Developer conference DevDay showcases ChatGPT Spaces for human-agent collaboration

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman unveils the AI agent "Dots" at the annual developer conference DevDay 2026, held at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. [AFP]
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman unveils the AI agent "Dots" at the annual developer conference DevDay 2026, held at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco. [AFP]

OpenAI has introduced an AI agent that autonomously carries out tasks after receiving a role and objectives from the user.

The company unveiled the AI agent "Dots" Tuesday (local time) at its annual developer conference DevDay 2026, held at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco.

Dots is an AI agent that proactively handles a wide range of projects on a virtual cloud computer — including research, data analysis, document drafting and software development.

Powered by GPT-6 Astra, OpenAI's most advanced model, Dots grasps the relevant context once a user sets a goal and carries out the work on its own.

As conversations continue, it learns the user's preferences and past decisions, evolving into a personalized assistant over time.

Users can assign tasks to Dots not only through the ChatGPT web interface or app, but also via external channels such as text messaging, the workplace messenger Slack and Microsoft Teams.

For example, a user could assign a task through ChatGPT, add details via text message while on the go and share context through Slack.

"Starting today, you can create your first Dot, give it a name and make it your own," OpenAI said. "In the future, multiple Dots will work together as a team on your behalf."

In internal testing at OpenAI, Dots demonstrated proactive capabilities — tracking down bugs to fix an app and alerting presenters at a company event when their slides were unfinished.

To prevent Dots from taking unwanted actions, users can set custom rules to adjust the scope of its permissions and designate tasks that require explicit approval.

Particularly sensitive operations — such as changing passwords, permanently deleting data or installing software — are configured to require the user's explicit approval before proceeding.

The first Dot will be available at no extra cost to ChatGPT Pro subscribers, whose plans start at $100 per month, as well as Business Premium subscribers.

OpenAI said enterprise data will not be used to train its AI models, and individual plan subscribers can choose whether to allow their conversation history to be used for training. Conversations with Dots do not count against a user's ChatGPT usage.

OpenAI also unveiled ChatGPT Spaces, a collaborative environment where team members and AI agents such as Dots can work together.


mokiya@heraldcorp.com