Is OpenAI Dots Free? Price, Plans and Setup

The cheapest way to get an OpenAI dot is $100 a month. That number matters more than the demo reel: Plus subscribers cannot use Dots at all, and there is no free tier to try it on. OpenAI unveiled it on stage at DevDay yesterday as an agent that keeps working between your conversations: you hand it a goal, it runs on its own cloud computer, and it comes back when it needs a decision.

This guide covers what you actually pay, who can get it today, how to set one up in a few minutes, and how it stacks up against Meta’s Muse.

What Is OpenAI Dots?

A dot is an agent with a standing job rather than a chat window. OpenAI describes it as “always-on” and sets it up much like a new hire:

• Its own identity. A default handle of @yourname-dot, or @yourname-agentname once you name it, with separate access and permissions.
• Its own computer. A cloud machine with a browser, where it can write and test code. You can open that computer at any time to watch or take over.
• Your apps. Access to 4,000+ apps through ChatGPT’s plugin ecosystem, limited to the ones you connect.
• Memory. It inherits your ChatGPT memories, forms its own from connected apps, and adjusts to your feedback.
• The model. GPT-6 Astra , OpenAI’s top model.

One dot can juggle several projects at once, so you keep handing it work without opening a new thread per task. OpenAI says it expects teams of dots working together later; at launch you get one.

Video: OpenAI, Introducing dots launch film

The part that makes it “always-on” is what OpenAI calls proactive research. While you are not talking to it, your dot looks through the apps you connected for ways to help. It does this with restricted tools that cannot send messages, edit app content, or drive your browser or computer, so the background pass produces suggestions, not actions. On top of that it runs whatever reminders and recurring checks you schedule, like “review my calendar every morning and tell me what’s coming up.”

OpenAI’s favourite anecdote from testing: an early outside user’s dot noticed they had forgotten to invoice a media outlet, drafted the invoice, and sent it once the user approved.

What Can a Dot Actually Do?

OpenAI’s launch page walks through five roles. Three are concrete enough to picture on a normal week:

Developer. The dot watches customer feedback for repeat requests, scopes small fixes, builds and tests them, then opens review-ready PRs with videos of the change. You keep working on the big feature. Internally, OpenAI says dots start digging when a bug report lands in Slack.

Launch manager. When scope changes, the dot works out how that shifts the product story, updates launch assets and drafts doc changes, so you come back to a plan ready for review.

Creator. A new interview transcript arrives; the dot flags moments that would work as short clips, writes episode notes and drafts social posts for your approval, then carries your edits across everything.

The other two examples are a scientist whose dot reruns analyses and refreshes paper figures as new data comes in, and a sales lead whose dot checks customer requirements against product docs and builds an integration prototype.

Is OpenAI Dots Free? Pricing by Plan

No. There is no free tier, no trial on Plus, and no pay-per-use option yet. Here is where dots are available:

So the entry ticket is Pro 100. The first dot is included in every eligible plan, and nothing about dots is reserved for the $500 tier. What Pro 500 adds is the new Ultrafast speed option, covered in our GPT-6.1 Sol pricing guide , plus the highest included usage. If you are choosing between Pro tiers purely for dots, the $100 plan gets you the same agent.

How usage is counted:

• Free for the first month. Until late October, dots usage does not count toward Pro, Business or Enterprise allowances. OpenAI says it will publish per-plan usage terms after that.
• Chatting with your dot is not metered against your ChatGPT limits. Codex or ChatGPT Work tasks your dot starts for you are counted as usual.
• Paid add-ons are coming. OpenAI plans a fixed monthly fee to add more dots or to raise a dot’s speed and workload. No price yet.

Why can’t I get Dots in the EU or UK?

For Pro, the rollout explicitly excludes the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. OpenAI has not given a reason on the launch or help pages. If you are in one of those regions, the only current route is a Business Premium workspace, which covers all supported ChatGPT regions. Everywhere else, the rollout is gradual and OpenAI warns it can take several days to reach an account.

How to Set Up Your Dot

1. Start on desktop. Create your dot in the ChatGPT desktop app (Windows or macOS) or at chatgpt.com in a desktop browser. You cannot create one on mobile or mobile web.
2. Go through onboarding. Pick a name and choose one of the characters or a pet. Your dot can also generate a pet for you.
3. Connect apps. In the dot’s profile open Customize → Plugins, pick apps and review each one’s permissions. You can connect your personal email, but a dot cannot have its own email address at launch.
4. Add channels. Hook up Slack or Teams from desktop. If you are a US Pro user, you can join the limited texting beta (iMessage and RCS) there too.
5. Give it a first task. Review your calendar, research a topic, remind you of something tomorrow. Use + to attach a file or photo.

After that, the same dot follows you to the ChatGPT mobile app. Its profile lists work under In progress, Scheduled and Completed, and you can open its cloud computer from there. You can call your dot by voice, but it cannot call you.

Connecting your own computer is optional and off by default. Once you open the ChatGPT desktop app on that machine and choose Allow access, the dot can work with local files, use local skills, fall back to your local browser when its cloud browser is blocked, and start Work or Codex tasks. Revoke access turns it off. It can also create tasks in Codex cloud environments you have already set up.

Staying in Control

Handing an agent your inbox and calendar is the obvious worry, and OpenAI layers several brakes on top of ChatGPT’s usual ones:

• Custom rules. For actions like sharing, buying or accessing something, you choose one of four behaviours: take action without asking, take action if pre-approved, ask before taking action, or hand off to you. “Pre-approved” means you explicitly asked for that action in your prompt.
• Automatic review. Anything that could affect your accounts or share information is checked against your instructions, custom rules and safety requirements. Some tasks, such as changing a password, always stay with you.
• Passwords stay hidden. On supported sign-ins, a dot can use saved passwords without the model seeing them.
• Activity view, pause and reset. You can follow all work, including background runs, redirect the dot, Pause it from the ••• menu, or Reset it, which deletes its conversations, memories and scheduled tasks.

One gotcha worth knowing before you connect anything: disconnecting an app does not delete what your dot already learned from it. The only way to wipe that is to reset the dot. On training data, Business, Enterprise and Edu content is excluded by default, personal plans follow your ChatGPT data controls, and OpenAI says proactive research and a dot’s own notes are not used directly for training.

For companies there are also specialist dots: agents with their own identity and credentials that own a job such as procurement, invoice processing or customer support. That is a limited enterprise preview for now, and OpenAI is working with Microsoft to plug them into Agent 365 governance and identity controls.

OpenAI Dots vs Meta Muse

Muse is the comparison most coverage reached for, and the two are closer in design than in pricing. Both run your agent on a private cloud machine and stop for approval on irreversible steps.

If you want to try an always-on agent without spending $100, Muse is the cheaper experiment, provided you are in the US. If you already pay for Pro, Dots costs you nothing extra and plugs into work tools (Slack, Teams, Codex) that Muse does not list.

OpenAI’s own launch page closes with the right caveat: dots can make mistakes, so review anything with real consequences. Leave money-moving actions on “ask before taking action” until you have watched your dot work for a while.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is OpenAI Dots?

Dots are always-on AI agents in ChatGPT, announced at OpenAI DevDay on September 29, 2026. Powered by GPT-6 Astra, each dot has its own cloud computer and browser, connects to 4,000+ apps, and keeps working on your goals in the background between conversations.

Is OpenAI Dots free?

No. Dots is only available on ChatGPT Pro ($100, $200 or $500 a month), Business Premium, and as a beta on Enterprise. Your first dot is included in those plans at no extra cost. Free, Go and Plus users do not get Dots.

Is OpenAI Dots available on ChatGPT Plus?

No. Plus ($20 a month) does not include Dots. The cheapest plan with a dot is Pro 100 at $100 a month.

Is OpenAI Dots available in the EU or UK?

Not on Pro. The Pro rollout excludes the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Business Premium includes Dots in all supported ChatGPT regions, including Europe.

How do I set up an OpenAI dot?

Open the ChatGPT desktop app or chatgpt.com in a desktop browser, follow the dot onboarding, choose a name and character, then connect apps under Customize → Plugins. You cannot create a dot on mobile, but you can talk to it in the mobile app afterwards.