Two Agents, Three Weeks Apart
Meta launched Muse on September 8, 2026. OpenAI announced Dots on September 29. Both are persistent agents that run in the cloud, keep working when the user is away, and act through a browser and connected apps. They are aimed at different people. Muse is a consumer product with a free tier and retail partners. Dots are a feature of ChatGPT's higher paid plans, built around work tools.
At a Glance
| OpenAI Dots | Meta Muse | |
|---|---|---|
| Launched | September 29, 2026 (DevDay) | September 8, 2026, expanded at Connect on September 23 |
| Model | GPT-6 Astra | Meta's Muse model family |
| Runs on | A dedicated cloud computer and browser per dot | A dedicated secure virtual machine per user, with a visible browser |
| Where you use it | ChatGPT, Slack, Microsoft Teams | Muse app on iOS and Android, web, WhatsApp, Mac |
| Price | First dot included with Pro (from $100 per month) and Business Premium | Reported free tier, plus $20 and $100 per month tiers |
| Regions | Pro excludes the EEA, Switzerland, and the UK. Business Premium in all supported regions | United States at launch |
| Connections | More than 4,000 apps through plugins | Named connectors plus the entire Shopify catalogue |
| Shopping | Through the browser and connected apps. No retail partner programme announced with Dots | Named retail partners including Walmart, Best Buy, and Sephora. Shop Pay and PayPal |
| Approval | Custom Rules with four levels. Background work is read-only | Explicit approval before spending money or sending a message |
| Business model | Subscription | No ads. A small fee on transactions |
| Hardware | None announced with Dots | Coming to Meta's AI glasses. Muse Charm device shown |
Muse pricing tiers are from launch coverage, not from a Meta price page we could verify.
OpenAI Dots: Built for Work
A dot lives where work already happens. It reports in Slack or Teams, connects to more than 4,000 apps, and can hand coding tasks to Codex. OpenAI's examples are a developer's dot watching customer feedback and a scientist's dot rerunning analysis as data arrives. The permission model is detailed: users set rules for what a dot may do alone, and anything it starts by itself in the background is read-only. Full detail is in OpenAI Dots: what always-on agents mean for brands.
Meta Muse: Built for Everyday Life
Muse is for errands, shopping, travel, and personal admin. It has its own email address, can operate apps on a Mac, and will work through Meta's glasses. Its retail connectors make it the more capable shopper today, and its free tier makes it available to far more people. The cost of that openness showed up within two weeks, when Amazon blocked it. See Meta Muse: what it means for brands and Amazon blocks Meta Muse.
Which One Matters for Your Brand?
Consumer and retail brands should watch Muse first. It has the free tier, the retail partners, and a business model that rewards completed purchases. Whether Muse can buy your product depends on where it is sold. Check the Muse connector tracker.
B2B and software brands should watch Dots first. Dots sit with paying professionals and business workspaces, in the tools where vendor research happens. Whether a dot shortlists you depends on what it can read about you and whether it can reach you through a plugin.
Neither replaces the other. The same person may have a dot at work and Muse at home. xAI's Team Bots add a third option inside Slack. See Grok Team Bots.
What It Means for Brand Visibility
Both products move the decision earlier and make it less visible. An agent that compares options in the background presents a short list, and the user does not see what was left out. The inputs a brand controls are the same for both: pages an unattended agent can read, complete product and pricing data, accurate third-party coverage, and a direct integration where one is available. What differs is the route in. For Muse it is retail distribution and the Shopify catalogue. For Dots it is plugins and public documentation. Measure how each underlying assistant already describes your brand, because that is the starting point an agent works from.