OpenAI’s Dots score well in hands-on test, but rank third among five agents

OpenAI’s new always-on AI agents, called dots, have had their first serious test outside the company. The results were strong, though not quite first place. An independent hands-on evaluation in October 2026 gave the dots an average score of 8.8 out of 10 across ten common business tasks. That put them third among five competing agents, behind Claude Cowork, which scored 9.3. What OpenAI actually shipped OpenAI introduced the dots at its DevDay event on September 29, 2026. They run on the company’s GPT-6 Astra model. Think of a dot as a remote assistant with its own desk. Each one gets a dedicated Linux computer and browser in the cloud, so it can work without borrowing yours. The pitch is persistence. The dots are built to keep running in the background, watch the apps you connect them to, carry out tasks that take several steps, and learn your preferences over time. Connectivity is broad. Through plugins, the dots can link up with more than 4,000 applications. Access started right away for ChatGPT Pro subscribers, a plan priced at $100/month, and for Business Premium users in selected markets. Eligible users get their first dot at no extra charge, while versions built for enterpr...