Claude Duet vs ChatGPT Dots vs Grok Bot: Which AI Agent to Pick

Three AI companies shipped the same idea inside ten weeks. xAI opened Grok Bot on August 11, 2026, OpenAI launched dots for ChatGPT on September 29, and Anthropic opened a research preview of Claude Duet on October 21. Each is an agent with its own cloud computer that works in your apps, messages you when something needs you and keeps going after you close your laptop.

They differ on who can get them, what they cost, how much of their work you can see and what they refuse to do even when you say yes. This guide compares the three using only each company's own pages, then walks you through setting up each one.

What an always-on AI agent is

A normal chatbot waits for you to type. An always-on agent has access to the apps you connect and a computer of its own in the cloud with a browser. It checks your apps on a schedule, does the parts it can do alone and messages you when it needs a decision. You talk to it in a chat thread, much like texting a colleague.

So the useful questions are practical. Can it reach the apps you use? When does it stop and ask? Does it come with a plan you already pay for?

Claude Duet vs ChatGPT dots vs Grok Bot

Every row comes from each company's own launch and help pages. Where a company has not said something, the table says so.

Which one should you pick?

Start with the plan you already pay for. Duet and dots are not sold on their own, and moving your whole AI subscription to try an agent in preview is a lot of change.

• If you are in the US on Claude Pro or Max, join the Duet waitlist. It costs nothing extra and brings over the memory, skills and connected apps you already set up in Claude.
• If your team runs on ChatGPT and talks in Slack or Microsoft Teams, dots meet you there. Check your region first.
• If you want several agents with different jobs passing work to each other, Grok Bot is built around that. You can put Bots in a group chat and they hand off tasks between themselves.

Our take: for a US small business owner already on Claude, Duet is the first one to try. Anthropic has published more than the other two about what it refuses, how it pays and how it keeps passwords away from the model, which matters once an agent can send email in your name. It is a research preview, so judge it on a week of your own work.

Before you set up any of them, write down the two or three jobs you want off your plate. An agent with access to everything and no clear job has no way to tell what matters to you.

How to set up Claude Duet

Duet is a separate app from the main Claude app, but it runs on your Claude account. You need a Pro or Max plan on a US account (see Claude pricing) and an iPhone or Android phone.

1. Connect your apps in Claude first. In your Claude settings, connect the apps you want Duet to use, such as Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, Slack, QuickBooks, HubSpot, Docusign or Calendly. Duet uses the same connections, and switching one off in Claude switches it off in Duet. Do this early so your first morning brief has something to read.
2. Join the waitlist. On the Claude Duet page, click "Join the waitlist". Enter your name and the email on your Claude account, choose your plan and phone type, and click Submit. The form also asks what you would hand off first.
3. Wait for the email. Anthropic adds people in waves, so joining does not guarantee a date.
4. Open the invitation on your phone. Follow the iPhone or Android setup steps, using the Apple or Google account linked to the same email. Access is tied to that address.
5. Sign in. Open Claude Duet and sign in with your Claude account. The app can take a few minutes to become available after you accept.
6. Tell it what you want to hear about. In your first message, say which apps matter, what counts as urgent and how often you want updates.
7. Connect payments only if you need them. Wallets are not in the connectors directory. To add Link, Stripe's wallet, tap your avatar in Duet, choose the option to connect payments, pick Link, then sign in and approve. Shop Pay is also connected inside Duet.

Finding your way around the app

You talk to Duet in one main thread, by typing or voice message, and you can start separate channels for other topics that share the same memory. The Tasks tab lists what Duet is working on and flags what needs your input. Bigger results, such as a financial model, a deck or a dashboard, land in the Make tab as files you can edit. Only you can mark a task complete.

If you cannot get in

• Your Claude account is not a US account. Duet is US only during the preview.
• You are on a Team or Enterprise plan. Anthropic plans to add those later.
• The waitlist email does not match your Claude account or the Apple or Google account on your phone. Fix the mismatch.
• You joined but have no email yet. Invitations go out in waves.

Five things to ask Claude Duet first

Once you are in, copy any of these into Duet. Each one tests a different part of the agent.

Copy1. Send me a short brief every morning on what needs my attention.
2. Find the messages I missed in Gmail and Slack and help me reply.
3. Find my unpaid invoices and draft the reminders.
4. Find a time next week for a call with [name] and set it up.
5. Build me a dashboard from my sales numbers.

Prefer a one-click copy? The same list is on our free prompt page.

1. The morning brief reads your email and calendar, so connect those first. Duet picks what most needs you and can start first steps, such as drafting replies for you to review.
2. Missed messages needs Gmail and Slack. Anthropic says Slack works with some limits during the preview, so do not judge the whole agent on its Slack replies.
3. Unpaid invoices is one of Anthropic's own examples. Connect QuickBooks or the Stripe connector, which is separate from Link: one reads your Stripe account, the other pays for things.
4. Booking a call needs your calendar. Duet shows you the invite and every recipient before it goes out.
5. The sales dashboard is a bigger job, so it uses more of your plan's limits than a quick reply.

The same pattern works for other office jobs: name the app, the job and what you want back. Two more, adapted from Anthropic's examples:

CopyPull together a brief on this company before my 2 pm meeting.
Draft follow-up emails using the contact and deal history in HubSpot.

What Claude Duet asks first, and what it will never do

Duet reads, drafts and prepares work on its own. Before it sends a message, pays, signs a document or deletes anything, it shows you the action, where it is going and the full content, including every recipient, and waits. A separate automated check runs outside the model and asks whether each action matches what you wanted, so instructions hidden in a web page cannot approve it.

Trading securities, moving money between accounts and getting into someone else's account stay off-limits even with your approval. Paying, deleting an order or creating an account can never go on a "don't ask me again" rule.

Sign-in details, full card and bank numbers and government ID numbers are never shared, even if you ask. Health and finance details go out only with your consent, and your own request counts as consent.

Duet never sees your passwords, browser cookies or sign-in tokens. You type passwords into a form inside the Claude app, and that form never arrives as a link, text or email. If something that looks like Duet asks for a password that way, it is not Duet. Purchases use a one-time card that works only for that purchase, and with Link you approve the amount in the Link app first.

How to set up ChatGPT dots

A dot is OpenAI's always-on agent inside ChatGPT. It runs on GPT-6 Astra, has its own cloud computer and browser, and keeps making progress between your conversations.

1. Check you are eligible. Dots are rolling out to Pro and Business Premium users aged 18 and over in supported markets. Pro access excludes the EEA, Switzerland and the UK at launch. Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare workspaces get a beta that stays off until an admin turns it on. If you qualify and see nothing, OpenAI says access can take several days to arrive.
2. Create your dot. Open the ChatGPT app or chatgpt.com in a desktop browser and follow the onboarding prompts. You cannot create one on mobile web. Desktop is where you set up messaging channels, so start there if you plan to use Slack.
3. Connect your apps and read the permissions. Dots can work with over 4,000 apps. A read-only permission lets the dot look but not change anything or send messages. On mobile, apps live under the dot's profile in Customize, then Plugins.
4. Set your rules. Custom rules control what a dot can share, buy or access. Each rule picks one of four behaviors: act without asking, act only if pre-approved, ask first, or hand off to you. Pre-approved means you asked for that action in your own prompt. Rules cannot override OpenAI's built-in safeguards, and asking for a draft never counts as permission to send it.
5. Add Slack or Teams. On a Business or Enterprise workspace, an admin has to turn on both "Use dots (Beta)" and "Add dots to Slack and Microsoft Teams" for you. If your Slack workspace requires app approval, a Slack owner or app manager approves it. Then you finish your own dot's Slack setup from desktop.
6. Give it a first job and check the work. You can open your dot's computer and see what it did. Do that for the first few tasks.

Chatting with your dot does not count toward your ChatGPT usage limits, but tasks it starts in Codex or ChatGPT Work do. When a dot researches on its own initiative, it uses read-only tools.

How to set up Grok Bot

Grok Bot is a team of agents that xAI calls Bots. They share one persistent cloud computer with a desktop, files, a terminal and a browser. In xAI's own Grok Bot 101 guide, the author says standing up a Bot takes 10 or 15 minutes.

1. Get a plan. On x.ai/bot, the individual plans are Premium at $30 a month, Super at $100 and Ultra at $200, billed monthly. If you already have an eligible SuperGrok, Cursor, Teams or Enterprise plan, sign in with that instead.
2. Download the app. Install the desktop app for macOS or Windows, or the iOS app, and sign in. The same thread follows you between phone and desktop.
3. Create your first Bot. A Bot has three fields: a name, a title and a description. Set them by chatting or in Settings, top right. Describe the job step by step the way you do it today. xAI's example is a Bot that scans saved bookmarks each weekday, picks one idea, drafts a prompt and waits for you to approve or deny it.
4. Connect your apps. Name a service in a chat and the Bot shows its connect card. Grok Bot supports the same MCP servers, plugins and skills as Cursor, and you can connect more than one account per service. For a site with no connector, the Bot can hand you its computer so you can sign in, solve a CAPTCHA or enter a 2FA code yourself.
5. Write your rules. Go to Settings, then General, then Agent, and write in plain English what Bots may and may not do. A separate review agent checks each proposed action and allows it, blocks it or sends you an approval card.
6. Teach it a routine. Ask a Bot to follow along the next time you do a job. It saves the steps as a routine and runs it on its own next time, on a schedule or when something happens, such as a reply in a Slack thread.
7. Set a spending cap. Plans include weekly usage, and extra usage is billed by token cost. On an individual plan, open Usage and Billing and set your monthly on-demand limit to None, Fixed or Unlimited.

One warning from xAI's guide: if you log in to a site with one Bot, every other Bot can reach it too, and a Bot logged in to a shopping account could technically buy things the way a person could. Write your rules before you log in to anything that spends money.

What each one costs

Claude's free plan does not include Duet. The cost that catches people is usage: Duet's brief and check-ins count toward your Claude limits, so you may hit them sooner than with chat alone. When you are admitted to the preview, Anthropic gives you one full limit reset, available until November 30, 2026.

Limits and gotchas

Claude Duet

• It may misread a thread or misjudge what is urgent, in Anthropic's own words, so read drafts before you approve them.
• It checks your accounts every few hours, so something urgent can arrive between checks.
• It cannot see the files on your computer, make phone calls or send texts to other people. Microsoft 365 is not available yet.
• Disconnecting an app stops new access, but what Duet learned stays until you reset its memory in settings.
• Some large websites chose to block it, and personal errands such as booking tickets are weaker than work tasks.

ChatGPT dots

• The rollout is gradual, so being eligible does not mean you have it today.
• OpenAI has not published a date for Pro users in the EEA, Switzerland and the UK.

Grok Bot

• All your Bots share one computer, with the same files, browser and logins. Isolation is per user, not per Bot.
• Its rules are a prompt, so you are trusting the model and its reviewer to follow what you wrote.
• xAI's pages do not name the model behind it.

Who should wait

If you are outside the US, on Claude's free plan, or on a Claude Team or Enterprise plan, you cannot get Duet yet. Save the five prompts for later, or look at dots or Grok Bot.

If you need to watch an agent click by click for client work or compliance, Duet does not show its browser yet, while dots and Grok Bot let you look inside their computer.

If you know you will tap yes on approval cards without reading them, wait. Anthropic names this risk itself and says it is still tuning how often Duet asks.

If you want help working out where an agent like this fits in your business, and setting up the apps it connects to, that is part of our AI-enhanced automations work.

Frequently asked questions

What is Claude Duet?

Claude Duet is a separate app from Anthropic where Claude works as a proactive agent. It sends a morning brief, checks your connected apps every few hours, messages you when something needs you and keeps working on its own cloud computer when your laptop is closed. It opened as a research preview on October 21, 2026 and runs on Claude Opus 5.5.

Who can use Claude Duet, and does it cost extra?

People on the Claude Pro or Max plan with a US account, by waitlist. Team and Enterprise plans are not included yet. There is no extra charge during the research preview: it shares your plan's usage limits, and its background checks count toward them. The waitlist email must match your Claude account and the Apple or Google account on your phone.

Is Claude Duet better than ChatGPT dots?

It depends on the plan you already pay for and where you work. Duet runs on Claude Opus 5.5, connects to over 6,000 connectors and plugins and has strict published rules on payments and passwords. Dots run on GPT-6 Astra, connect to over 4,000 apps, work in Slack and Teams, and let you open their computer to inspect the work, which Duet cannot do yet.

Are ChatGPT dots available in the UK or Europe?

Not for Pro users at launch. OpenAI's help center says Pro access excludes the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the UK. Business Premium users in supported regions can get dots, and Enterprise workspaces can try a beta once an admin turns it on. OpenAI has not published a date for the excluded Pro markets.

How much does Grok Bot cost?

xAI's Grok Bot page lists individual plans at $30 a month for Premium, $100 for Super and $200 for Ultra, billed monthly. Each includes weekly usage, and extra usage is billed by token cost. If you already have an eligible SuperGrok, Cursor, Teams or Enterprise plan, Grok Bot is included.

Can Claude Duet send emails or make payments on its own?

No. It shows you the action, the destination and the full content, and waits for your approval before it sends a message, pays, signs or deletes anything. Purchases use a one-time card limited to that purchase, and trading securities or moving money between accounts are blocked even with approval.

Sources

• Anthropic: Introducing Claude Duet (October 21, 2026)
• Anthropic: Claude Duet safety, privacy and security
• Claude Help Center: Get started with Claude Duet
• Claude Duet product page and waitlist
• Claude pricing
• OpenAI: Introducing dots (September 29, 2026)
• OpenAI Help Center: Getting started with your dot
• OpenAI Help Center: About ChatGPT Pro tiers
• OpenAI: ChatGPT Business pricing
• xAI: Introducing Grok Bot (August 11, 2026)
• xAI: Grok Bot overview, plans and FAQ
• xAI: Grok Bot 101 guide