OpenAI launched the always-on agent Dots at DevDay, powered by gpt-6 astra, equipped with a standalone cloud computer and browser, capable of working continuously towards user goals 24/7 and learning preferences from feedback.

Dots connects to over 4,000 applications through a plugin ecosystem, allowing conversations or voice calls in ChatGPT, Slack, and Teams. Users can open their cloud computer at any time to check progress and can authorize it to connect to their personal laptops for collaborative work. The background "active research" can only view connected applications in read-only mode and cannot send messages, change content, or control the browser and computer.

The first Dot is included in eligible Pro and Business Premium packages at no additional charge; enterprise, education, and healthcare workspaces require admin approval to enable trials. Sensitive operations such as changing passwords or permanently deleting data require explicit user consent. Conversations with Dot do not count towards ChatGPT usage limits, but tasks initiated by it in Codex or ChatGPT Work are still billed according to original rules.

Demonstration scenarios include: developers using dedicated Dots to monitor customer feedback and push bug fixes and new features; early testers' Dots drafting invoices after discovering missed billing, which are sent out after approval; calendars proactively suggesting takeout options and prices during overtime meals. The company claims that in the future, multiple Dots can collaborate, and a professional Dot with independent identity, IT-distributed hardware, and system integration will be previewed for enterprises.

OpenAI also launched the shared workspace ChatGPT Space, allowing colleagues, ChatGPT, and users' Dots to share the same project knowledge pool. By default, Dot can delegate coding tasks to Codex and has integrated with Microsoft’s Agent 365 for security controls to configure identity, credentials, and tools in enterprise environments.

In market mechanics, this is an event-driven product launch: paid subscription users first receive continuous online labor, while reasoning and cloud computer usage remain on OpenAI's account; Microsoft embeds enterprise security layers into the same channel through Agent 365. Beneficiaries are teams that have paid for high-tier packages and wish to offload monitoring, research, drafting, and bug fixing from human shifts; pressured are assistant products that still sell attention per conversation and competitors that have just rolled out consumer-grade agents in the form of independent cloud computers. Funding shifts from "per turn chat" to "per resident agent position," with applications accessed through plugins competing for the default invocation by Dot.

gpt-6 astra was previously positioned as a work-oriented flagship in computer usage, browsing, and engineering assessments; Dots transforms it from "only working when you open the window" to "running on its own machine even when the window is closed." Active research is restricted to read-only to separate long-term autonomy from write permissions, reducing the risk of system changes and message sending during unattended operation.

Source: Public Information