ChatGPT Dots Explained: Price, Access and Limits (2026)

ChatGPT dots are always-on AI agents that OpenAI launched at DevDay on 29 September 2026. Each dot runs on GPT-6 Astra, has its own cloud computer and browser, connects to over 4,000 apps, and keeps working on your goals while you are away. You need ChatGPT Pro (from $100 a month) or Business Premium ($100 per user a month billed annually, two-seat minimum). Free, Go and Plus users cannot use them, and Pro users in the UK, EEA and Switzerland are excluded for now.

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Key takeaways

• Launched 29 September 2026 at DevDay in San Francisco, running on GPT-6 Astra.
• Your first dot is included in Pro or Business Premium "at no extra cost". Extra dots are promised but not yet priced.
• ChatGPT Pro costs $100, $200 or $500 a month. Business Premium is $100 per user a month billed annually or $125 monthly, with a two-seat minimum.
• The UK exclusion only covers Pro. OpenAI says Business Premium has dots "across all supported ChatGPT regions," which includes the UK.
• You must create a dot on desktop (the ChatGPT desktop app or a desktop browser). After that you can message it from the mobile app, Slack or Teams.

What is a ChatGPT dot?

A dot is an agent, not a chat. OpenAI's announcement calls dots "remarkably capable, always-on agents built to handle everything," and the help center puts it more plainly: "Your dot is an always-on agent in ChatGPT that can take on ongoing responsibility and keep making progress between conversations."

Each dot gets its own cloud computer, running Linux and a Chrome browser that OpenAI maintains. It is "powered by GPT-6 Astra," can "work towards your goals 24/7," and "through our ecosystem of plugins" connects "to over 4,000 apps."

In practice you give your dot a standing job (watch these inboxes, prepare a weekly report, chase these invoices) and it keeps working between your conversations, coming back when it needs a decision.

The name comes from the look. Each dot is a small coloured character; OpenAI's own examples include "Pink dot Iggy" and "Blue dot Felipe," and you can pick a character or "select a pet for your dot." TechCrunch called it OpenAI's "bubbly agentic avatar."

Who can use ChatGPT dots, and how much do they cost?

Dots are a paid feature on the two most expensive individual and team plans. OpenAI's pricing page lists them as unavailable on Free, Go and Plus.

Prices verified on OpenAI's help center, 1 October 2026. Pro is billed monthly only.

"Your first dot is included in your Pro or Business Premium plan at no extra cost." Additional dots are coming: "In the future, you'll be able to add more dots." OpenAI has not published a price for them, or exact usage numbers for the "allowance for deeper work," so be wary of any article that quotes one.

One useful detail: "Conversations with your dot don't count toward your ChatGPT usage limits."

Are ChatGPT dots available in the UK and Europe?

It depends on your plan, and most coverage gets this wrong. OpenAI's help center says dots are "rolling out today in ChatGPT to Pro users in markets excluding the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the UK. Dots are also available to Business Premium users across all supported ChatGPT regions."

So the exclusion is Pro-only:

• A UK or EU individual on Pro: no dot yet.
• A UK or EU business on Business Premium: dots are available.

The catch is the cost of that route. Business Premium needs at least two seats, so the cheapest legitimate way to get a dot in the UK is $200 a month on annual billing.

Sam Altman told NBC that the EU has "a process that takes longer, and sometimes unpredictably longer," and that OpenAI "really want[s] to ship all of our stuff to Europeans." There is no date.

Two more limits: "Dots are not yet available to users under 18," and "Access may take several days to reach your account" even in eligible markets.

How do you set up your first dot?

Setup happens on a computer, not a phone. OpenAI's instructions: "create your first dot in the ChatGPT desktop app or your desktop browser, connect your apps, and let it introduce itself." The desktop app works on Mac and Windows. "You cannot currently create a dot on mobile, and dots are not supported on mobile web."

The steps:

1. Open ChatGPT on desktop and start your dot.
2. Pick a character or pet, and a name. Its handle starts as @yourname-dot and changes to @yourname-agentname if you rename it.
3. Connect the apps it needs: email, calendar, documents and so on.
4. Set your Custom Rules (next section) before giving it real work.
5. Once it is running, message it from the ChatGPT mobile app, Slack or Teams.

Access to your own local computer is optional and starts turned off. You can watch everything in Activity View, and pause or reset the dot at any time.

What controls do you have over what a dot does?

This is where dots are most carefully designed. Custom Rules give each kind of action one of four behaviours: "Take action without asking / Take action if pre-approved / Ask before taking action / Hand off to you."

Some limits cannot be switched off. "Custom rules cannot turn off core safety requirements," and "The most sensitive actions like changing a password or transferring money require you to take over." Deleting data permanently or installing software "may require approval each time," and buying with a card saved on a shop's website needs your sign-off.

Before an action runs, a separate auto-review model checks it. Separately, a read-only "proactive research" mode lets a dot investigate without being able to "send messages to other people, change content in connected apps, or control a browser or desktop."

For businesses, this permission model is the main reason to choose dots over cheaper agents. For individuals, it is still worth spending ten minutes on the rules before connecting your email.

What can't ChatGPT dots do yet?

At launch, OpenAI's help center lists several gaps:

• No outbound calls. "Your dot cannot initiate calls to you at launch."
• No email address of its own. It can use your connected inbox, but "you cannot give your dot its own standalone email address."
• Texting is a limited US beta for Pro users only.
• No mobile setup. Creation is desktop only.
• One dot. Teams of dots are a stated goal, not a feature.

Memory is the bigger caveat. "You currently cannot view, delete or directly modify individual dot memories," and disconnecting an app "does not delete information your dot has already obtained from it." The only way to wipe what it knows is to reset the whole dot.

On reliability, OpenAI says "Dots can still make mistakes, so always review consequential work," and that its prompt-injection protections "do not eliminate" the risk. The GPT-6 Astra system card reports unwanted persistence in 17.4% of test runs at maximum reasoning budget. Launch was rocky too: NBC reported that two keynote demos failed on stage.

Who should skip ChatGPT dots?

• Anyone on a budget. $100 a month is the floor. Meta's Muse is free with a weekly limit; read our guide to getting 1 billion free Muse tokens.
• Pro subscribers in the UK, EU or Switzerland. You are paying for a feature you cannot use yet.
• Developers who live in Cursor. xAI's Grok Bot is bundled with Cursor plans from $20 a month; see ChatGPT Dots vs Grok Bot.
• People who want an assistant, not an agent. If you mainly ask questions, ChatGPT Plus or a tool from our best AI productivity tools list costs a fraction of the price.

The verdict

Dots are the most business-ready of the new always-on agents. The 4,000-app plugin library, Slack and Teams access, and the four-level permission system are built for people handing real work to an agent, and the first dot costs nothing extra if you already pay for Pro.

The honest caveat is the price of entry. At $100 a month minimum, dots are a premium product (Altman's own word), and investment analyst Adam Crisafulli told CBS they look "very much geared toward enterprise/professional users, not everyday consumers." If that is not you, Meta's free Muse is the better starting point.

For the full picture, see our Muse vs Dots vs Grok Bot comparison.

Related reading: Muse vs ChatGPT Dots and Notion AI vs ChatGPT.

Verified against OpenAI's announcement, help center and GPT-6 Astra system card on 1 October 2026. OpenAI is still rolling dots out, so check its help center for changes.