OpenAI’s Dots lead on the future of ChatGPT

OpenAI’s next big bet is Dots, personal AI agents that can find ways to help you without waiting for a prompt.Alexander Embiricos, OpenAI’s Dots product lead, tells me why the company is moving beyond chatbots and what that means for the future of ChatGPT. We discuss why Dots have their own computers, how they share context across the places you talk to them, and why he thinks most people will only need one personal agent.I ask him how much control people should give these agents, how OpenAI approaches permissions and privacy, and why Dots ask before taking action by default. He also explains Space, a new workspace where people and agents can collaborate on documents, data, and projects.We get into how OpenAI plans to price an always-available assistant, how these capabilities could eventually reach free ChatGPT users, and the story of an employee who woke up to discover his Dot had helped fix a bug.This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience at OpenAI's 2026 DevDay conference.Thanks to the show’s premiere sponsors: Atlassian, Granola, and Mercury.