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What are OpenAI Dots? OpenAI dots are always-on AI agents inside ChatGPT. Unlike a normal chat, a dot can:
Take responsibility for ongoing work Continue making progress between conversations Work on multiple tasks Use its own cloud computer and browser Work with connected apps Remember useful context Run scheduled and recurring tasks Research and solve multi-step problems Bring completed work back for review Ask you when human judgment is required Dots are currently powered by GPT-6 Astra.
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01 · Create your business dot Create a dot from ChatGPT on desktop web or the desktop app. Give it a clear role such as:
Marketing Operator Sales Assistant Research Analyst Operations Assistant Customer Insights Agent Content Assistant Founder’s Chief of Staff The narrower and clearer its responsibility, the easier it is to evaluate its work.
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02 · Give it business context Explain:
What your company does Products and services Target customers Business model Current goals Brand guidelines Team structure Important processes KPIs Constraints Tasks it should own Tasks requiring your approval Treat this like onboarding a new employee.
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03 · Connect the right apps Connect only the tools required for its responsibilities.
Depending on available integrations, this can give your dot access to business information from communication, productivity, development, email, calendar and other supported tools.
Always review permissions before connecting an app.
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04 · Define operating rules Tell your dot exactly how independently it can operate. Use rules such as:
Take action without asking Low-risk, reversible routine work.
Take action if pre-approved Work you explicitly requested.
Ask before taking action External communication, purchases, publishing or important changes.
Hand off to me Strategic, sensitive, financial, legal or high-impact decisions. Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani . Building bestproductivityresources.com
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05 · Use it for market research Ask your dot to continuously research:
Competitors Customer needs Industry developments Product trends Market opportunities Pricing changes Emerging technologies Customer complaints Content trends Instead of repeatedly starting research from scratch, give it an ongoing research responsibility.
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06 · Use it for marketing Your dot can help:
Research content ideas Analyze competitors Build content calendars Draft campaign concepts Repurpose existing content Research keywords Analyze campaign information Prepare marketing reports Organize creative assets Track relevant market developments Keep publishing and other consequential actions behind approval when appropriate.
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07 · Use it for sales Give your dot recurring sales-support work:
Research prospects Prepare account briefs Summarize customer conversations Organize prospect information Prepare meeting briefs Draft follow-ups Research companies before calls Identify potential opportunities Prepare pipeline summaries Surface accounts requiring attention Let AI prepare the information while humans handle relationship-critical decisions.
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08 · Use it for customer insights Your dot can review connected customer information and help identify:
Repeated complaints Common questions Feature requests Customer pain points Product confusion Churn signals Documentation gaps Emerging customer needs Turn scattered feedback into structured business intelligence.
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09 · Use it for product development A dot can support teams by:
Watching customer feedback Finding recurring requests Scoping smaller improvements Investigating bugs Preparing implementation work Building and testing changes Preparing work for human review OpenAI specifically demonstrates dots working on software improvements and bringing completed pull requests back for review.
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10 · Use it for operations Delegate repetitive coordination work such as:
Daily summaries Weekly reports Project tracking Information gathering Document preparation Meeting preparation Recurring checks Research Workflow coordination Follow-up tracking The goal is not simply faster tasks. It is transferring appropriate ongoing responsibilities.
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11 · Use scheduled tasks Give your dot recurring jobs such as:
“Every morning, review my calendar and prepare my priorities.” “Every Friday, summarize progress across active projects.” “Every week, analyze customer feedback for recurring issues.” “Every month, prepare a business performance review.” Scheduled tasks can continue without you manually restarting the workflow each time.
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12 · Build proactive workflows Do not wait until you remember to ask.
Your dot can proactively review connected information, perform scheduled work, research in the background, and suggest useful next steps.
This makes dots especially useful for recurring responsibilities rather than isolated prompts.
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13 · Use it as a founder’s AI chief of staff Give one dot responsibility for helping you stay on top of:
Priorities Meetings Projects Research Follow-ups Deadlines Business updates Important decisions Outstanding tasks Ask it to surface what requires your attention instead of flooding you with everything.
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14 · Delegate complex work Do not only give it tiny tasks.
Instead of
“Summarize these reviews.”
Try
“Continuously review customer feedback, identify recurring problems, group them by severity and frequency, investigate possible causes, and prepare a weekly product improvement brief for me.”
Give it an outcome, context, constraints and decision boundaries.
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15 · Build a human review layer Never assume autonomous means infallible. Review:
Financial information Customer-facing communication Contracts Strategic decisions Purchases Production changes Sensitive information Important calculations High-impact actions OpenAI explicitly warns that dots can make mistakes, including when following custom rules.
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The best dot workflow
Goal Define the business outcome.
Context Give the dot the information required to understand the business.
Access Connect only necessary apps and systems.
Rules Define what it may do independently.
Execution Let it complete appropriate multi-step work.
Schedule Automate recurring responsibilities.
Review Inspect important outputs and actions.
Feedback Correct mistakes and refine instructions.
Expand Gradually delegate more responsibility after the workflow proves reliable. Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani . Building bestproductivityresources.com
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A simple dot prompt framework
Role “You are my [business role].”
Objective “Your primary objective is [measurable outcome].”
Responsibilities “You are responsible for [tasks].”
Context “Here is how our business works: [context].”
Tools “Use these connected sources when relevant: [tools].”
Rules “Always follow these constraints: [rules].”
Approvals “Ask me before [sensitive actions].”
Cadence “Perform this work [daily/weekly/monthly].”
Output “Report results using [desired format].”
Escalation “Bring something to me immediately when [conditions].” Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani . Building bestproductivityresources.com
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Best business use cases
Marketing Research, campaigns, content, competitive intelligence
Sales Prospect research, meeting preparation, follow-ups, pipeline support
Customer success Feedback analysis, issue discovery, account preparation
Product Customer insights, feature research, bug investigation, development support
Operations Reporting, coordination, recurring workflows
Finance Information organization, recurring analysis, reporting preparation
HR Research, documentation, coordination, recurring administrative work
Leadership Research, priorities, project oversight, decision preparation Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani . Building bestproductivityresources.com
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The 3-level dot system Level 1 · Assist
Dot researches, analyzes, drafts and recommends. Human executes.
Level 2 · Operate with approval
Dot completes workflows but asks before consequential actions. Human reviews and approves.
Level 3 · Operate autonomously
Dot independently handles predefined, low-risk workflows within strict rules. Human monitors results and exceptions.
Start with Level 1 and expand autonomy only after the workflow proves reliable.
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What not to do Do not give unrestricted access unnecessarily Do not automate poorly understood processes Do not connect sensitive systems without reviewing permissions Do not let it make high-impact decisions without appropriate oversight Do not assume every output is correct Do not create vague responsibilities Do not automate a broken workflow Do not ignore security and privacy requirements Do not confuse activity with business impact Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani . Building bestproductivityresources.com
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Start small, then expand The biggest shift with OpenAI dots is moving from AI that waits for individual prompts to an agent that can keep working toward defined goals.
Start with one repetitive, measurable, low-risk workflow Define the outcome Connect only the information it needs Set strict boundaries Schedule recurring work Review its performance Then gradually expand what it owns Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani . Building bestproductivityresources.com
The real opportunity Do not ask: “What tasks can AI do for me?” Ask: “What ongoing business responsibility can I safely delegate?”
Outcome Context Boundaries Schedule Review Expand Start with one repetitive, measurable, low-risk workflow, then gradually expand what your dot owns.
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