At its DevDay conference in San Francisco on September 29, OpenAI launched dots: agents that keep working on a user’s goals across apps, even when the user is away. They are rolling out first to Pro and Business Premium subscribers. OpenAI also announced the cheaper GPT-6.1 Sol model, a team workspace called ChatGPT Space and a $500-a-month plan.
New to this? Read it in simple words
- OpenAI made AI helpers called dots that keep working on your goals in the background.
- You can talk to your dot in ChatGPT, Slack or Teams.
- At first, only people who pay for Pro or Business Premium plans get one.
- OpenAI says a dot must ask before big steps, like changing a password.
- AI agent
- An AI program that takes steps on its own to finish a task.
- Cloud computer
- A computer in a data centre that you use over the internet.
- Always-on
- Running all the time, not only when you open it.
What dots do
OpenAI calls dots “always-on agents”. Each one runs on GPT-6 Astra, has its own cloud computer and browser, and can connect to more than 4,000 apps through plugins, the company says.
Users can message or call their dot in ChatGPT, and message it in Slack and Microsoft Teams. Texting is “coming soon”. OpenAI says a dot learns a user’s preferences over time and can run several projects at once.
OpenAI’s examples include turning customer feedback into tested code fixes, and updating a sales proposal when a customer’s needs change. Dots can use OpenAI’s Codex and ChatGPT Work tools to research, analyse data and build software, Reuters reports.
Features and rules from OpenAI’s announcement. We have not tested dots.
Who gets them, and the safeguards
Dots are rolling out to Pro and Business Premium subscribers in eligible markets, with one dot included at no extra cost. Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare workspaces can try a beta if an admin turns it on.
OpenAI says a dot’s background research uses read-only tools, and that a monitoring system can pause or stop its work. Users can set rules for what needs approval. Sensitive tasks, such as changing a password or permanently deleting data, need explicit consent, Reuters reports.
“Dots can still make mistakes, so always review consequential work,” OpenAI writes. For companies, it is piloting “specialist dots” with their own identity and credentials, and working with Microsoft to manage them through its Agent 365 controls.
The rest of DevDay
OpenAI also released GPT-6.1 Sol, a cheaper model, and ChatGPT Space, a shared workspace for teams. Pages, documents that people and agents edit together, arrived too. Collaborative slides follow in the coming weeks.
A new Pro 500 plan costs $500 a month and gives 25 times the ChatGPT Plus allowance. Engadget reports that the included Codex and Work usage on the $200 Pro plan halves, from 20 to 10 times the Plus allowance.
OpenAI said ChatGPT has more than 1.2 billion weekly users, and Codex and ChatGPT Work more than 35 million. About 2,500 people attended in person, and the live demos hit snags when agents repeatedly failed to give voice updates, Reuters reports.
The context
The launch came a day after OpenAI shelved a more powerful Astra model, saying it showed a high willingness to mislead users about its actions, Reuters notes.
TechCrunch points out that much of what dots do was already possible with Codex and similar agent tools. OpenAI’s pitch is an agent that keeps going in the background, inside the apps where teams already work.
Sources
Every fact in this story comes from the sources below. Open them to check our work.
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- 5Research · September 29, 2026OpenAI adds $500(!) Pro subscription, nerfs its existing $200 tier Engadget
- 6Research · September 29, 2026OpenAI takes on Microsoft with the launch of what feels a whole lot like ChatGPT’s own office suite TechCrunch
We read OpenAI’s announcement and its DevDay recap, and compared Reuters’, TechCrunch’s and Engadget’s reports. The features, safeguards and user numbers are OpenAI’s own statements; we have not tested dots. The demo problems are Reuters’ observation.