Last week the big AI companies moved their assistants into the software you already use. This week they went a step further. The assistants can now carry on working when you are not there.
1. ChatGPT now has assistants that keep working after you close it
OpenAI held its yearly developer event on 29 September and announced something it calls Dots. A Dot is an AI assistant that carries on with a job after you close ChatGPT. Each one gets its own computer in the cloud and its own web browser. When it has something to show you, it messages you in ChatGPT, Slack or Microsoft Teams.
The examples OpenAI gave included handling invoices and turning a call transcript into written content. It launched a shared workspace called Space at the same time, with a new kind of document called Pages that you and the AI can both write in.
Who can use it
Dots are rolling out on the Pro plan, which costs $100 a month and includes one Dot, and on Business Premium. OpenAI says this is in “eligible markets” and the coverage we read does not list them, so check whether it has appeared in your own account before you plan around it. On Enterprise plans it is switched off until an administrator turns it on. OpenAI has not said what extra Dots will cost.
What it means for you
This is a real change from a chatbot. A chatbot answers when you ask. A Dot acts without being asked each time. OpenAI says you choose which apps a Dot can reach, and you can set rules that make it ask you before it does certain things, or block them outright.
If you try one, start with it asking first. Anything that sends a message to a customer, moves money or deletes a file should need your yes until you have watched it get that job right a good few times.
What to do this week. Pick one job you do every week that follows the same steps each time. Write the steps down in order, as if you were handing the job to a new starter. It takes ten minutes, and that list is what any of these assistants needs, whichever one you end up using.
2. Shopify will now build your shop from a conversation
Shopify launched a tool called Canvas at the start of October. You describe what you want to its AI assistant, Sidekick, and it builds or changes your online shop while you watch. Shopify says it shows the real shop as it changes, not a mock-up, so you can click through it and see how it looks on different screen sizes.
It is early. Canvas works on a desktop computer only for now. Shopify says the first version does not yet support themes made by other companies or add-on apps. Translations and selling into different markets are missing too. It says those will come later and has not given dates.
What it means for you
If your shop already runs on a bought theme with several apps attached, Canvas is not for you yet. If you are starting a simple shop, or rebuilding a small one, it could save you days.
Either way, read every page yourself before it goes live, and check it on your phone. AI is quick at layout and still gets prices and delivery details wrong.
The bigger picture
Until now, AI waited for you to ask. From this week, the big tools can be told to get on with it. That is useful, and it changes the question a small business has to answer. It is less about what AI can do, and more about what you are happy for it to do without you checking. That is worth deciding before you switch anything on.