# Gravel vs ChatGPT dots

OpenAI's dots are always-on agents inside ChatGPT. Gravel is a personal assistant in your messaging apps that texts you first about your email and calendar. They share the idea of an assistant that works without being asked, and differ in most other ways.

## What are Gravel and ChatGPT dots?

Gravel is a personal assistant in your messaging apps for small, personal tasks around email and calendar. dots are OpenAI's always-on agents inside ChatGPT, built for broader work that runs on their own cloud computer. "ChatGPT dots" and "OpenAI dots" are the same product. OpenAI writes the name as "dots" and calls a single one "your dot".

**Compared on October 19, 2026 from public information.** The facts about dots come from OpenAI's launch post (September 29, 2026), the ChatGPT Learn documentation and the OpenAI Help Center. Gravel's facts come from this site. Gravel publishes this page, so check the sources at the end of it.

**What dots are.** OpenAI introduced dots on September 29, 2026 and describes them as always-on agents powered by GPT-6 Astra. Each dot has its own cloud computer and browser, can connect to more than 4,000 apps through plugins, and can keep working when your own devices are off. You reach a dot in ChatGPT, Slack, Teams or a voice call.

**What Gravel is.** Gravel reads the email and calendars you connect, notices what needs you, texts you first, and handles it when you say yes. It works in Telegram and WhatsApp in early access, with iMessage coming, and is built in Munich. The planned price is [€12 a month](https://gravel.chat/pricing).

## How do Gravel and ChatGPT dots differ, side by side?

They overlap on proactive work and approvals, and differ on where you talk to them, what they are built for, and who can get them. "Not stated" means the vendor's public pages we reviewed do not say. It does not mean the feature is missing.

| Topic | Gravel | ChatGPT dots |
|---|---|---|
| Where it lives | In your messaging apps, with no app to install | In ChatGPT (mobile app, desktop app and desktop browser; mobile web is not supported), plus Slack, Teams and voice calls |
| Channels | Telegram and WhatsApp in early access. iMessage is coming | ChatGPT, Slack, Teams and calls in ChatGPT. OpenAI's announcement and channel guide say texting is coming soon. The Help Center describes a limited texting beta for some Pro users in the US |
| Email and calendar | Gmail and Outlook with Google or Microsoft sign-in. iCloud Mail, GMX, WEB.DE, T-Online, freenet, mailbox.org, Posteo and other IMAP mailboxes with an app password. Calendars: Google, Outlook, iCloud and any CalDAV calendar | Through ChatGPT plugins. OpenAI's setup guide names email, calendar and files as examples, and says you can allow reading email without allowing sending |
| Texts you first | Yes. Quiet hours from 10 PM to 7:30 AM by default, at most a few unprompted messages a day, and a morning brief for anything that can wait | Yes, in ChatGPT, Slack and Teams, with progress, questions or decisions that need you. You can tell it where to send different kinds of updates. Quiet hours: Not stated |
| Confirmation before acting | Tells you exactly what it will do before it acts, and one yes covers the whole plan. You pick one of four levels for each kind of action. It starts read-only | Built-in rules for when to act alone and when to ask. An automatic review checks actions that could affect your accounts or share information. Optional Custom Rules set an action to run without asking, run when you say so, ask first, or hand off to you |
| Memory controls | Ask "what do you know about me?" to see it, and tell Gravel to forget anything | Starts with context from ChatGPT memory and keeps its own saved notes. The Help Center says you currently cannot view, delete or edit individual dot memories. Deleting your dot deletes its context |
| Data location | Encrypted with a key that belongs to your account. Hosted and processed in the EU, except the mail or calendar provider you connect and the messaging app you choose | Not stated in the dots documentation. For consumer ChatGPT, OpenAI says content is stored in the US and around the world |
| Model training | Gravel does not train AI models on your data, and neither do its providers | On personal plans, the "Improve the model for everyone" setting controls whether dot conversations and work may be used to improve models. Business, Enterprise and Edu workspaces are not used for training by default |
| Price | €12 a month planned price, one plan with everything included | Included at no extra cost in ChatGPT Pro ($100, $200 or $500 a month) and in Business Premium seats ($125 per user per month billed monthly, $100 billed annually). US dollars, and prices may vary by country |
| Availability | Early access, by waitlist | Rolling out gradually. Pro: users over 18 outside the EEA, Switzerland and the UK. Business Premium: all supported ChatGPT regions. Enterprise: beta, off until a workspace admin turns it on |
| Made by | Gravel, Munich, Germany | OpenAI |

## Where are dots the better fit?

dots are the better fit if you want an agent for broader work than your inbox, if you work in Slack or Teams, or if you already pay for ChatGPT Pro or Business Premium in a supported region.

- **Work beyond your inbox.** A dot has its own cloud computer and browser. OpenAI says it can research, analyze data, prepare documents and build software, and it can start Codex tasks. Gravel handles small, personal tasks around email, calendar, reminders, lists and notes.
- **A large app ecosystem.** dots connect to more than 4,000 apps through ChatGPT plugins. Gravel connects mail, calendars and a set of apps over MCP, a newer feature in early access.
- **Workplace channels and voice.** You can message a dot in Slack and Teams and call it from ChatGPT. Gravel does not have voice calls.
- **Detailed rules and a view of its work.** Custom Rules can be set per action, the Activity view shows what a dot is doing, including background work, and you can take over its browser.
- **Part of a plan you may already have.** Your first dot is included in Pro or Business Premium at no extra cost, and Business Premium seats let a team use dots.

## Where is Gravel the better fit?

Gravel is the better fit if you want an assistant in your messaging apps instead of in ChatGPT, you are in the EEA without a Business workspace, or you want a narrower service for personal email and calendar with its own price.

- **It texts you in your messaging apps.** Gravel works in Telegram and WhatsApp in early access, with iMessage coming. For dots, OpenAI describes texting as coming soon, with a limited beta for some US Pro users that is not available in Business or Enterprise workspaces.
- **It does not depend on a ChatGPT plan.** The Help Center says Pro does not include dots in the EEA, Switzerland or the UK, so in Germany the route OpenAI lists is a Business Premium seat or an Enterprise workspace. Gravel is built in Munich, and you can join its waitlist.
- **Data hosted in the EU.** Gravel encrypts your data with a key that belongs to your account, and hosts and processes it in the EU. OpenAI does not state a location for dots.
- **A memory you can inspect.** Ask Gravel "what do you know about me?" and change or remove anything. OpenAI's Help Center says individual dot memories cannot currently be viewed, deleted or edited.
- **One planned price.** €12 a month, on one plan. dots come with plans that start at $100 a month and include much else, so the prices are not like for like.

Gravel is newer and narrower. It is in early access with a waitlist, does not work in iMessage yet, and is built for the small stuff rather than research, documents or software. Features such as reading photos and PDFs you send, watching prices and pages, and connecting apps over MCP are new in early access.

## How do the prices compare?

Gravel's planned price is €12 a month on one plan. OpenAI includes your first dot in ChatGPT Pro and Business Premium plans with no separate charge, and says you will be able to add more dots in the future. OpenAI lists these prices in US dollars.

- **ChatGPT Pro.** $100, $200 or $500 a month, billed monthly (Pro 100, Pro 200 and Pro 500). The Help Center says dots are not available on Pro in the EEA, Switzerland or the UK.
- **ChatGPT Business Premium.** $125 per user per month billed monthly, or $100 per user per month billed annually. A Business workspace needs at least two paid seats, which can be any mix of Standard ($25 per user per month, or $20 billed annually) and Premium seats.
- **Enterprise.** A beta that a workspace admin has to turn on. We did not find a price for it.
- **Gravel.** €12 a month for the paid plan, plus a limited free plan.

OpenAI says prices may vary by country and currency. These plans also include much that Gravel does not, such as Codex and deep research, so the price of dots alone cannot be read from them. See [Gravel's pricing](https://gravel.chat/pricing).

## How do approvals, memory and data compare?

Both let you choose how much the assistant does on its own. They differ on whether you can see and edit what it remembers, and on what each says about where data is stored.

**Approvals.** Both give you four settings per kind of action.

- Gravel's levels are just do it, only when I ask, ask me first, and hand it to me. It starts read-only, asks for more access the first time it needs it, and tells you the whole plan before it acts, so one yes covers all of it. In early access, it also offers to stop asking after several clean approvals of one narrow kind of action. See [autonomy levels](https://gravel.chat/learn/autonomy-levels).
- OpenAI's Custom Rules for dots are take action without asking, take action when you say so, ask before taking action, and hand off to you. Changing a password or transferring money stays with you. OpenAI says approving one message does not give a dot ongoing permission to contact people for you.

**Proactive work.** A dot researches in the background using tools that cannot send messages, change app content or control a browser or computer. Any follow-up action goes through the permissions that apply to it. Gravel texts you first about what it notices in the mail and calendar you connect, and acts after your yes.

**Memory.** A dot starts with context from ChatGPT memory and keeps its own notes. Turning off Memory in ChatGPT stops the sharing but does not delete what the dot already received. Per the Help Center, you currently cannot view, delete or edit individual dot memories, but you can delete the dot to delete its context. With Gravel, you ask what it knows and change or remove anything.

**Data.** OpenAI's dots documentation does not state where dot data is stored. For consumer ChatGPT, OpenAI says content is stored in the US and around the world. Gravel hosts and processes your data in the EU, and does not train AI models on it. More on [security](https://gravel.chat/security).

## Questions

### Is ChatGPT dots the same as OpenAI dots?

Yes. OpenAI introduced dots on September 29, 2026 as always-on agents inside ChatGPT, powered by GPT-6 Astra. OpenAI writes the name as dots, and calls a single one your dot.

### Are ChatGPT dots available in Germany?

Not on ChatGPT Pro. OpenAI's Help Center says Pro includes dots for users over 18 outside the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the UK. Business Premium is available in all supported ChatGPT regions, and Enterprise has a beta that a workspace admin must enable. Rollout is gradual, so access can take several days to reach an account.

### Can I text a dot?

OpenAI's announcement says you can message dots in ChatGPT, Slack and Teams, with texting coming soon. The Help Center describes a limited texting beta for some Pro users in the US, run through a third-party provider and not available in Business or Enterprise workspaces. Gravel works in Telegram and WhatsApp in early access, with iMessage coming.

### Do dots ask before they act?

They start with built-in rules for when to act alone and when to ask, and an automatic review checks actions that could affect your accounts or share information. You can add Custom Rules to allow, require approval for, or block specific actions. Changing a password or transferring money stays with you.

### How much do ChatGPT dots cost?

OpenAI includes your first dot at no extra cost in ChatGPT Pro, which costs $100, $200 or $500 a month, and in Business Premium seats, which cost $125 per user per month billed monthly or $100 billed annually. Gravel's planned price is €12 a month.

### Does Gravel replace ChatGPT?

No. ChatGPT, including dots, is a general assistant and agent. Gravel is built for personal email and calendar tasks in your messaging apps, so it covers a narrower job.

## Sources

- [OpenAI: Introducing dots (September 29, 2026)](https://openai.com/index/introducing-dots/)
- [ChatGPT Learn: Meet dots](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/dots)
- [ChatGPT Learn: Message your dot](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/dots/channels)
- [ChatGPT Learn: Control your dot](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/dots/controls)
- [ChatGPT Learn: Tasks and memory](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/dots/tasks-and-memory)
- [ChatGPT Learn: Connect computers and apps to your dot](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/dots/computers-and-apps)
- [OpenAI Help Center: Getting started with your dot](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001530-getting-started-with-your-dot)
- [OpenAI Help Center: Dots privacy, security, and safety FAQs](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001529-dots-privacy-security-and-safety-faqs)
- [OpenAI Help Center: About ChatGPT Pro tiers](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9793128-about-chatgpt-pro-tiers)
- [OpenAI Help Center: Managing billing and seats in ChatGPT Business](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/8792536-managing-billing-and-seats-in-chatgpt-business)
- [OpenAI Help Center: Data Usage for Consumer Services FAQ](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/7039943-how-openai-uses-your-data)

## Related

- [Gravel vs Poke](https://gravel.chat/compare/poke.md)
- [How much should an AI assistant do without asking?](https://gravel.chat/learn/autonomy-levels.md)
- [One plan, €12 a month](https://gravel.chat/pricing.md)

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Gravel · https://gravel.chat/compare/chatgpt · Updated 2026-10-19 · Status: Early access, €12 a month