OpenAI Launches 'Dots' — Persistent AI Coworkers That Work for You 24/7

OpenAI Launches Dots: A Digital Coworker That Never Sleeps

At DevDay 2026, its annual flagship developer event, OpenAI announced Dots — a new generation of AI agents that go beyond chatbots to act as persistent digital coworkers. Each Dot runs on its own cloud computer and browser, powered by the flagship GPT-6 Astra model, and connects to an ecosystem of more than 4,000 apps. The idea: instead of opening a chat window every time you need help, a Dot keeps monitoring projects, executing tasks, and returning finished work for your approval — even while you're doing something else.

In examples OpenAI shared: a Dot that watches recurring customer feedback, builds and tests bug fixes, and returns a ready pull request; a Dot that revises launch materials when product scope changes; and one that noticed a forgotten invoice, prepared it, and sent it after the user's approval.

Alongside Dots, OpenAI also launched ChatGPT Space — a new shared workspace where employees, Dots, and ChatGPT can collaborate on the same documents, project pages, and presentations in real time, instead of passing files back and forth.

Importantly, OpenAI built in guardrails: background proactive research is restricted to read-only tools (it cannot send messages or modify content), Custom Rules let users define which actions require approval, and an Activity View provides full oversight. Sensitive actions like changing a password always remain with the human user.

Sources: OpenAI - Introducing dots, VentureBeat

GPT-6.1 Sol: Near-Astra Performance at a Fifth of the Price

At the same event, OpenAI introduced GPT-6.1 Sol, a model that approaches the flagship GPT-6 Astra's performance on coding, computer use, and professional work — at roughly one-fifth of Astra's price. Cached input costs dropped to just $0.10 per million tokens. For businesses looking to adopt AI agents without paying premium prices, this is a meaningful improvement in cost-effectiveness.

Source: OpenAI - Introducing GPT-6.1 Sol

Meta Expands Muse to Small Businesses

A day before DevDay, Meta announced it's expanding its AI agent Muse to small businesses, with direct integrations to Shopify, Dropbox, Slack, QuickBooks, Stripe, Canva, and more. The agent can also connect to Instagram and Facebook business accounts and ad data, and according to Meta, it knows what a business sells, how its brand sounds, and what customers ask about most. Muse for Small Business is free with usage limits, with paid plans available for expanded use.

Source: TechCrunch - Meta expands Muse to small businesses

Why This Matters for Small and Medium Businesses

Today marked a clear shift in direction for the industry: from a chat assistant that answers questions, to a digital coworker that keeps acting independently, connects to tools you already use, and returns finished work. Both OpenAI and Meta are explicitly targeting small and medium businesses — not just large enterprises — with cheaper models and tools that plug into everyday business software (invoicing, inventory, social media, support). This is a trend worth watching closely, even though fully unsupervised autonomous agents are still not something most businesses should adopt without close human oversight.