Gemini Tasks vs OpenAI Dots
Quick Answer
Both let an AI keep working on your behalf after you leave the conversation, but they are packaged very differently. Gemini Tasks is a mode inside the Gemini app: flip a toggle, describe the job, and Gemini works through it across Google’s apps and 40-plus connected services. It comes with a $19.99 Google AI Pro plan. OpenAI Dots are persistent agents inside ChatGPT, each with its own cloud computer and browser, configurable rules, and the ability to hand work to ChatGPT Work and Codex. They require ChatGPT’s more expensive Pro or Business Premium plans.
Choose Tasks if you live in Google’s apps and want background help at a mainstream price. Choose Dots if you want a configurable, inspectable agent for ongoing work, and your plan includes it.
One caveat up front: Google has published much less detail about how Tasks works than OpenAI has for Dots. Several points below are marked as reported by guides rather than confirmed by Google.
At a Glance
| Gemini Tasks | OpenAI Dots | |
|---|---|---|
| Launched | Oct 13, 2026 | Sept 29, 2026 |
| What it is | Mode in the main Gemini app (Chat/Task toggle) | Persistent agents in ChatGPT, each with its own identity |
| Model | Gemini (Argon available on AI Pro and Ultra) | GPT-6 Astra |
| Plans | Google AI Pro ($19.99/mo), AI Ultra ($99.99 or $199.99/mo) | ChatGPT Pro, Business Premium; Enterprise, Edu, Healthcare beta |
| Regions | Select countries (list not published) | Eligible markets; Pro excludes EEA, UK, Switzerland |
| Connected apps | Google apps plus 40+ services (Instacart, OpenTable, Adobe, Shopify) | ChatGPT plugins (4,000+ apps per OpenAI) |
| Where it works | Google’s servers; mechanics not detailed by Google | Own cloud computer and browser you can watch or take over |
| Scheduling | Not described by Google; some guides report schedules and triggers | Scheduled runs managed in the dot’s profile |
| Approvals | Not detailed by Google; guides report it asks before high-stakes actions | Custom Rules per action type, read-only research, Auto-review |
| Talk to it in | Gemini app | ChatGPT, Slack, Microsoft Teams |
| Delegates to | Not documented | ChatGPT Work and Codex |
How They Differ in Practice
Tasks is a mode; Dots are colleagues. With Tasks, you are still in the Gemini app, asking for something to be done in the background. Google’s examples are errands like ordering groceries through Instacart or booking a table on OpenTable, alongside work across Google apps. With Dots, you set up a named agent with a standing goal. It plans its own runs, does read-only research on its own initiative, messages you in ChatGPT, Slack, or Teams, and can open its cloud computer or hand pieces to ChatGPT Work for documents and Codex for code.
Transparency. OpenAI has documented Dots’ approval levels, memory behavior, privacy rules, and limits in detail, and you can watch a dot’s computer as it works. Google’s launch post for Tasks says it “can work for you even when you’re not at your computer” but does not explain where it runs, how approvals work, how usage is counted, or how data is handled. Some independent guides describe scheduled and event-triggered runs, a remote browser and computer, approval before high-stakes actions, and local folder access in the Mac app; treat those as reports until Google documents them.
Ecosystem. If your email, calendar, documents, and shopping already run through Google, Tasks has that context built in. Dots reach a much larger plugin catalog and work inside the messaging tools many offices use.
Price and Access
Tasks is the far cheaper way in: it comes with Google AI Pro at $19.99 a month, and Ultra adds higher limits. Dots need ChatGPT Pro or Business Premium, and coverage differs on whether the $100 Pro tier qualifies. Neither company had published detailed usage rules for background work at launch; OpenAI says chatting with a dot does not count toward limits while deeper background work draws on an allowance.
Both are limited by geography. Tasks is in “select countries,” and Google’s earlier Spark agent was unavailable in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland. Dots on Pro exclude the same regions.
Privacy and Safety
For Dots, business workspace content is excluded from training by default, personal plans follow ChatGPT’s data controls, and deleting a dot’s memories requires deleting the dot. For Tasks, Google’s post does not address data handling, and Google’s earlier Spark agent required the Keep Activity setting to be on. Before connecting accounts to either, read AI data retention and set approvals as tightly as the product allows; see approval policy.
Choose Gemini Tasks If
You already pay for Google AI Pro or Ultra, your work and errands run through Google’s apps, you want background help without a premium subscription, or you prefer it built into the assistant you already use.
Choose OpenAI Dots If
You need documented, configurable approval rules, want to watch or take over the agent’s computer, work in Slack or Teams, want ongoing projects that can produce documents and code, or are on ChatGPT Pro or Business Premium already.
When Neither Is Ideal
For a focused, cautious inbox and admin agent, see Claude Duet. For a free personal agent, Meta Muse. To run an agent on your own hardware with any model, OpenClaw.
Final Recommendation
Tasks is the accessible option for Google users; Dots are the more capable and better-documented agents for people who can justify the plan. If you are on Google AI Pro, try Tasks on low-stakes errands first. If you need to know exactly what an agent may do on its own, Dots currently give you more to go on.
Related Comparisons
See also our proactive agent explainer.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Gemini Tasks?
Tasks is a mode in the Gemini app, launched October 13, 2026 alongside Gemini 4 Argon. You switch a Chat/Task toggle and Gemini keeps working on your request after you step away, across Google apps and more than 40 connected services such as Instacart, OpenTable, Adobe, and Shopify. It is available to Google AI Pro and Ultra subscribers in select countries.
Is Gemini Tasks cheaper than OpenAI Dots?
Yes. Tasks is included with Google AI Pro at $19.99 a month in the US. Dots need ChatGPT Pro or Business Premium, which cost considerably more. Neither has a separate fee for the agent itself.
Can Gemini Tasks run on a schedule like Dots?
Google's launch post does not describe scheduling. Some detailed guides say Tasks can run on a schedule or when something happens, such as a flight delay, but this is not confirmed in Google's announcement. Dots schedule their own runs, which you manage from a Scheduled tab.
Which gives me more control over what the agent does?
OpenAI Dots, based on what is documented. Dots have Custom Rules that set each kind of action to act freely, act only if requested, ask first, or hand off, plus a read-only research mode and a cloud computer you can watch. Google has not published comparable detail for Tasks' approval settings.
Are they available in Europe?
Partly. Dots on ChatGPT Pro exclude the EEA, UK, and Switzerland, though Business Premium is available in supported regions. Gemini Tasks is limited to select countries; Google has not published the list, and its earlier Spark agent was not available in the EEA, UK, or Switzerland.
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