ChatGPT Dots, Explained: What They Are and How to Get Started

By Ammar Ahamed, Cocoon · Updated 30 September 2026

For three years, ChatGPT has worked the same way: you type, it answers, and nothing happens until you type again. On 29 September 2026, at DevDay, OpenAI changed that. Dots are always-on agents that live inside ChatGPT, run on GPT-6 Astra, and keep working on a goal between your conversations.

What a dot actually is

Think of a dot as a colleague rather than a chat window. Each one gets its own cloud computer and browser, which means it can research, analyse data, prepare documents and even build software while your laptop is closed. You can open that cloud computer at any time to watch what it is doing.

A glowing orb assistant connected to laptops and a cloud computer, pixel-art illustration — ChatGPT Dots, Explained: What They Are and How to Get Started

A dot also remembers. It draws on the conversation, your ChatGPT memory and its own saved notes about your preferences, decisions and ongoing work. That context follows it across channels, so a project you start in ChatGPT can be handed to your team in Slack or Microsoft Teams without re-briefing anyone. You can message it, or simply call it when you need to talk something through.

Through OpenAI's plugin ecosystem, dots can connect to more than 4,000 apps. OpenAI also previewed ChatGPT Space, a shared layer where employees, ChatGPT, Codex and dots work from the same context, and "specialist dots" that are provisioned with specific identities, credentials and tools for defined roles.

Who can use it

Dots are rolling out gradually to ChatGPT Pro and Business Premium subscribers. Pro users in the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the UK are excluded for now, while Business Premium users get access in all supported ChatGPT regions. Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare customers can try a beta once a workspace admin switches it on. Your first dot is included in the plan at no extra cost, and conversations with it do not count toward usage limits, although tasks it starts in Codex or ChatGPT Work do. There is no public API for dots yet.

How to set up your first dot

Start on desktop. You cannot create a dot on mobile. Use the ChatGPT desktop app or ChatGPT in a desktop browser.
Personalise it. Give it a name and choose its shape, colour and accessories. Naming it also sets its handle (for example, a dot called Alfred becomes @yourname-alfred).
Connect only the apps it needs. You control access through your existing ChatGPT app permissions. Start narrow: email and calendar before finance tools.
Set the rules. Dots come with built-in rules for when to act alone and when to ask for approval. Add Custom Rules for anything sensitive, such as "never send external emails without my sign-off".
Give it a goal, not a prompt. "Prepare a weekly competitor digest every Monday" works better than "summarise these links".
Watch the Activity View. Background work shows up there, and you can redirect your dot mid-task. An auto-review layer checks any action that could affect your accounts or share information against your rules.

Why it matters for marketers

The shift is from asking to delegating. A dot can own the recurring, cross-tool jobs that eat a marketing team's week: campaign reporting, competitor tracking, content calendars and stakeholder updates. The discipline you now need is less about prompting and more about management: clear goals, sensible permissions and regular review.

How dots compare with Claude Duet: on 21 October 2026 Anthropic opened a preview of Claude Duet, its own proactive agent. Dots reach further today (Slack, Microsoft Teams, voice, and Pro users outside the US), while Duet is US-only and built around a morning brief and approvals. See our Claude Duet guide and the full agents comparison.

Where Cocoon fits

Dots are available to Pro users in Sri Lanka and Singapore, so this is not a distant Silicon Valley story. It is a tool our clients can switch on this week. What we see in our Applied AI programmes is that access is rarely the bottleneck. Judgement is. A dot will do exactly what it is allowed to do, so the real skill is deciding which job to hand over, which apps to connect and which actions must always come back for approval.

The same is true of xAI's Grok Bot, which takes the opposite approach to dots: instead of one agent that follows you everywhere, you run a roster of named Bots on a shared cloud computer. Whichever model you choose, the management skill is identical.

That is the skill Cocoon teaches. Our programmes dedicate a full week to automation, agents and apps, and participants leave with a mapped workflow and a 90-day roadmap rather than a list of prompts. If you want to find your first dot-worthy task, start with the free Workflow Map at mycocoon.life/free, or talk to us about a team session built around always-on agents.

Frequently asked questions

What is a ChatGPT dot?

An always-on agent inside ChatGPT that keeps working on a goal between conversations. Each dot has its own cloud computer and browser, remembers your preferences and decisions, and can follow a project across ChatGPT, Slack, Microsoft Teams and voice calls.

Who can use ChatGPT dots?

They are rolling out to ChatGPT Pro (excluding the EEA, Switzerland and the UK) and Business Premium. Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare workspaces can try a beta once an admin enables it.

Can I create a dot on my phone?

No. You create a dot on desktop, in the ChatGPT desktop app or a desktop browser.

Sources

Not sure which job to hand an agent first? Map one workflow and see which steps are worth delegating.

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