation: ChatGPT only works while you're typing at it. A dot doesn't wait. You give it a goal, connect the apps it needs, and it keeps making progress between conversations, then comes back with results or a question.

OpenAI announced dots on September 29, 2026, at its DevDay event. Each one runs on GPT-6 Astra and gets its own cloud computer, browser and memory. You start with one primary dot, give it a name, and reach it in ChatGPT, Slack or Microsoft Teams, or by voice call.

It helps to think of a dot less as a chatbot and more as an assistant that sits inside your tools. That's also the catch. The more it can reach, the more you need to decide what it's allowed to do.

apps it can connect to

4,000+

works while you’re away

24/7

cheapest plan with a dot, per month

$100

dot included in your plan

1

What a dot can do#

OpenAI's examples and its help center point to the same pattern: ongoing work that touches several apps. In practice that looks like this.

• Watch and report. Check rental listings, flight prices or an inbox on a schedule, and only message you when something new matches.
• Prepare, then ask. One early tester's dot noticed a forgotten invoice, prepared it, and sent it only after he approved.
• Turn raw material into drafts. Feed it an interview transcript and it can draft show notes and social posts, then carry your edits across all of them.
• Hand off the coding. It can pass work to Codex and bring back changes for you to review.
• Research in the background. When you're not talking to it, a dot reads the apps you've connected and suggests ways to help. That mode is read-only. It can't send messages, edit content or control your browser.

Dots vs ChatGPT Work, Codex and scheduled tasks#

These overlap more than the names suggest. A dot can start Work and Codex tasks itself, so the real difference is who owns the job.

Who can get a dot, and what it costs#

A dot isn't a separate purchase. Your first dot is included with certain ChatGPT plans at no extra cost.

Rollout is gradual too. If you're on an eligible plan and don't see the option yet, OpenAI says it can take several days to reach your account. Not sure which plan fits? Our ChatGPT review breaks down every tier.

Tool profileChatGPT plans, ratings and limitsSee how every ChatGPT plan stacks up before you upgrade.

How to set up your first dot#

Six steps, in the order that keeps you in control.

What to know before you trust it#

OpenAI built in several guardrails, and they're the main reason a dot is more than a risky experiment.

• Its cloud computer is separate from yours, and your computer stays off-limits unless you connect it.
• Auto-review checks actions that could affect your accounts or share information. Some things, like changing a password, always stay with you.
• Activity View shows what it's doing, including background work, and you can pause it at any time.
• For supported sites, it can sign in with saved passwords without exposing them to the model.

The limits matter just as much.

On personal plans, the "Improve the model for everyone" setting controls whether your dot's conversations can be used for training. Business, Enterprise and Edu workspaces aren't used for training by default.

OpenAI is upfront that dots can still make mistakes, so treat one like a new hire. Let it draft before it sends, and review anything consequential.

Is a dot worth it for you?#

It depends less on the technology than on how much recurring, multi-app work you actually have.

If a dot is more than you need#

Dots aren't the only way to get an assistant that does things for you. Meta's Muse and Google's Gemini Spark are the closest rivals, and for plain questions, writing and research an ordinary chat assistant still does most of the work. If you're deciding between assistants, start with how ChatGPT compares with Claude, Gemini and Perplexity.