Meta Muse vs. OpenAI Dot: How the New AI Agents Compare
Meta and OpenAI have released AI agents that keep working after the user leaves. They differ considerably in price, permission handling and availability.
Technology companies Meta and OpenAI have launched AI agents designed to do more than answer prompts and instead work on tasks independently. Meta's agent, Muse, was released on September 8, while OpenAI's agents in ChatGPT, called Dots, followed about three weeks later. Both can keep working after the user leaves, run their own cloud computers and connect to outside services. Engadget compared the two.
What the agents can do
Muse can shop, complete forms, plan trips, send emails and monitor things such as prices. It runs on a dedicated secure virtual machine with its own browser, and can be reached through Muse's apps, the web or WhatsApp. In Engadget's hands-on test, Muse turned saved Instagram and Facebook posts into organized recipe and restaurant collections.
Dot lives inside ChatGPT and is powered by GPT-6 Astra. Each Dot has its own cloud computer, uses connected plugins, remembers relevant context and can handle scheduled or recurring jobs. Users can also give a Dot access to their local computer. OpenAI plans to let users manage several Dots at once.
Both agents still need supervision. Meta says Muse asks permission before sensitive actions such as sending an email or making a purchase. OpenAI uses permissions, Custom Rules and Auto-review. Both companies warn that their agents can make mistakes, and Amazon has already blocked Muse from shopping on its site.
Price and privacy
Muse is cheaper: its free tier has a usage cap, while the Power and Maximum tiers cost $20 and $100 per month. Individual users can access Dots only from the Pro 100 plan, at $100 per month. A Business Premium seat costs $100 per user per month when billed annually, or $125 when billed monthly.
Meta says data inside its virtual machine is not shared with its advertising systems and that users can opt out of having interactions used to improve its AI models. Engadget found that setting enabled by default. OpenAI says activity from personal-plan Dots may be used to improve its models depending on the ChatGPT setting, while Business and Enterprise data is not used for training by default.
Availability
Dots are rolling out to eligible Pro users outside the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the UK. Business Premium users can access them in supported ChatGPT regions, and Enterprise access is still in beta. Muse is currently available in the US and Canada.
