The Race to Build Your Personal AI Agent Heats Up
OpenAI unveiled Dots, its new always-on AI agents, at DevDay, setting up direct competition with Meta's earlier agent Muse. Both mark a shift from chatbots toward proactive, autonomous digital assistants.
At OpenAI's annual DevDay conference, more than 2,500 attendees got their first look at Dots, the company's new always-on AI agents designed to browse the web, make autonomous decisions, and proactively complete tasks rather than simply respond to direct requests.
A Wired reporter tested a personalized version of Dots, naming it "Toolie" and giving it a pink frog appearance. The agent offered to draft a follow-up email for a pending data request, suggested dinner spots for an underplanned upcoming trip, and offered to refine reporting notes by drawing on her ChatGPT history.
Comparing Dots and Meta's Muse
The reporter had spent much of the previous month testing Meta's competing agent, Muse. Unlike Dots, which at launch is available only to subscribers of OpenAI's Pro plan starting at $100 per month, Muse is free to use. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said Dots currently requires significant computing power, positioning it as a premium product for now, though he expects the company to eventually offer a mass-market version to billions of users.
Cute design, proactive behavior
Both Dots and Muse lean into approachable, cute visual branding and use emoji reactions to mimic the feel of a group chat, an approach meant to ease public wariness toward AI. Unlike traditional chatbots, these agents initiate contact themselves, sending reminders and flagging urgent items without being asked.
Altman said his own Dot manages his mornings, filtering information so he feels less overwhelmed after waking up.
Trust remains a concern
During setup, OpenAI encouraged connecting Gmail and Google Drive accounts, raising questions about data access and security. The reporter noted that while these agents have become far more reliable than a year ago, when they frequently produced errors, caution around granting access to personal accounts is still warranted. Altman declined to say whether Dots lays groundwork for OpenAI's long-rumored hardware plans.
