Claude Duet vs OpenAI Dots: Which AI Agent Should You Use?

Claude Duet and OpenAI Dots are proactive agents that keep working on their own cloud computers. Duet, Anthropic's US-only research preview (October 21, 2026), comes with Claude Pro ($20 a month) and up, is built around work and uses your Claude limits. Dots (September 29, 2026) come with ChatGPT Pro (from $100 a month) outside the EEA, Switzerland and the UK, and dot chats don't count toward ChatGPT limits.

If you live in the US and already pay for Claude, join the Duet waitlist. If you already pay for ChatGPT Pro, or live outside the US, start with Dots, unless you are in the EEA, Switzerland or the UK, where Pro doesn't include them.

Claude Duet vs OpenAI Dots at a glance

Every row was checked on the vendors' own pages on November 5, 2026.

What does each agent do?

Anthropic calls Duet "a proactive agent that understands what needs your attention. It takes on tasks of all sizes, keeps working while you're away, and waits for your ok when it matters" (product page, checked November 5, 2026). OpenAI's page says a dot "learns how you work, spots what needs attention, and uses its own computer to move your projects forward" (Dots page, checked November 5, 2026).

The daily rhythm differs. Duet "briefs you every morning, drafts next steps, then goes quiet until something needs you," Anthropic's product page says. A dot "proactively figures out the next steps and keeps making progress between conversations," according to the Dots page, and OpenAI told TechCrunch (October 26, 2026) that it built in what it calls "proactive research".

Duet has a virtual machine with its own browser, so your laptop or phone doesn't need to be on (Anthropic's launch article, checked November 5, 2026). Dots "work on their own cloud computers", and you decide whether to connect your own computer. Duet checks your connected accounts every few hours, "because checking nonstop would use up your plan's limits much faster," the launch article says. OpenAI publishes no check interval for Dots.

Duet comes as a standalone iOS and Android app and on claude.ai, with one main thread plus separate channels for topics that "share the same memory" (Anthropic's help center, checked November 5, 2026). You message or call your dot in ChatGPT on web, mobile and desktop, and the Dots page shows dots working in Slack and Microsoft Teams. Texting is a beta "to a limited number of Pro users in the US" over iMessage or RCS, and it isn't supported in Business or Enterprise workspaces (OpenAI's help center, checked November 5, 2026). Linq, a third-party messaging provider, carries those texts, so the conversation "is not end-to-end encrypted between you and your dot".

Duet "doesn't make phone calls or send text messages to other people", and with your approval it can send emails from the accounts you've connected (Anthropic's help center). You can call your dot, but it "cannot initiate calls to you at launch" (OpenAI's help center).

Duet runs on your Claude account, so "the memory, skills, and connectors you've set up in Claude are there from your first message", and it can search your past chats for earlier context (Anthropic's help center). A dot builds its own context from your conversations and plugins and keeps it "for as long as you keep your dot" (OpenAI's help center, checked November 5, 2026).

Anthropic is direct about what Duet is for: "We built its core functionality around work, so personal errands, such as booking tickets, aren't quite as strong, and it can't yet show you its browser" (launch article). Its App Store subtitle is "Your proactive work agent". OpenAI's launch video is titled "Introducing dots, always-on agents built to handle everything."

Which plans include Claude Duet and OpenAI Dots?

These are the prices on claude.com/pricing and chatgpt.com/pricing, checked November 5, 2026; Business Premium and Enterprise prices are on OpenAI's business pricing. ChatGPT Pro comes in three tiers, "Pro 100", "Pro 200" and "Pro 500". Fortune's Emily Forlini reported on September 29, 2026 that OpenAI "unveiled a new $500 a month plan, which offers the highest usage allowance".

Duet costs nothing extra during the preview: it "is included with Pro, Max, and Ultra plans at no extra cost" (Anthropic's help center). It uses your plan's limits "at the same rate as chats in Claude", including the five-hour session limit and weekly limits. When you're admitted to the preview, you get one full limit reset, available until November 30, 2026. Duet's App Store listing shows three in-app purchases, "Usage Credits (20) $20.00", "Usage Credits (50) $45.00" and "Usage Credits (250) $200.00" (checked November 5, 2026); Anthropic's usage-credits help page covers Claude, Claude Code and Claude Cowork and does not mention Duet.

"Conversations with your dot don't count toward your ChatGPT usage limits," OpenAI's announcement says (checked November 5, 2026), but tasks your dot starts in Codex or ChatGPT Work count as usual. Your plan also includes "an allowance for deeper work, with extended limits for the first month after launch", with no published number. In an OpenAI forum thread about hitting a limit on calls with a dot, astroianu wrote on October 2, 2026 that OpenAI doesn't publish the limit and there is no way to check how much you've used. Fortune reported that "All Pro and Business Premium users get one free Dot included in their plans, although OpenAI says it will later offer paid options for more Dots at an unnamed price."

Workspaces follow their own calendar, according to OpenAI's help center (checked November 5, 2026). Dots are generally available to eligible Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare workspaces. During the admin preview from November 4 through November 18, 2026, you can use one if your admin enables access for your role, and the preview is free. Starting November 18, billing begins for all enabled dots, and dots become available by default unless your admin opts out.

Can you get Claude Duet or OpenAI Dots where you live?

Duet "is available in the US only during the research preview", and access opens in waves (Anthropic's help center, checked November 5, 2026). The product page describes it as "a research preview on a waitlist for Claude Pro, Max, and Ultra subscribers in the US", with Team and Enterprise plans not included yet.

Dots reach more countries. OpenAI's help center (checked November 5, 2026) says they are rolling out "to Pro users aged 18 and older in markets excluding the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the UK". Business Premium users get them "in supported ChatGPT regions, subject to workspace eligibility requirements", and eligible Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare workspaces have them too, except workspaces with UAE data or inference residency. For Pro and Business Premium accounts the rollout is gradual, and access may take several days. A Pro subscriber in Canada or Japan is in an eligible market; one in the UK, Germany or Switzerland is not, and a company there on Business Premium should ask its workspace admin.

Each person gets one dot for now: you "start with your primary dot", and OpenAI says "you'll be able to add more dots" in the future (announcement). Dots "are not yet available to users under 18". Duet runs in its own iOS and Android app and on claude.ai; dots run inside ChatGPT on iOS, Android, desktop and desktop web, and "are not supported on mobile web".

What can they access, and what needs your approval?

Duet can use "the over 6,000 connectors and plugins in the Claude Marketplace" (launch article). Two gaps matter: "Some connectors, such as Slack, work with limits in Claude Duet. Microsoft 365 isn't available yet" (Anthropic's help center). OpenAI says dots "can readily connect to over 4,000 apps" through its plugins (launch video, September 29, 2026).

Before Duet sends a message, makes a payment, signs a document or deletes anything, "it shows you exactly what it's about to do and waits for your approval" (launch article). "A few things are off-limits even with your approval, like trading securities or moving money between accounts," and each purchase uses a one-time card that works only for that purchase. For dots, Custom Rules let you "allow specific actions, require approval, or block them", and actions that could affect your accounts or share information go through Auto-review against your instructions and rules (Dots page). The most sensitive actions, "like changing a password or transferring money", are handed back to you to finish yourself (OpenAI's help center).

On privacy, Duet "never sees your passwords, browser cookies, or the sign-in tokens for your connected apps, and it can't save them to its memory" (safety article, checked November 5, 2026). A separate safety classifier checks every message Duet is about to send. Sign-in credentials, full card and bank account numbers and government ID numbers are in its "never share" tier: "Claude Duet is instructed never to share these with anyone, even if you ask." Deleting your account "wipes everything Claude Duet has stored."

OpenAI's pages (checked November 5, 2026) handle it differently. Workspace data is not used for training by default, personal plans follow the "Improve the model for everyone" setting, and "we don't train directly on proactive research or your dot's notes to itself" (announcement). A dot's context does not keep "credentials, images, or screenshots". You "currently cannot view, delete, or directly modify individual dot memories", and "human review may occur in limited circumstances, including safety-related cases, even when model improvement is turned off" (help center). TechCrunch's Tim Fernholz wrote on October 26, 2026 that a dot "refuses to accept read-only access to cloud drives."

What reviewers and early users say

We have not run either agent ourselves, so this section uses published hands-on reports and user posts.

Engadget's Igor Bonifacic wrote on October 28, 2026: "In my testing, OpenAI's Dots are comparatively more polished." Bonifacic added that using Duet "currently requires joining a waitlist that's only open to people in the US." TechCrunch's Tim Fernholz wrote about Dots on October 26, 2026: "In our testing, the assistant's ability to think ahead is apparent and often useful, but it isn't quite there yet."

Duet users bring up limits and memory. On Hacker News on October 21, 2026, Computer0 wrote: "I really have no interest in this if it's going to use my plan's regular limits." Gareth321 noted there on October 23, 2026 that Duet checks accounts at set intervals: "An urgent email could therefore arrive between checks." In App Store reviews (checked November 5, 2026), MinyiX wrote that Duet "lost a plan we had already agreed on", and Joel dee D wrote: "I have to start giving them a full handover of my rules and my context." Dubertron, who also uses a ChatGPT dot, wrote in an App Store review on October 28, 2026 that Duet "does a few things much better than the chatgpt dot does".

Dots users praise the monitoring more than the coding. On Hacker News on October 21, 2026, intenex wrote that they had "bought a car with almost the entire process handled by Dot" and were now buying a house in Kyoto. The same day, joshstrange found Dots "worse in every way when asking it to do anything coding related" but "very nice as a 'Monitor my communication channels for me' tool". On OpenAI's forum on October 1, 2026, VeitB wrote that a new dot spotted a delayed flight and suggested rebooking the connection: "I never asked it to do any of this."

Only Duet has an app of its own, so store numbers cover one side: the App Store shows 4.4 from 69 ratings, and Google Play shows 50K+ downloads (checked November 5, 2026). Dots ship inside ChatGPT.

Where do Meta Muse and Grok Bot fit?

Meta's Muse is a third option: a live App Store app, updated November 4, 2026 and rated 4.8 from about 451,000 ratings. Our Meta Muse review covers what it can do, how invite codes work and its privacy trade-offs.

Grok Bot, published on the App Store by X Corp., has been there since August 11, 2026, and version 1.24.1 shipped on November 5, 2026. Its listing describes several bots in one thread that "pass work between themselves", routines it learns by watching you do a job once, and agents that come back "only ... when your approval is needed". It is rated 4.92 from 19,942 ratings. The app is free to download, and the listing names no subscription plan, price or model.

Claude Duet or OpenAI Dots: which should you use?

Switching between them

Dot memories cannot be viewed or edited, so moving from Dots to Duet means briefing Duet yourself. Duet starts with your Claude memory and can search past Claude chats, but App Store reviewer Joel dee D still had to hand over rules and context again. To stop a dot, pause it from its profile menu or delete it; deleting it starts removing its stored context. Deleting your Duet account wipes what Duet stored, and Duet lives in its own app, separate from the main Claude app.

Can developers build their own?

Neither company lists an API for its agent. Anthropic sells Claude Managed Agents, in beta, which "gives you composable APIs and the infrastructure to run them" (Claude Managed Agents, checked November 5, 2026), and Duet's credential handling "follows the design we use for Claude Managed Agents". TechCrunch's Tim Fernholz wrote on October 26, 2026 that "you could achieve much of dots' functionality with Open AI's Codex app".

The models behind both agents are available through the OmniaKey API with one key: Duet runs on Claude Opus 5.5, and dots run on GPT-6 Astra and GPT-6.1 Terra. The model pages show current rates.

Frequently asked questions

Is Claude Duet free?

There is no extra charge during the research preview: Duet is included with Claude Pro, Max and Ultra (Anthropic's help center, checked November 5, 2026), and Pro costs $20 a month billed monthly. Its App Store listing also shows three Usage Credits purchases; Anthropic's usage-credits help page does not mention Duet.

Can I use OpenAI Dots with ChatGPT Plus?

No. ChatGPT's pricing page (checked November 5, 2026) marks Dots "No" for Free, Go and Plus and "Yes" for Pro, which starts at $100 a month. Business Premium and Enterprise workspaces also include them.

Is Claude Duet available outside the US?

No. Anthropic's help center (checked November 5, 2026) says Duet "is available in the US only during the research preview", with access opening in waves for Pro, Max and Ultra subscribers on the waitlist.

Are OpenAI Dots available in the UK or EU?

Not on ChatGPT Pro. OpenAI's help center (checked November 5, 2026) rolls Pro access out "in markets excluding the European Economic Area, Switzerland, and the UK". Business Premium is available "in supported ChatGPT regions, subject to workspace eligibility requirements", with no country list, so a UK or EU company should ask its workspace admin.

What model does Claude Duet use?

Claude Opus 5.5, and you can't pick another: "Claude Duet runs on Claude Opus 5.5 and decides how much effort a job needs" (Anthropic's help center, checked November 5, 2026). Dots launched on GPT-6 Astra, and OpenAI added GPT-6.1 Terra on November 3, 2026.

Sources checked

• Claude Duet product page
• Claude Duet launch article
• Claude Duet safety, privacy and security
• Get started with Claude Duet (help center)
• Claude pricing
• Claude Managed Agents
• Introducing dots (OpenAI)
• Dots feature page
• OpenAI launch video
• About dots (help center)
• Dots plans and availability (help center)
• ChatGPT pricing
• TechCrunch, October 26, 2026
• Engadget, October 28, 2026
• Fortune, September 29, 2026
• Hacker News discussion of Claude Duet
• OpenAI forum: Who's using Dots?
• OpenAI forum: limits on calls with Dots
• App Store: Claude Duet
• Google Play: Claude Duet
• App Store: Muse from Meta
• App Store: Grok Bot

Update log

• November 5, 2026: first version; every fact checked November 5, 2026.