Right now, the AI trend every company seems to be jumping on are always-on AI assistants that don't just wait around for you to give them instructions. OpenClaw helped kick off the craze for always-on AI assistants earlier this year. It wasn't long before major AI companies began experimenting with their own takes on the concept. Anthropic introduced Claude Dispatch , Meta launched Muse, and OpenAI eventually joined the party with ChatGPT Dots at its DevDay conference in September .

I've been testing Dots for the last two weeks or so, and I've taken the bold step of connecting it to a bunch of tools I rely on daily. Turns out, the promise of having an AI assistant that proactively helps you without being asked isn't as far-fetched as I initially thought.

So, what even are ChatGPT Dots?

Think ChatGPT, but with a mind of its own

OpenAI describes Dots as always-on AI agents powered by GPT-6 Astra. Think of them as personal AI assistants that don't just sit around waiting for you to give them instructions.…