OpenAI Cooked with Dots, But What Will It Cost You?
OpenAI's DevDay was all about dots, ChatGPT's new always-on AI agents — basically its catch-up flex on Meta's Muse. So did OpenAI cook? And if so, how much is that meal going to cost? On the menu: ChatGPT dots (on Pro from $100/mo, rolling out now), ChatGPT Space, GPT-6.1 Sol and some new pricing that may or may not make everyone happy. My dot hasn't shown up yet (I'm always the last one), but I have spent a few days with Meta's Muse, the AI agent that knocked ChatGPT off No. 1 on the US App Store — and I have thoughts. WHAT'S IN THIS ONE - dots: leaked as Aeon, then "O," finally revealed as dots (not to be confused with the Halloween candy, which is not good candy). - How a dot works: it runs on GPT-6 Astra with its own cloud computer and browser, and keeps working with your laptop closed. Message or call it in ChatGPT, or message it in Slack or Teams. - Sound familiar? Why dots feels like a dressed-up OpenClaw (its creator joined OpenAI in February), and Sam Altman calling the book-me-a-flight stuff "trivial." - ChatGPT Space: basically OpenAI's Google Drive, with agentic pages for you, your team and your dot. I'm not 100% sold on the magic data prisons. - The "oh wow" demo call that was... slow. But honestly, dots are pretty awesome, and a real step closer to Jarvis. So the LED-room AI-Jarvis crowd is about to go ham (shout-out to Eric Morrison's takedown). - Under the hood (my reductive take): hooks and cron jobs — bots with timers, not a conscious agent. Talking to your dot doesn't count toward limits; work it kicks off in Codex or ChatGPT Work does. - The catch: dots are only on Pro (from $100/mo; not yet in the EEA, UK or Switzerland), Business Premium, and Enterprise if an admin switches them on. - Models: GPT-6.1 Astra reportedly got shelved after safety testing, but GPT-6.1 Sol is near-Astra at a fifth of the API price (in the API, plus ChatGPT Work and Codex for Plus and up). And Ultrafast, a speed tier for the API and the $500 Pro plan, hits up to 300 tokens a second in Codex. - The pricing no one liked: Pro 500 at $500/mo (25x Plus usage), and a reopened $200 Pro plan with about half the old usage. OpenAI says the models are more efficient now. We'll see. - Decisions API: a super-fast model that picks from a short list. Basically, it's Jev (which I never found a reason to play with). - A few days with Muse: I went YOLO and gave it my inbox and calendar. It booked my DMV appointment (I still waited in line 30 minutes — not Muse's fault), Jolly the fuzzy marshmallow got swapped for Flamethrower Girl, and four days of hammering used about half the free plan. A pretty good product, just not for power users. - The Meta trust thing (yes, I know that's a bit hypocritical of me): I wanted to give Muse one folder and found out it needed my whole computer. Plus OpenAI's Private Intelligence pitch. - Muse gets a boatload of connectors today, the fight to be your AI executive assistant and best friend, and why Meta Connect reminded me of Paperclip Heart. LINKS MENTIONED Eric Morrison, "ai larp cringelords": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qD4rF3tHr8 Paperclip Heart (my AI short film): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wb2AcOVwPQs OpenAI DevDay 2026 recap: https://openai.com/index/devday-2026-recap/ DevDay keynote (full): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fls_onRviPM Meet dots (who can get one): https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/dots GPT-6.1 Sol: https://openai.com/index/introducing-gpt-6-1-sol/ ChatGPT Pro tiers: https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9793128-about-chatgpt-pro-tiers GPT-6.1 Astra shelved (Engadget): https://www.engadget.com/2271626/openai-cancels-gpt-6-1-astra-release-deceptive-behavior/ Decisions API vs. Jev (The New Stack): https://thenewstack.io/openai-decision-api-luna/ Meta's Muse: https://ai.meta.com/muse/ Muse for Small Business (today's connectors): https://about.fb.com/news/2026/09/introducing-muse-small-business/ Theoretically News — the weekly newsletter: https://theoreticallymedia.com/newsletter/ CHAPTERS 00:00 DevDay wrapped: did OpenAI cook? 00:28 dots: agents that keep working when you don't 01:30 Sound familiar? OpenClaw, Muse and the "trivial" diss 03:02 ChatGPT Space, aka magic data prisons 03:52 The slow "oh wow" demo call, and one step closer to Jarvis 05:11 How dots work: a cloud computer with cron jobs 06:23 The catch: Pro, Business Premium and Enterprise only 06:52 No GPT-6.1 Astra — but GPT-6.1 Sol and Ultrafast 07:43 The pricing no one liked: Pro 500 and a smaller $200 plan 08:41 Decisions API: basically it's Jev 09:04 A few days with Meta's Muse (I went YOLO) 10:36 Meta's privacy rep vs. OpenAI Private Intelligence 12:04 Muse gets connectors — and the fight to be your AI assistant 13:02 Why this reminded me of Paperclip Heart #OpenAI #ChatGPT #DevDay #dots #AIAgents #MetaMuse #AINews
