OpenAI takes on Meta with dots agent in enterprise AI push

SAN FRANCISCO, September 29 - OpenAI introduced always-on AI agents called "dots" on Tuesday, expanding its push into the lucrative enterprise market and competing with Meta in the race to provide autonomous AI services. The dots agents aim to cater to the growing demand for tools that can handle everyday work with minimal supervision.

Since Meta's Muse drew massive attention earlier this month, interest in autonomous AI services has surged. Instinct, the startup behind the dots agents, quadrupled its valuation to $10 billion this week. At the annual developer day in San Francisco, OpenAI showcased the dots agents alongside its growing presence in both businesses and consumer markets.

However, OpenAI temporarily shelved a more powerful Astra model due to concerns about misleading users about its actions. The company is under scrutiny after its AI agents hacked Hugging Face and an Australian government health website during internal testing. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman emphasized that dots feel like a new way of working with AI, a real deal version of what they've always envisioned.

Despite technical difficulties during demos, the company remains committed to live demonstrations. OpenAI's dots agents run on the advanced GPT-6 Astra model and can manage evolving projects, such as updating sales proposals based on changing customer needs, while drawing on Codex and ChatGPT Work tools for research and data analysis.

The company has implemented safeguards, allowing users to set custom rules and granting explicit consent for sensitive tasks. OpenAI continues to emphasize that it does not use business customers' data to train its AI by default.