Three big companies shipped an always-on agent in seven weeks. They look alike in the launch videos. They aren't alike on the bill, in your country, or in who picks the model.
Grok Bot on 11 August. Meta Muse on 8 September. OpenAI Dots on 29 September.
Three always-on AI agents, each with its own cloud computer, each promising to finish work while you sleep. And half the launch coverage this week calls Dots "the Muse rival," which is why "dots vs muse" is suddenly a search people are making.
We build BetterClaw, a managed AI agent builder, so we read every launch post, help page and pricing table for all three. Here's how Dots vs Muse vs Grok Bot actually shakes out, without the keynote glow.
Prices, plans and country availability last checked on 5 October 2026. All three products are changing week to week, so we re-check this page as they do.
The 30-second answer
If you only read one thing, read this table.
| OpenAI Dots | Meta Muse | Grok Bot | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Launched | 29 Sept 2026 | 8 Sept 2026 | 11 Aug 2026 (beta) |
| Who can get it | ChatGPT Pro (not EEA, UK, Switzerland), Business Premium, Enterprise beta | US and Canada only (as of 5 Oct) | Paid Cursor plans, Cursor Teams, SuperGrok plans, Enterprise |
| Entry price | $100/month (ChatGPT Pro 100) | Free; paid tiers $20 and $100/month | $20/month (Cursor Pro) or $30/month (SuperGrok) |
| Model | GPT-6 Astra | Muse Spark | Not named by xAI, no model picker |
| Where it runs | ChatGPT web, desktop, mobile, plus Slack and Teams | Muse app on iPhone, iPad, Android and Mac, muse.ai, WhatsApp | Desktop app on macOS, Windows, Linux; iOS; Android |
| Best for | Work across your apps | Shopping, bookings, personal errands | Coding and computer tasks, especially for Cursor users |
Muse is the cheapest to start. Grok Bot is the cheapest paid entry. Dots is the most expensive, and the only one you can't buy on a personal plan in the UK or EU.
Dots vs Muse: the short answer
In the Muse vs Dots choice, pick Muse for personal errands and Dots for work. Muse has a free tier and handles shopping, bookings, email and calendar, but only in the US and Canada. Dots starts at $100 a month inside ChatGPT Pro, connects to 4,000+ work apps and follows you into Slack and Teams. Both lock you to the vendor's model: Muse Spark for Muse, GPT-6 Astra for Dots.
| OpenAI Dots | Meta Muse | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | From $100/month (ChatGPT Pro 100) or a Business Premium seat | Free, then Power $20 or Max $100/month |
| Who picks the model | OpenAI (GPT-6 Astra), no picker | Meta (Muse Spark), no picker |
| Where it runs | ChatGPT web, desktop and mobile, plus Slack and Teams | iPhone, iPad, Android and Mac apps, muse.ai, WhatsApp |
| Best for | Work across your apps | Personal errands and shopping |
| Free tier | No. Not in ChatGPT Free, Go or Plus | Yes |
Where you live matters as much as the job. Dots on ChatGPT Pro isn't available in the EEA, the UK or Switzerland. A Business Premium seat gets it in every supported ChatGPT region, but a Business workspace starts at two users. Muse is narrower still: US and Canada only, with no date for the UK or EU.
The bills work differently too. Muse's paid tiers buy more usage headroom rather than extra features, so you can try it on real errands before paying anything. Dots has no free way in. Your first Dot comes with the plan, and OpenAI hasn't priced extra Dots yet.
One shopping caveat for Muse: since 21 September, Amazon has been blocking it from buying on Amazon.com, while Shopify has confirmed Muse will be able to complete purchases there.
If you're weighing Muse against other personal agents rather than against Dots, our Muse vs Instinct comparison covers that side.
Grok Bot vs Muse: the short answer
In the Muse vs Grok Bot choice, pick Grok Bot if you already pay for Cursor or SuperGrok, and Muse if you want something free for everyday life. Grok Bot comes with Cursor Pro from $20 a month or SuperGrok from $30, works your apps like a person would on its own cloud computer, and is strongest at coding and dashboard work. Muse is free to start but limited to the US and Canada, and is built around errands rather than computer tasks.
| Grok Bot | Meta Muse | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Included with Cursor Pro ($20/month) or SuperGrok ($30/month) | Free, then Power $20 or Max $100/month |
| Who picks the model | Chosen for you, no picker or bring-your-own-key | Meta (Muse Spark), no picker |
| Where it runs | Desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux, plus iOS and Android | iPhone, iPad, Android and Mac apps, muse.ai, WhatsApp |
| Best for | Coding and computer-use tasks | Personal errands and shopping |
| Free tier | No. Needs a paid Cursor or SuperGrok plan | Yes |
Both give the agent its own cloud computer, but they use it differently. Grok Bot signs into your tools and clicks through them, and every Bot you create shares one persistent cloud computer, so Bots can pass files and logins to each other. Muse runs in its own Muse Secure VM, with a separate Sentinel agent that must approve anything Muse sends out.
Usage limits differ as well. Grok Bot runs on a weekly allowance that resets each week, with extra usage billed at model and token cost, and xAI doesn't publish how much work that allowance covers. xAI still calls Grok Bot a beta.
For Muse, geography is the real limit rather than price. If you're outside the US and Canada, Grok Bot is the one of these two you can actually use.
Dots vs Grok Bot: the short answer
In the Grok Bot vs Dots choice, pick Dots if your work lives in ChatGPT, Slack or Teams, and Grok Bot if it lives in Cursor and browser dashboards. Grok Bot is the cheaper entry at $20 a month through Cursor Pro, against $100 for Dots on ChatGPT Pro. Dots works through 4,000+ app connections. Grok Bot signs into your tools and clicks through them, and you can save a workflow as a routine. Neither lets you choose the model.
| OpenAI Dots | Grok Bot | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | From $100/month (ChatGPT Pro 100) | From $20/month (Cursor Pro) or $30/month (SuperGrok) |
| Who picks the model | OpenAI (GPT-6 Astra), no picker | Chosen for you, no picker or bring-your-own-key |
| Where it runs | ChatGPT web, desktop and mobile, plus Slack and Teams | Desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux, plus iOS and Android |
| Best for | Work across your apps | Coding and computer-use tasks |
| Free tier | No | No |
The usage rules are where they differ most. Chatting with your Dot doesn't count toward ChatGPT usage limits, but tasks it starts in Codex or ChatGPT Work do. Grok Bot gives you a weekly allowance, and Cursor's help pages note that Cursor and SuperGrok allowances don't stack.
Region matters for Dots. Pro users in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland are excluded at launch, so a personal plan there won't get you a Dot.
Both let you decide what needs your sign-off. Dots has built-in rules plus Custom Rules for approvals. Grok Bot can send sensitive actions through Auto Review.
If you already pay for Cursor, Grok Bot has no price of its own, so trying it adds nothing to your bill until you go past the weekly allowance. If your team already has ChatGPT Business Premium seats, Dots is the closer fit.
What each one costs, and who's allowed in
This is where the three split hardest.
OpenAI Dots: a $100+ ChatGPT plan
Dots isn't in ChatGPT Plus. Your first Dot comes with ChatGPT Pro, which now has three tiers at $100, $200 and $500 a month, or with a Business Premium seat at $100 a month billed annually ($125 monthly). Every plan, limit and region is in our OpenAI Dots vs BetterClaw comparison.
Extra Dots are planned, but as of 5 October OpenAI still hasn't priced them. Its help pages say you'll later be able to add more Dots and raise each one's speed or workload. Chatting with your Dot doesn't count toward ChatGPT usage limits. Tasks it starts in Codex or ChatGPT Work do.
Here's the catch for half our readers. Pro users in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland are excluded at launch. Business Premium works in all supported regions, but a Business workspace starts at two users.
Meta Muse: free first, then pay by usage
Muse has a free tier, then two paid plans: Power at $20 a month and Max at $100 a month. Reporting from launch week describes the paid tiers as more headroom for heavier use rather than different features.
The limit isn't price. It's geography. Muse launched in the US only, through its own app, muse.ai and WhatsApp, and reached Canada on 18 September. As of 5 October it is still US and Canada only, and Meta hasn't named the next country or a date for the UK or EU. The full plan-by-plan breakdown is in our Meta Muse vs BetterClaw comparison.
Grok Bot: included with Cursor or SuperGrok
Grok Bot has no price of its own. It comes with every paid individual Cursor plan (Pro starts at $20 a month), with Cursor Teams, and with SuperGrok at $30, SuperGrok Plus at $100 and SuperGrok Heavy at $300. Enterprise access goes through sales. Cursor's help pages add that you can link X Premium+ for a smaller allowance, and that Cursor and SuperGrok allowances don't stack.
Usage comes as a weekly allowance that resets each week, with extra usage billed at model and token cost. xAI doesn't publish how much work the weekly allowance covers. We dug into that in our Grok Bot vs BetterClaw comparison, including what heavier use costs once you go past the allowance.
Models: who picks the model?
This is the question nobody's launch post leads with, and it matters more than the mascot.
Dots runs on GPT-6 Astra. Muse runs on Muse Spark, Meta's own model family. Neither launch announcement offers you a model picker.
Grok Bot goes a step further and says it plainly. xAI's docs don't name the model, model selection is managed for you, and there's no picker and no bring-your-own-key. SpaceXAI announced in August that Grok 4.6 was available in Grok Bot, and said its Grok 4.7 release on 21 September was trained to natively understand the Grok Bot harness. Still, the product docs don't commit to a specific model: Cursor's Grok Bot help page says the model is chosen per task and doesn't show which one handled a request.
Here's the weird part. All three are "your" agent, yet none of them lets you decide what thinks for it.
That's fine if you trust the vendor's model for everything. It's less fine when you'd rather run a cheap model for inbox triage and a stronger one for the contract review, or when the vendor quietly swaps models under you.
In all three, the model comes with the subscription. You're buying a brain you can't change.
Where each one lives
Where you talk to an agent decides whether you'll actually use it.
Dots lives inside ChatGPT on web, desktop and mobile, and you can message it in Slack and Microsoft Teams. You create it on desktop, and texting is a limited beta for US Pro users.
Muse lives in its own iOS and Android apps, a Mac app added on 17 September, an iPad app added on 7 October, muse.ai and inside WhatsApp. For a consumer agent, WhatsApp is a smart place to be. It's where errands already get discussed.
Grok Bot is a separate desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux, plus iOS, and Android since 2 September. xAI still calls the product a beta. Every Bot you create shares one persistent cloud computer, so Bots can pass files and logins between each other. If macOS says Grok Bot "is not supported on this Mac", see the Grok Bot not supported on this Mac decoder.
Dots vs Muse vs Grok Bot: what each is actually best at
Stay with me here, because "always-on agent" covers three quite different jobs.
Dots is a work agent. It connects to 4,000+ apps through OpenAI's plugins, follows you into Slack and Teams, and is built for the developer turning feedback into fixes or the sales lead updating a proposal as requirements change. If your work already happens in ChatGPT, it fits.
Muse is an errands agent. Email, calendar, bookings, dining and shopping are front and centre, with a free tier generous enough to try it on real life. Meta's own promo shows it comparing strollers and asking before it buys. Our Muse breakdown against BetterClaw goes deeper on the personal-agent side.
Grok Bot is a computer-use agent. It signs into your tools and works them like a person, and you can teach it a workflow once and save it as a routine. xAI's examples lean on bug reproduction, outbound and account health, and if you live in Cursor already, it's the natural pick.
If we were choosing for a friend: errands, Muse. Work inside ChatGPT, Dots. Coding and clicking through dashboards, Grok Bot.
And if what you really want is an agent without the lock-in, that's the gap we built BetterClaw for. Pick the model per agent, bring your own key, from $19 a month. Start with BetterClaw whenever you're ready. But read the privacy section below before you connect any agent to your email.
Privacy and data: what each company actually says
We're only repeating what each company publishes here, not guessing.
| OpenAI Dots | Meta Muse | Grok Bot | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it works | Its own cloud computer; your laptop stays separate unless you connect it | Its own Muse Secure VM, with a separate Sentinel agent that must approve anything Muse sends out | One shared cloud computer per user, encrypted in transit and at rest |
| Passwords | Can use saved passwords without exposing them to the model | Meta says Muse has no visibility into passwords or payment methods | Uses Cursor's sign-in and privacy mode |
| Model training | Business, Enterprise and Edu content not used by default; personal plans can opt out | Users must opt out; otherwise Meta says it scrubs critical personal details before use | Training opt-out available |
| Approvals | Built-in rules plus Custom Rules for what needs your approval | Asks before sensitive steps like checkout | Sensitive actions can go through Auto Review |
The relevant documents are OpenAI's Dots safety post and ChatGPT data controls, Meta's Muse launch materials and privacy policy, and xAI's Grok Bot FAQ with Cursor's privacy settings.
One Muse detail to know: Meta says a Muse Confidential VM, encrypted with a key you hold so even Meta can't read it, arrives later in 2026. It isn't the default yet.
The Amazon dispute over Muse
On 21 September, Amazon started blocking Muse from shopping on Amazon.com. Users saw a popup saying continued access by an unauthorized AI agent violates Amazon's Conditions of Use.
Amazon alleged three things. Meta didn't tell Amazon that Muse would access its store. The agent doesn't identify itself while browsing. And it appears to capture and store customer credentials. Amazon says it asked Meta to remove Amazon from Muse and that the two companies are in direct talks.
Meta's reply is that Muse has no visibility into people's passwords or payment methods, which sit in secure storage the agent can't see. Neither side's account of the credential question has been independently verified.
Meanwhile Shopify went the other way and confirmed Muse will be able to complete purchases on its platform. As of 5 October we've found no public resolution with Amazon. If Muse shopping matters to you, that split is the thing to watch.
If you want one agent that runs any model
Here's the bit where we talk about us, briefly.
All three agents above tie you to one company's model, one company's apps and, for two of them, one company's subscription. That's a reasonable trade for a lot of people. It's the trade we built BetterClaw to avoid.
BetterClaw is a managed AI agent builder. You pick the model per agent from 28+ providers, bring your own key, and pay your provider directly with zero markup. One agent can run Claude on contract review while another runs a cheap model on inbox triage.
And you don't have to leave OpenAI or xAI behind. You can run OpenAI and Grok models inside BetterClaw too, with an API key from either, or by signing in with your ChatGPT subscription for OpenAI models. You talk to your agents in the web app, Slack, Telegram, Discord or Gmail, and they connect to 500+ connectors with one-click sign-in.
What we don't do: we don't give your agent its own computer that clicks through websites like a person. BetterClaw works through connectors and skills. If browser-style computer use is the job, Grok Bot or Dots will suit you better.
The real fight isn't Dots vs Muse
It's bundled versus open.
Seven weeks, three launches, and every one of them says the same thing about the next few years: the agent is becoming part of the subscription you already pay for. That's great for convenience. It also means the company that sells you the agent decides the model, the apps it can reach, and, as Muse just found out at Amazon's front door, which stores will even let it in.
Pick the agent that fits your life today. Just know which doors it can open, and who holds the key.
If any of this resonated, give BetterClaw a try. Basic is $19 a month for one agent, Pro is $49 for five, Business is $149 for 25, and every paid plan has a 7-day money-back guarantee. Bring any model, pay your provider directly, zero markup. See full pricing. We handle the infrastructure. You handle the interesting part.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dots in ChatGPT Plus?
No. OpenAI Dots isn't included in ChatGPT Free, Go or Plus. Your first Dot comes with ChatGPT Pro, from $100 a month, or a Business Premium seat, and Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare workspaces can try a beta once an admin enables it.
Is Meta Muse free?
Yes, Muse has a free tier. Heavier use moves you to Power at $20 a month or Max at $100 a month, which Meta's help pages describe as weekly usage allowances rather than extra features. As of 5 October 2026, Muse is available in the US and Canada only.
Is Dots available in the UK or EU?
Not on ChatGPT Pro. At launch, Pro users in the European Economic Area, the UK and Switzerland are excluded. Business Premium users get Dots in all supported ChatGPT regions, and Business workspaces start at two users.
Which is better, Dots or Muse?
It depends on the job. Dots is built for work, with 4,000+ apps through OpenAI's plugins and access in Slack and Teams, but it starts at $100 a month. Muse is built for personal errands like shopping and bookings, has a free tier, and works only in the US and Canada.
Which is better, Grok Bot or Muse?
It depends on the job. Grok Bot is a computer-use agent for coding and dashboard work, included with Cursor Pro from $20 a month or SuperGrok from $30. Muse is a personal errands agent with a free tier, but it only works in the US and Canada.
Which is better, Dots or Grok Bot?
Dots suits work that happens in ChatGPT, Slack and Teams, and starts at $100 a month on ChatGPT Pro. Grok Bot suits coding and clicking through web tools, and starts at $20 a month through Cursor Pro. Neither lets you pick the model.
Can Grok Bot use Claude or GPT?
Not by choice. Grok Bot isn't tied to a single model: it picks an xAI or third-party model per task (its help page mentions routing to Claude Opus 5.5), but there is no model picker, no bring-your-own-key, and it doesn't show which model handled a request. If you want Claude, GPT and Grok side by side, an agent builder like BetterClaw lets you choose a model per agent.
Can Muse shop on Amazon?
Not right now. On 21 September, Amazon began blocking Muse from shopping on Amazon.com, saying it violates Amazon's Conditions of Use, and the two companies say they're in direct talks. Shopify has confirmed Muse will be able to complete purchases on its platform.
Do any of them let me choose my own model?
Not in a model picker. Dots runs GPT-6 Astra, Muse runs Muse Spark, and Grok Bot picks a model per task for you, with no picker and no bring-your-own-key. If choosing the model matters to you, BetterClaw supports 28+ providers on your own keys with zero markup.
