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OpenAI dots vs Grok Bot: which always-on AI agent should you use?

Updated · Facts checked October 2, 2026 · By the dotaimodel team · How we research

Short answer

Both give you an AI agent with its own cloud computer that keeps working while you’re away[1] source: OpenAI (ChatGPT Learn)[10] source: SpaceXAI (xAI). Choose Grok Bot if you want a lower price of entry ($20–$30/month vs a ChatGPT Pro plan) and several agents working in parallel today[10] source: SpaceXAI (xAI)[11] source: SpaceXAI (xAI)[12] source: SpaceXAI (xAI). Choose dots if you’re already on ChatGPT Pro/Business Premium and need OpenAI’s 4,000+ app connections, Slack/Teams and voice calls[1] source: OpenAI (ChatGPT Learn)[7] source: CNBC.

Side-by-side comparison

What it is

OpenAI dots
Always-on agent inside ChatGPT with its own cloud computer and browser[1] source: OpenAI (ChatGPT Learn)
Grok Bot (xAI)OUR PICK
Team of always-on agent “teammates” with their own cloud computer[10] source: SpaceXAI (xAI)

Cheapest way in

OpenAI dots
ChatGPT Pro (Pro tier reported at $100/mo[6] source: WIRED) or Business Premium / Enterprise[1] source: OpenAI (ChatGPT Learn)
Grok Bot (xAI)OUR PICK
SuperGrok, listed at $30/mo[12] source: SpaceXAI (xAI); also included with Cursor Pro ($20/mo)[11] source: SpaceXAI (xAI)[12] source: SpaceXAI (xAI)

How many agents

OpenAI dots
Start with one primary dot; teams of dots described as a future option[6] source: WIRED[7] source: CNBC
Grok Bot (xAI)OUR PICK
Many Bots in parallel today, including group chats where Bots pass work to each other[10] source: SpaceXAI (xAI)

Underlying model

OpenAI dots
GPT-6 Astra[1] source: OpenAI (ChatGPT Learn)
Grok Bot (xAI)OUR PICK
Routed automatically; xAI hasn’t said which models, and you can’t pick one[16] source: VentureBeat (Carl Franzen)

Apps & tools

OpenAI dots
Connects to 4,000+ apps via plugins[7] source: CNBC; Slack and Teams messaging[1] source: OpenAI (ChatGPT Learn)
Grok Bot (xAI)OUR PICK
Signs into your tools and websites, including ones with “no clean API or MCP”[10] source: SpaceXAI (xAI)

Where you use it

OpenAI dots
ChatGPT desktop app or desktop browser to set up; mobile app later; no mobile web[1] source: OpenAI (ChatGPT Learn)
Grok Bot (xAI)OUR PICK
Desktop and iOS[10] source: SpaceXAI (xAI); Android listed as “coming soon” at launch[16] source: VentureBeat (Carl Franzen)

Regions & age

OpenAI dots
Pro: 18+, outside the EEA, UK and Switzerland. Business Premium and Enterprise: rolling out worldwide[1] source: OpenAI (ChatGPT Learn)
Grok Bot (xAI)OUR PICK
No regional limits stated in xAI’s announcements (not verified)

Usage limits

OpenAI dots
Chatting with your dot doesn’t count toward ChatGPT limits; tasks it starts in Work/Codex do[1] source: OpenAI (ChatGPT Learn)
Grok Bot (xAI)OUR PICK
Grok Bot has its own usage, separate from your Grok or Cursor plan[11] source: SpaceXAI (xAI)

Status

OpenAI dots
Rolling out gradually; you may not see it yet even on an eligible plan[1] source: OpenAI (ChatGPT Learn)
Grok Bot (xAI)OUR PICK
Beta since August 11, 2026[11] source: SpaceXAI (xAI)
OpenAI dots vs Grok Bot — full comparison — as of October 2, 2026. Bracketed numbers link to sources. “Not stated” means we could not find an official figure.

Price: which is cheaper?

Grok Bot is cheaper to start. xAI includes Grok Bot with SuperGrok, SuperGrok Plus and SuperGrok Heavy, and with Cursor Pro, Pro+, Ultra and Cursor Teams plans[11] source: SpaceXAI (xAI). On xAI’s pricing page SuperGrok was listed at $30/month, Cursor Pro at $20/month and Cursor Teams Standard at $40/seat/month when we checked[12] source: SpaceXAI (xAI). Bot work comes with its own usage, separate from your Grok or Cursor plan[11] source: SpaceXAI (xAI).

Dots are included with ChatGPT Pro (Pro 100, Pro 200, Pro 500), Business Premium and Enterprise[1] source: OpenAI (ChatGPT Learn). WIRED put the Pro tier at $100/month[6] source: WIRED, and Pro 500 costs $500/month[9] source: Learnetto (independent roundup). There’s no extra fee for the dot itself, and chatting with it doesn’t count against ChatGPT limits[1] source: OpenAI (ChatGPT Learn).

One agent or a team?

This is Grok Bot’s clearest advantage today. xAI says people “often run multiple Bots in parallel, with one to manage the others,” and that Bots can message each other and coordinate in group chats[10] source: SpaceXAI (xAI). VentureBeat reports that early tester Matt Shumer wrote that a Chief of Staff Bot coordinating separate researcher and writer Bots “worked out of the box” — while also criticizing the automatic model router during his testing[16] source: VentureBeat (Carl Franzen).

Dots start with one primary dot per user[7] source: CNBC; Altman said that “in the future, if you like, you can work with a whole team of dots”[5] source: The Guardian (Dara Kerr). A single dot can still spin up background agents for parallel subtasks[1] source: OpenAI (ChatGPT Learn).

Apps, tools and channels

Dots are stronger on integrations and channels. They can connect to 4,000+ apps[7] source: CNBC, take messages and voice calls in ChatGPT, and work in Slack and Microsoft Teams with the same memory everywhere[1] source: OpenAI (ChatGPT Learn).

Grok Bot takes a different route: Bots sign into your tools and websites through their own computer — including “platforms with no clean API or MCP” — so the work lands in the actual tool[10] source: SpaceXAI (xAI). You can also show a Bot a workflow once and it saves it as a routine[10] source: SpaceXAI (xAI). xAI doesn’t publish an integration count.

What model runs each one?

Dots run on GPT-6 Astra[1] source: OpenAI (ChatGPT Learn), OpenAI’s most capable broadly deployed model, with a 1,050,000-token context window in the API[2] source: OpenAI Deployment Safety Hub[4] source: OpenAI API docs. Grok Bot routes tasks to models automatically; testers note you can’t choose a model and xAI hasn’t said which models it uses[16] source: VentureBeat (Carl Franzen). xAI says its newest model, Grok 4.7, was trained to natively understand the Grok Bot harness[13] source: SpaceXAI (xAI).

Safety and privacy

OpenAI has published far more detail. Its GPT-6 Astra system card (with a dots appendix added September 29) reports, among other things, that Astra is its first model to reach the “Critical” cybersecurity capability level and that OpenAI added misalignment monitoring to all tool-using inference in its external deployment[2] source: OpenAI Deployment Safety Hub[3] source: OpenAI Deployment Safety Hub. Dots ask before consequential actions and keep background research read-only[1] source: OpenAI (ChatGPT Learn).

For Grok Bot, xAI says sensitive actions can go through Auto Review before they run, the cloud computer is encrypted in transit and at rest, and you can opt out of training; enterprise admins can set DLP and network controls[12] source: SpaceXAI (xAI). We did not find a published system card specific to Grok Bot. Its sales-prospecting example “leaves every send for you to approve”[11] source: SpaceXAI (xAI).

Verdict: who should pick which?

Frequently asked questions

Is Grok Bot cheaper than OpenAI dots?

Yes, as of October 2, 2026. Grok Bot is included with SuperGrok (listed at $30/month) and Cursor Pro ($20/month)[11] source: SpaceXAI (xAI)[12] source: SpaceXAI (xAI). Dots need ChatGPT Pro (reported at $100/month[6] source: WIRED), Business Premium or Enterprise[1] source: OpenAI (ChatGPT Learn).

Can I run more than one agent?

With Grok Bot, yes — many Bots in parallel, including group chats where they coordinate[10] source: SpaceXAI (xAI). With dots you start with one primary dot; teams of dots are described as a future option[6] source: WIRED[7] source: CNBC. (A single dot can use background agents for parallel subtasks[1] source: OpenAI (ChatGPT Learn).)

Which is smarter, GPT-6 Astra or Grok?

We couldn’t find an independent, like-for-like test of dots versus Grok Bot, and xAI doesn’t disclose which models Grok Bot routes to[16] source: VentureBeat (Carl Franzen). Vendors publish self-reported model benchmarks[2] source: OpenAI Deployment Safety Hub[13] source: SpaceXAI (xAI); treat them as claims and test on your own work. See GPT-6 Astra vs Grok 4.7 for verifiable specs.

Which works in the UK and EU?

Dots on Pro plans exclude the EEA, UK and Switzerland[1] source: OpenAI (ChatGPT Learn). xAI’s Grok Bot announcements don’t state regional restrictions[10] source: SpaceXAI (xAI)[11] source: SpaceXAI (xAI); we could not verify availability country by country, so check in-app.

Sources for this page

  1. [1]Meet dots — OpenAI (ChatGPT Learn) (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2]GPT-6 Astra System Card — OpenAI Deployment Safety Hub, 2026-09-03 (accessed 2026-10-02)
  3. [3]GPT-6 Astra System Card — Appendix: dots — OpenAI Deployment Safety Hub, 2026-09-29 (accessed 2026-10-02)
  4. [4]GPT-6 Astra model page — OpenAI API docs (accessed 2026-10-02)
  5. [5]OpenAI announces ‘dots’ agent after scrapping launch of new AI model over safety concerns — The Guardian (Dara Kerr), 2026-09-29 (accessed 2026-10-02)
  6. [6]OpenAI’s Dots Are Always-On AI Agents—and Its Answer to Meta’s Muse — WIRED, 2026-09-29 (accessed 2026-10-02)
  7. [7]OpenAI DevDay recap: AI lab rolls out Dots agents, Altman and Friar comment on IPO — CNBC, 2026-09-29 (accessed 2026-10-02)
  8. [9]OpenAI DevDay 2026: everything announced — Learnetto (independent roundup), 2026-09-30 (accessed 2026-10-02)
  9. [10]Introducing Grok Bot — SpaceXAI (xAI), 2026-08-11 (accessed 2026-10-02)
  10. [11]Grok Bot is now included with more plans — SpaceXAI (xAI) (accessed 2026-10-02)
  11. [12]Grok Bot — AI teammates that finish the work (product & pricing page) — SpaceXAI (xAI) (accessed 2026-10-02)
  12. [13]Introducing Grok 4.7 — SpaceXAI (xAI), 2026-09-21 (accessed 2026-10-02)
  13. [14]Grok — product overview — SpaceXAI (xAI) (accessed 2026-10-02)
  14. [16]SpaceXAI's Grok Bot turns agents into persistent digital coworkers — VentureBeat (Carl Franzen), 2026-08-11 (accessed 2026-10-02)

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Our pick: GrokFree to try · independent site

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