OpenAI Dots vs Claude Duet

Quick Answer

Both products answer the same question: what if an AI kept working after you closed the chat? OpenAI Dots and Claude Duet each run on a cloud computer, check things on your behalf, and come back when they need you. The practical difference is scope. Dots is a broader, more configurable agent that can operate a computer you can watch, reach your local files, and hand work to ChatGPT Work or Codex. Duet is a more focused assistant for inbox, calendar, documents, and admin, with fixed approval rules and harder limits on money.

For many readers, access decides it first. Dots needs ChatGPT Pro or Business Premium (with regional limits on Pro). Duet is a waitlist research preview for US Pro and Max subscribers only.

At a Glance

How They Work Day to Day

A dot behaves like a colleague with a standing assignment. You give it a goal, it schedules its own runs, does research in a read-only mode, and messages you in ChatGPT, Slack, or Teams. When a task needs real work, it can open its cloud computer, use the browser, or delegate to ChatGPT Work for a document or to Codex for code. You can open its computer and watch, or take over.

Duet behaves more like an executive assistant who looks in several times a day. It sends a morning brief, checks connected accounts every few hours, and messages you only when something needs attention. Work shows up in a single thread, a Tasks tab, and a Make tab for finished files. It does not monitor in real time, so it can miss something urgent between checks, and it cannot show you its browser yet.

If you want an agent that can take on varied, open-ended projects, Dots has more reach. If you mainly want help keeping on top of email, invoices, calendars, and paperwork, Duet’s narrower design is a reasonable fit.

Connected Apps and Memory

Both lean on their parent ecosystem. Dots uses ChatGPT plugins and inherits your ChatGPT memories, then forms its own from what it reads. Duet uses the memory, skills, and connectors you set up in Claude, and can search your past Claude chats outside projects.

Two memory details matter for privacy. Deleting a dot’s own memories requires deleting the dot. With Duet, disconnecting an app stops future access but keeps what it already read. In both cases, disconnecting is not the same as forgetting; see Disconnecting AI Does Not Delete Data.

Duet currently lacks Microsoft 365 and has limited Slack support, which matters for many offices. Dots works in Teams and Slack directly.

Approvals and Hard Limits

This is the clearest design difference.

Dots gives you an approval policy to configure. Custom Rules set each kind of action to act without asking, act only if you requested it, ask first, or hand off to you. Proactive research is always read-only, Auto-review checks account-affecting actions against your rules, and tasks like password changes always stay with you.

Duet gives you less to configure and more fixed protection. It reads and drafts freely, and always shows you the action before it sends a message, makes a payment, signs a document, or deletes anything. Some actions are refused even if you approve them: trading securities, moving money between accounts, and accessing someone else’s account. For purchases it uses Link or Shop Pay with a one-time card, and sees only the card type and last four digits.

People who want fine-grained control will prefer Dots. People who would rather not design rules will find Duet’s defaults simpler, at the cost of flexibility.

Credentials and Security

Both keep passwords away from the model. OpenAI says saved passwords are used without being exposed to it; Duet has you type passwords into a separate on-device form that goes straight to its browser. Both list 1Password for Agents as a planned integration, a credential broker approach. Both acknowledge that prompt injection through email and web content remains a risk.

Privacy

For Dots, business workspace content is excluded from training by default, and personal plans follow your ChatGPT data controls. OpenAI says proactive research results are not trained on directly, but may be used depending on settings. Duet runs under your Claude plan’s privacy settings, and a dedicated classifier blocks requests to share the most sensitive data, such as card numbers and government ID. Read AI data retention before connecting client accounts to either.

Cost

Neither has a separate fee at the moment, but both draw on paid plans. Dots needs Pro or Business Premium. OpenAI says chatting with a dot does not count toward limits, while deeper background work draws on an allowance and anything it runs in Codex or Work counts normally; long-term terms were not published at launch. Duet uses Claude’s five-hour and weekly limits at the same rate as chat, and background checks count. On Claude Pro ($20 a month), a busy Duet can noticeably eat into the usage you have left for everything else.

Choose OpenAI Dots If

You already pay for ChatGPT Pro or Business Premium, you want an agent that can take on varied projects including documents and code, you want to watch or take over its computer, you work in Slack or Teams, or you need it outside the US (except where Pro is excluded).

Choose Claude Duet If

You are a US Claude Pro or Max subscriber, your work is mainly email, calendar, invoices, and documents, you prefer fixed protective defaults over configuring rules, or you want built-in purchase handling with one-time cards.

When Neither Is Ideal

If you need the agent to run on infrastructure you control, consider OpenClaw. If you need a free option, Meta Muse has a free tier. If your work requires real-time alerts, neither checks continuously. And if you are in the EU or UK on a personal plan, neither is currently available to you.

Final Recommendation

For most people the decision is made by which subscription and country you already have. If both are open to you, Dots is the more capable general agent and Duet is the more contained personal assistant. Start each with conservative approvals and low-stakes tasks, and read the full pages on OpenAI Dots and Claude Duet before connecting important accounts.

Related Comparisons

• OpenAI Dots vs Claude Duet vs Meta Muse, the three-way decision guide
• OpenAI Dots vs Meta Muse
• Claude Duet vs Meta Muse
• OpenAI Dots vs OpenClaw

For the concept behind both, see proactive agent and persistent agent state.