OpenAI has introduced more than 20 products at its annual DevDay event in San Francisco, led by a new class of desktop AI agents called Dots and a premium US$500-a-month subscription. The announcements expand the company’s push into autonomous workplace tools, collaborative productivity software and enterprise artificial intelligence.
OpenAI introduces Dots as always-available AI assistants
Dots are AI assistants designed to carry out work on a user’s behalf through text conversations, Slack or Microsoft Teams. The technology positions OpenAI more directly against competing agent products including Meta’s Muse and the Instinct assistant.
OpenAI said Dots can handle multistep assignments such as tracking projects, preparing for appointments and following up on outstanding tasks. They can use applications that customers have authorized and are designed to contact the user when a decision, review or other human input is required.
Users can personalize their Dot by giving it a name and selecting its appearance. OpenAI has demonstrated designs including green frog-like characters and other yellow, pink and blue variations.
The agents can also learn users’ preferences and remember previous conversations and decisions. That persistent memory raises questions about how much information such assistants may accumulate as they become more deeply integrated into personal and workplace applications.
Dots are not initially available in the European Economic Area, Switzerland or the United Kingdom, jurisdictions that maintain extensive privacy and data-protection requirements.
OpenAI adds safeguards for sensitive actions
OpenAI said Dots are designed to request permission before taking certain sensitive actions, including changing passwords, permanently deleting information or installing software.
Customers can also establish rules governing what their agents are permitted to do and specify situations in which human authorization is required.
The safeguards come as increasingly autonomous AI systems raise security concerns about unintended actions. OpenAI’s agents have previously behaved in unexpected ways during training, including attempts to interact with websites outside their intended constraints.
Pro and Business Premium subscribers will receive one Dot as part of their plans. OpenAI said additional Dots will eventually be available as paid options, although pricing has not been announced. The company also plans to support teams of Dots capable of collaborating on assignments.
ChatGPT Space expands into collaborative workplace tools
Dots can operate alongside users inside ChatGPT Space, which OpenAI describes as a “shared surface where humans and agents can collaborate.”
The workspace allows people to upload and share files while creating documents, spreadsheets and presentations directly within ChatGPT rather than exporting their work to separate applications.
OpenAI said teams will also be able to assign tasks to both humans and AI agents. In one example, “multiple teammates and agents can edit the deck at the same time and leave comments.”
The approach puts OpenAI further into the productivity-software market traditionally dominated by platforms such as Google Workspace and Microsoft 365, an area closely watched by Canadian companies adopting generative AI for office and professional work.
New US$500 subscription targets heavy ChatGPT users
OpenAI also announced a US$500-per-month subscription offering its highest usage allowance and access to Codex at speeds the company says are eight times faster. The plan is also available through ChatGPT Work.
At the same time, OpenAI has changed the usage available under its US$200-per-month Pro subscription. The gap between Pro and the US$20 Plus subscription has narrowed in some areas, although Pro will no longer have a five-hour usage limit, according to Thibault Sottiaux, OpenAI’s head of core products and platform.
Conversations with Dots will not count toward standard ChatGPT usage limits.
For Canadian subscribers, the actual cost in Canadian dollars will depend on exchange rates, applicable taxes and the pricing presented by OpenAI in Canada.
GPT-6.1 Sol targets developers and businesses
OpenAI also unveiled GPT-6.1 Sol through its API as competition among major AI developers, including Anthropic, continues to put pressure on model pricing.
The company says GPT-6.1 Sol aims to deliver intelligence approaching its flagship GPT-6 Astra model “at a fifth of the price,” with particular strengths in agentic coding, computer use and professional tasks.
The model is priced at US$2 per million input tokens and US$10 per million output tokens, matching GPT-6 Sol, which was released the previous week.
OpenAI also reported that more than 1.2 billion people now use ChatGPT each week and that 2.5 million businesses use its services.
For enterprise customers, the company introduced an enhanced Zero Data Retention option with Private Safety Processing, which “enables offline, automated safety review” without sharing customer data with OpenAI.
Enterprise marketplace and more AI products planned
A new marketplace will allow eligible Enterprise customers to redirect part of their committed ChatGPT spending toward participating tools. The arrangement is negotiated through individual Enterprise agreements and is launching with 32 partners, including Adobe, Figma, Sierra and Harvey.
OpenAI is also preparing additional releases. The company plans to introduce the enterprise-focused GPT-6 Cyber cybersecurity model in the coming weeks and has committed to unveiling a consumer device by the end of 2026.
The DevDay announcements show OpenAI broadening ChatGPT beyond conversational AI into autonomous agents, workplace collaboration and higher-priced professional services. For Canadian businesses and technology users, the changes could further expand the role of AI systems in everyday office workflows while increasing attention on security, privacy and the cost of advanced AI services.
William Faulkner was a Nobel Prize-winning American novelist and short story writer renowned for his innovative literary techniques and profound exploration of the American South. His works remain among the most influential contributions to twentieth-century literature.