Dots are presented as persistent agents with their own cloud computer. For a reader considering delegation, the real decision is which work can proceed independently and which needs approval.
What the product announcement establishes
OpenAI announced Dots on September 29, 2026. It describes agents powered by GPT-6 Astra with their own cloud computer, feedback over time and work toward goals around the clock. The announcement lists an ecosystem connecting to more than 4,000 apps. Those product descriptions do not establish that every integration is enabled for every account or that unattended execution is appropriate for every task.
Delegate an outcome with a stop condition
Our first-use recommendation is a read-only research brief: investigate three vendors, cite current product pages and stop with a comparison draft. Specify what counts as completion and what should cause the agent to ask for clarification. A vague instruction to improve the business can expand into many unrelated actions. A bounded brief makes it easier to inspect whether the agent actually supplied the evidence needed for a decision.
Separate preparation from external action
For a purchase recommendation, allow a price comparison and draft order, then review the exact merchant, quantity and total before checkout. For email, allow drafting but require review of the recipient and message before sending. These are our operating boundaries, not claims about product defaults. The person delegating remains responsible for checking consequential actions. A visible completed artifact is more useful than approving a broad intention before the details exist.
Memory needs a correction path
Our suggested practice is to periodically review the agent’s working assumptions: preferred vendors, decision criteria, deadlines and facts that have become stale. Keep sensitive information out unless the workflow genuinely needs it. If an old instruction conflicts with a newer one, ask the agent to state which it used. Persistent context can reduce repeated explanation, but a mistaken assumption that persists can also contaminate many future decisions.
Self-hosted alternatives answer a different question
Open-source workspaces let builders inspect implementation choices but bring operational responsibilities and service dependencies. The Anil-matcha Open Dots guide and CopilotKit OpenDots guide describe two separate projects with different architectures. We have not deployed or compared them against Dots. Decide first whether you need a managed product or control over an implementation, then compare access, retention, execution permissions and real cost for the same bounded workflow. For the vendor brief, require a dated source for each price and an explicit unknown wherever a supplier does not publish the needed information. The resulting draft is easier to approve than an unqualified ranking.
Frequently asked questions
What is a useful first task for an always-on agent?
A read-only, sourced research draft with a clear completion condition offers a reviewable starting point.
Does persistent memory remove the need for review?
No. Review assumptions and correct stale or wrong context before it influences later work.
Are Open Dots and OpenDots the same repository?
No. The two guides here identify their respective maintainers and dependencies separately.
Sources & further reading
Primary sources checked Oct 11, 2026. Vendor statements are attributed; editorial advice is our own.
- 1Introducing dots ↗OpenAI
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