Early testers of OpenAI Dots say the always-on agents already sort email, catch schedule clashes, and clear office paperwork. They also report bugs that could make casual users wait.
Anyone typing Dot.com, however, lands on the download page for Grok Bot, a rival agent from Elon Musk’s SpaceXAI. OpenAI launched Dots at DevDay on September 29.
What Early Testers Did With OpenAI Dots
Each dot runs on its own cloud computer, so users can text or call it while their laptop is closed.
One tester, who had used Dots for several days before launch, named his agent Boo. He gave it access to his email and Slack.
Boo filtered incoming requests, so he could triage them without opening his inbox. The agent also acted without being asked. When he rebooked a flight, Boo flagged a clash with an unread Slack meeting request.
A tech journalist handed his dot a string of office chores instead. According to his review, it declined a radio invitation, answered a bookkeeper’s questions, and drafted a meeting agenda from a transcript. He estimated the dot finished about two hours of work for 15 minutes of his time.
Bugs, Rivals, and a Dot.com Twist
Still, the first tester called the pre-launch build buggy. He ran into permission errors, dropped messages, and missing iMessage support. His advice to most people was to wait a week or two.
He also compared Dots to Meta’s Muse and SpaceXAI’s Grok Bot. Users already deep into those tools may not switch right away, he wrote.
Another early tester drew a sharper line. He found Dots more work-focused than Grok Bot, with Slack as its strongest channel. As a personal assistant, however, he still ranked it behind Grok Bot, partly because its plugin setup feels less clear.
On the plus side, he praised the option to call his dot, which let him talk to it while driving to work. Payments, on the other hand, do not really work yet, he wrote, despite an on-stage ticket-buying example from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.
Meanwhile, the rivalry extends to the web address. Registry data shows Dot.com’s record was last changed on July 28, long before the Dots name surfaced publicly.
The redirect adds a new chapter to Musk and Altman’s rivalry. For now, OpenAI is rolling Dots out to ChatGPT Pro and Business Premium subscribers first. Whether it fixes the rough edges before users settle on a rival could decide how fast the agent catches on.
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