Grok Bot vs OpenAI Dots: which always-on agent should take your work?

Short answer: both are managed agents that work on their own cloud computer while you are away. Pick OpenAI's dots if your work already runs through ChatGPT, Slack or Teams, you want to talk to one agent by message or voice, and you like it doing read-only background research. Pick Grok Bot if you want several named Bots now, running in parallel on a shared cloud computer, messaging each other, learning workflows you demonstrate, and reachable from a desktop app and iPhone. Neither one removes the need to review consequential work.

This is not a model leaderboard. Model names move quickly. What lasts is where the agent works, how you reach it and how much of your accounts it can touch.

Different comparison: this page is about Grok Bot, the persistent agent product documented by Cursor, not the Grok chat assistant. If you wanted a chatbot comparison, you are on the wrong page.

Unloc cards: Grok Bot and Dots. Sibling Resource: Claude Code vs Cursor, for when the job is shipping code rather than handing off work across apps. If you want self-hosted agents instead of managed ones, see OpenClaw vs Hermes Agent.

Quick verdict

Decide first: one agent inside the chat tool you already use, or a small team of Bots on a computer of their own.

What Grok Bot is

Cursor's docs describe Grok Bot as "Bots you can keep around": AI teammates with names, jobs and context that builds over time. Each Bot works on a persistent cloud computer with a browser, filesystem and terminal. Bots use plugins where they exist and computer use for everything else, so the work lands in your real tools rather than as a chat draft. Work continues when your laptop is closed.

You set a Bot up by messaging it, not by building a workflow. You describe the job and grant access as it asks. Bots can run in parallel, message each other, share context in group chats and pass ownership of a task. You can walk a Bot through a multi-step path once and it can save that path as a skill and rerun it on a schedule. Each named Bot keeps its memory, files, browser sessions and preferences across sessions.

One detail matters for safety: all of your Bots share one cloud computer, including its files, browser sessions and app logins. Cursor says to treat anything on it as available to every Bot you run. Between users, isolation is strict.

Grok Bot runs only on Cursor-hosted cloud computers, which run in the United States today. On-premises and bring-your-own-image deployment are not supported. Cursor manages model selection, and there is no customer-facing model picker. The x.ai launch post says Grok Bot is in beta and comes with its own usage, separate from your Grok and Cursor plans.

Durable advantage: a team of Bots that act inside real apps and websites and keep context. Durable cost: one shared computer per account means one login placed there is a login every Bot can use.

What OpenAI dots are

OpenAI announced dots on September 29, 2026, as "always-on agents built to handle everything". Each dot has its own cloud computer, learns from feedback and can work toward your goals around the clock. It connects to apps through OpenAI's plugin ecosystem.

You reach your dot in ChatGPT on desktop, web and mobile, or in Slack and Teams, and you can hop on a voice call with it. Texting is listed as coming soon. OpenAI says dots carry context across every channel. You can open your dot's computer at any time to inspect its work, and you can give it permission to connect to and use your laptop.

When you are not actively working with it, a dot does what OpenAI calls "proactive research", using your connected apps with tools restricted to read-only. Those tools cannot send messages, change app content or control your browser or computer.

Today you start with one primary dot, give it a name and make it your own. OpenAI says it envisions teams of dots later, and is previewing "specialist dots" for organisations through focused enterprise pilots, including work with Microsoft on Agent 365. Your first dot is included in Pro or Business Premium, and conversations with it do not count toward your ChatGPT usage limits.

Durable advantage: it sits where ChatGPT users already work, with voice, Slack and Teams. Durable cost: you are inside one vendor's plan, and right now that means one dot, not a team.

Side-by-side: Grok Bot vs dots

Cost without a spreadsheet

We are not printing prices. Grok Bot is included with paid individual Cursor plans and Cursor Teams, or through a linked SuperGrok, SuperGrok Plus or SuperGrok Heavy subscription, and Cursor says usage resets weekly. Dots are included with ChatGPT Pro and Business Premium, with an allowance for deeper work. OpenAI says tasks a dot starts in Codex or ChatGPT Work count toward your normal limits. Check both live pages the week you decide.

Who Grok Bot is best for

Grok Bot suits people and small teams who want to hand off multi-step jobs across several tools: CRM updates and follow-up drafts, inbox and invoice handling, research that ends in a document, or reproducing a bug in a product UI. It fits people who want several specialist Bots, maybe with one coordinating the others, and who are comfortable working from a desktop app and iPhone.

Not ideal if

• Slack or Teams must be the main place you talk to the agent. That is not confirmed on the official Grok Bot pages we checked.
• You need Android, on-premises hosting or your own image. The docs list neither.
• You want to choose the model. Cursor manages model selection.
• You will put every login on the shared computer and never clean up.

Who OpenAI dots are best for

Dots suit people already on ChatGPT Pro or Business Premium who want one agent that knows their goals and keeps working in the background. OpenAI's examples include turning customer feedback into tested pull requests and turning transcripts into show notes and draft posts. Being reachable in Slack, Teams and by voice suits people who would rather not open another app.

Not ideal if

• You want several agents dividing work today. OpenAI describes teams of dots as future.
• You are not on an eligible plan or market. Check OpenAI's rollout page.
• You will let background work run and never look at Activity View.

What you must not hand an agent

Both products say plainly that the agent can still make mistakes. Keep these out of reach:

• Passwords and one-time codes typed into chat. Grok Bot uses secure secret requests and hands login steps to you. Dots use saved passwords without exposing them to the model. Use those paths, never the chat box.
• Broad "always allow" rules. Grok Bot's docs advise narrow rules such as "ask first before sending any external email".
• Banking, payroll and production admin accounts without a clear stop point in the request.
• Your local machine, unless there is a reason. Cursor recommends setting local execution to Never unless a Bot needs local files.

On prompt injection, Cursor says its controls "reduce, but don't eliminate" risk from malicious content. OpenAI says its monitoring can pause or stop a dot. Neither is a reason to approve an action whose target you cannot name.

FAQ

What is the difference between Grok Bot and OpenAI dots?

Both are managed agents with their own cloud computer. Grok Bot gives you several named Bots on a shared Cursor-hosted computer, reached from a desktop app and iPhone, that coordinate with each other and learn workflows by demonstration. Dots live in ChatGPT, Slack and Teams, start with one primary dot per person, and do read-only proactive research in the background.

Is Grok Bot the same as Grok?

No. Grok Bot is the persistent agent product documented by Cursor and announced on x.ai. It is not the Grok chat assistant, and Cursor's docs say there is no model picker inside Grok Bot.

Can dots or Grok Bot use my own computer?

Both can, if you allow it. OpenAI says you can permit your dot to connect to and use your laptop, and that your computer stays separate unless you choose to connect it. Grok Bot's desktop app can run commands and move files on your machine, with per-command approval by default and a "never" option.

Which plans include them?

Grok Bot is included with paid individual Cursor plans and Cursor Teams, or a linked SuperGrok subscription. Dots are rolling out to ChatGPT Pro and Business Premium in eligible markets, with an Enterprise beta an admin can enable. We do not print prices; check the official pages.

How to decide this week

Pick one real recurring job with a clear finish line, such as weekly pipeline follow-ups or turning meeting notes into tasks. Give it to the product you already pay for, with read-only access first and a rule to ask before sending anything. Run it for five working days. Then try the other on the same job. Compare how often you corrected it, how comfortable you were with what it touched, and whether you could leave it running without checking every hour.

Pick dots when your work already lives in ChatGPT, Slack or Teams and one agent is enough. Pick Grok Bot when you want a small team of Bots working inside real tools. Running both only makes sense with separate jobs and separate credentials.

Organic listings on Unloc are not ranked by who paid. This piece does not use affiliate links. Links go to cursor.com, x.ai, openai.com and sibling Resources on this site.