ChatGPT Dots: Requirements, Setup and Safety Guide

ChatGPT dots is an always-on agent that OpenAI announced on September 29, 2026 and began rolling out in stages the same day. It keeps working around the clock on its own cloud computer. Pro and Business Premium include the first dot at no extra charge, and Enterprise (including Edu and healthcare) gets a beta that a workspace admin must turn on. Pro excludes the European Economic Area (EEA), Switzerland and the UK. Korea is not on the exclusion list. For the first month after launch, dots usage does not count against plan allowances (as of Sept 30).

This article explains what dots is and how it works, whether your plan can use it, and what to check before you turn it on. The sources are OpenAI's announcement Introducing dots (Sept 29) and the help article Getting started with your dot. MCPY read both pages directly. The help article says announced features are opening to accounts in stages, so some features may not be visible yet.

Read this first in three lines

• What it is: Dots is an always-on agent built on GPT-6 Astra. It has its own cloud computer and browser, connects to more than 4,000 apps through plugins, and runs several projects at once.
• Who gets it: Pro and Business Premium include one dot. Enterprise is a beta that admins turn on. Plus and Free are not mentioned in the announcement.
• Cost: Pricing for extra dots has not been published. Conversations with your dot do not count toward usage limits, but work started in Codex or Work counts as usual.

Dots is an agent that keeps working between chats

An always-on agent is an AI that stays switched on and keeps pushing your assigned goal forward between conversations, without you asking each time. The help article describes a dot as an agent that continues its progress after a chat ends and only asks you when a decision needs your judgment. It also says the dot learns what you consider a good result from your feedback.

The structure has three parts. First, each dot has its own cloud computer and browser. It is a remote computer separate from yours, and you can open it at any time to check the work. Second, it connects to more than 4,000 apps through plugins (app connection features). Third, you message it or talk to it by voice call from the ChatGPT desktop, web and mobile screens, and from Slack and Teams. A feature where the dot calls you first is not available at launch.

Here are the examples OpenAI gave. When a bug is posted in Slack, the dot investigates right away. When a new design arrives, it builds a working app. One early tester's dot noticed that an invoice had not been sent to a magazine, prepared the invoice, and sent it after the tester approved. A closer example for marketers is content production: when an interview recording comes in, the dot makes clip candidates and show notes and posts a social media draft for approval. Summarizing ad account performance each week could also be a candidate, but that is MCPY's inference and not an OpenAI example.

While you are away, the dot looks for ways to help on its own in the background. OpenAI calls this proactive research. It uses only the apps you have already connected, and only as read-only tools. It cannot send messages, change app content or operate the browser.

Pro and Business Premium can use it

Those two plans are covered. According to the help article, Pro works in markets other than the EEA, Switzerland and the UK, and Business Premium works in all supported ChatGPT regions. It opens in stages starting on launch day, and it may take a few days to reach your account.

Plan or workspace	Dots availability	Notes
Free, Go, Plus	Not in the announcement	Not mentioned as eligible plans
Pro	First dot included, no extra charge	Excludes EEA, Switzerland, UK
Business Premium	First dot included, no extra charge	All supported ChatGPT regions
Enterprise (including Edu, healthcare)	Beta	A workspace admin must turn it on, and it is off at first

Official sources do not say whether dots usage differs across the $100, $200 and $500 Pro tiers. So MCPY did not add tier differences to the table. Prices and limits by plan are covered separately in MCPY's ChatGPT plan price and limit comparison article.

There are three cost rules. The first dot is included. Later you will be able to create more dots or raise speed and monthly workload, but pricing has not been published. For one month after launch, dots usage does not count against the plan allowances of Pro, Business and Enterprise, and usage terms after that will be announced per plan. Conversations with your dot do not count toward ChatGPT usage limits. But if you ask the dot to run Codex or ChatGPT Work tasks, those tasks count toward limits as usual.

Setup takes five steps on desktop

You create a dot in the ChatGPT desktop app (Windows is supported) or on desktop web. You cannot create one on mobile, and mobile web is not supported. After it is created, you can chat with it in the ChatGPT mobile app.

1. Follow the Create your dot prompts in the desktop app or desktop web.
2. Choose a name. The default handle is @yourname-dot, and if you give the agent a name it becomes @yourname-agentname. You can also pick a character or pet avatar.
3. Connect apps. On mobile, check permissions and connect under Customize → Plugins on the dot profile. You can connect personal email, but at launch you cannot create a dedicated email address for the dot.
4. Hand off the first task. Describe the job and the information needed, and attach files with the + button.
5. Open the In progress, Scheduled and Completed lists on the profile, and the dot's computer, to follow progress.

You can also assign jobs that run at set times, such as checking your schedule and reporting to you every morning. Connecting messaging channels such as Slack is done on desktop. Texting with your dot is a limited beta open only to US Pro users, and it is not available on Business or Enterprise.

Permissions and safeguards come in layers

Because an agent touches your account and apps, permissions are the biggest worry. These are the controls OpenAI describes.

• Separate computer: The dot works on its own cloud computer. Your computer stays separate until you allow a connection, and local computer access is off by default. To connect, you must click Allow access in the desktop app on that computer, and you cut the link with Revoke access.
• Automatic review: For actions that could affect your account or share information, an automatic review checks whether they match your instructions, your user rules and safety requirements. The result sorts tasks into those that can proceed, those that need approval and those you must do yourself. Sensitive tasks such as changing a password are always left to a person.
• User rules: In Custom Rules, you pick one of four settings for each action. They are run without asking, run only if pre-approved, confirm before running, and hand off to a person. Here, pre-approved means you named that action in your prompt.
• Passwords: When logging in to supported sites, the dot uses saved passwords without exposing them to the model.
• Stopping: If a monitoring system detects a safety issue, it can halt dot work. You can Pause from the ••• menu on the profile, and Reset deletes all conversations, saved memories and scheduled tasks.

OpenAI also warns that a dot can make mistakes, so review results when they matter. MCPY's default view is to set hard-to-undo tasks such as payments, sending and deleting to confirm before running at first. Also note that disconnecting an app does not erase information the dot already pulled in. You have to reset the dot to remove it.

What to check in Korea

• Availability: Pro's excluded regions are the EEA, Switzerland and the UK, and Korea is not on the list. OpenAI points to a separate page for supported markets, and MCPY could not open that list. So check directly whether Create your dot appears in your account.
• Billing: Dots has no separate fee, but you need a Pro or Business Premium subscription. Check Korean won billing and VAT on the screen just before payment.
• Texting: The text conversation beta is limited to US Pro users, so it cannot be used in Korea. Start with ChatGPT and Slack.
• Data: Content in Business, Enterprise and Edu workspaces is not used to improve models by default. On personal plans, you can choose in settings whether dots conversations and work are used to improve models. Before connecting apps that hold customer information, also check the terms for entrusting personal data processing under Korean privacy law. Official sources do not cover this part.
• Korean-language performance: No source says how well dots handles work in Korean. Test it with a small task first.

Dots is part of a bundle announced the same day as GPT-6.1 Sol, Ultrafast and Codex. The API price of GPT-6.1 Sol is covered in the GPT-6.1 Sol price and Astra comparison article.

Common mistakes

The first is reading dots as the same thing as an existing ChatGPT chat. The help article treats dots as a separate always-on agent that keeps progressing between conversations. The second is putting off payment because you think Plus will work. The announced eligible plans are Pro, Business Premium and the Enterprise beta. The third is reading it as free and unlimited. What is waived now is the plan allowance for one month after launch, and the terms after that have not been announced. The fourth is missing that only conversations with your dot fall outside the limits. Codex and Work tasks count toward limits. The fifth is connecting every app at once. A dot reads connected apps in the background and builds memory, so it is better to connect only the apps you need at first. The sixth is trying to create a dot on mobile, when creation works only on desktop.

Check these in order today

1. Check in your chatgpt.com account whether your plan is Pro or Business Premium. On a company account, ask your admin to enable the Enterprise beta.
2. Update the ChatGPT desktop app and see whether the Create your dot screen appears. If not, check again in a few days.
3. In Custom Rules, set payments, sending and deleting to confirm before running or hand off to a person.
4. Connect only one or two read-only apps, hand off one small task, then check the result in In progress on the profile and in the dot's computer.

When usage terms are announced a month from now, check how much counts against your plan allowance and decide whether to keep using it.

Sources

• OpenAI, Introducing dots (Sept 29, 2026)
• OpenAI Help, Getting started with your dot (checked Sept 30, 2026)
• OpenAI, DevDay 2026 Recap
• SiliconANGLE, OpenAI launches Dots
• 9to5Google, OpenAI launches Dots
• TBreak, OpenAI Dots launch