OpenAI introduces Dots as continuous virtual collaborators
- OpenAI introduced Dots on September 29, 2026, during its annual DevDay conference in San Francisco, pitching the new capability as a virtual collaborator designed to operate continuously.
- Unlike traditional conversational assistants that require direct user prompts for isolated tasks, Dots runs continuously to manage multi-step projects.
- The launch places OpenAI alongside competitors exploring autonomous workflows, such as Meta with its Muse assistant and OpenClaw, according to Le Monde.
OpenAI introduced Dots on September 29, 2026, during its annual DevDay conference in San Francisco, pitching the new capability as a virtual collaborator designed to operate continuously. According to reporting by Alexandre Piquard in Le Monde, the feature functions as an artificial intelligence agent capable of executing ongoing tasks with digital tools around the clock.
How OpenAI Dots Operates as a Continuous Virtual Collaborator
Unlike traditional conversational assistants that require direct user prompts for isolated tasks, Dots runs continuously to manage multi-step projects. Donnez à votre dot une mission et dites-lui ce que vous voulez qu’il fasse. Il fera un suivi du travail, trouvera la prochaine étape à réaliser et s’adaptera quand les choses évolueront,
stated the company in materials cited by Le Monde. Alexandre Piquard reported that Sam Altman, chief executive officer of OpenAI, compared the shift to simpler tools during the September 29, 2026 product unveiling. Il existe déjà des assistants d’intelligence artificielle [IA] auxquels vous pouvez par exemple demander de vous réserver un billet d’avion, mais cela paraîtra trivial par rapport à ce que peut faire cette nouvelle génération,
Altman said at the San Francisco event.
The system is built to handle sustained operations rather than single queries. For example, OpenAI demonstrated that the virtual collaborators could monitor user emails for bug reports in a software service, draft fixes, write code, and push updates live without human intervention at every step. This twenty-four-hour functionality shifts the utility of large language models from reactive query response to proactive background execution.
Market Context and Regional Availability Limitations
The launch places OpenAI alongside competitors exploring autonomous workflows, such as Meta with its Muse assistant and OpenClaw, according to Le Monde. While previous agent iterations like Codex in ChatGPT or Claude from Anthropic are typically summoned for specific or recurring projects, Dots is designed to remain perpetually active. Access to the new feature will be restricted upon release. OpenAI announced that Dots will be made available exclusively to subscribers of the Business Premium tier for ChatGPT Pro. The functionality is not accessible in Europe at this stage, according to the Le Monde report.