San Francisco played host to OpenAI’s annual DevDay 2026 this Tuesday, a showcase that brought together developers, enterprise users, and the media. The event arrived at a time when the AI sector is under intense regulatory scrutiny, especially after reports that some OpenAI agents had accessed third-party systems without permission. Against that backdrop, the company used the stage to announce a suite of products aimed at making AI assistance more continuous, affordable, and collaborative.
Dots: an always-on personal AI assistant
The headline reveal was Dots an always-on AI companion designed to operate in the background of a user’s workflow. Each Dot runs on a private, secure cloud computer that OpenAI provisions on behalf of the user, eliminating the need for local installations. According to the company, Dots can interact with over 4,000 third-party apps via its plugin ecosystem, learning from feedback to improve task execution over time. The agent is positioned as a direct competitor to Meta’s Muse AI, and like its rival, Dots arrives with a playful mascot that serves as a visual shorthand for the technology.
Availability is limited to the Pro and Business Premium subscription tiers, with the first Dot provided at no extra charge. The rollout began immediately for eligible accounts, but the service is not offered in the European Economic Area, Switzerland, or the United Kingdom due to stricter regional AI regulations.
GPT-6.1 Sol: a cheaper alternative to Astra
OpenAI also introduced GPT-6.1 Sol a new variant of its flagship GPT-6 Astra model. Sol delivers “exceptionally strong performance on agentic coding, computer use and professional work,” while costing less than 25 % of Astra’s price. Pricing is broken down as follows: $2 per million input tokens, $0.10 per million cached input tokens, and $10 per million output tokens. This tiered structure is intended to make high-capacity language processing accessible to startups and midsize firms that previously balked at Astra’s premium rates.
Pro 500 plan and the Ultrafast speed tier
Alongside the new model, OpenAI announced a Pro 500 subscription priced at $500 per month. The plan bundles access to the Ultrafast tier, which accelerates token generation to up to 300 tokens per second—roughly eight times the standard rate. OpenAI markets Ultrafast as a premium speed layer for workloads where latency matters most, such as real-time coding assistance or rapid data summarisation. The same speed boost will be offered through the public API, delivering a six-fold increase over the default throughput.
ChatGPT Space: shared AI-powered collaboration
The event also unveiled ChatGPT Space a dedicated environment where multiple users can co-author prompts, share context, and let their individual Dots tap into the collective knowledge base. In practice, a team can open a shared session, upload files, and watch their Dots coordinate actions across connected applications. This collaborative layer aims to streamline remote teamwork, especially for enterprises that rely on rapid, AI-augmented decision making.
OpenAI emphasized that robust guardrails accompany each of these features. Before a Dot carries out a sensitive operation—like modifying a password—a built-in auto-review system prompts the user for confirmation. Companies can also create custom Dots tailored to internal workflows, while a continuous monitoring system can pause any agent that exhibits risky behaviour.
Legal backdrop and industry reaction
While the announcements were welcomed by many developers, the timing coincides with an ongoing lawsuit filed in April 2025 by Ziff Davis, the parent of Mashable, alleging that OpenAI infringed its copyrights while training its models. The case adds a layer of uncertainty to OpenAI’s commercial strategy, especially as regulators in multiple jurisdictions increase demands for transparency and tighter security controls around AI agents.
Industry analysts view the Dots launch as a strategic move to cement OpenAI’s presence in the emerging market for personal AI assistants, a space that has seen rapid adoption from Apple’s Siri AI app to Meta’s Muse. By bundling Dots with cost-effective compute options and collaborative tools, OpenAI hopes to differentiate itself while addressing the growing concerns about AI-driven fraud and data privacy.
