ChatGPT Dots glossary: every term explained

Every word here is one you'll meet in ChatGPT while using a dot, written the way the screen writes it. Each has one line and a link to the lesson that teaches it.

Find a word you saw on screen

Type a label from ChatGPT, such as "Monitoring" or "Take over", or pick a term from the list.

• Approval requestYour dot asking before it acts
• Auto-reviewThe automatic check before an action
• The four behaviorsWhat a rule can tell your dot to do
• BriefThe message that hands over a job
• Business Premium seatThe Business seat with a dot
• Cloud computerYour dot's own computer
• Custom rulesYour own rules for what needs a yes
• Default rulesWhat your dot does with no rules set
• DeleteRemoves your dot for good
• DotAn agent that keeps a job going
• GPT-6 AstraThe model a dot runs on
• Hand offA step your dot leaves to you
• HandleYour dot's name in Slack
• MonitoringA job that waits for something to happen
• OutputsFiles your dot has made
• PageA document your dot can edit
• PausedA dot you've put on hold
• Permission levelHow much an app allows without asking
• PluginHow your dot uses an app
• Preview limitA stop with a time to try again
• Pro 100, Pro 200 and Pro 500The three Pro plans
• Proactive researchReading your apps for ways to help
• ProfileThe panel behind your dot's name
• Recent activityThe list of your dot's jobs
• ScheduledThe page that lists every schedule
• Sent byThe label on work your dot hands off
• SpaceWhere pages and files live
• Specialist dotA dot with one job inside a company
• Status lineWhat your dot is doing now
• Take over and Return controlUsing the cloud computer yourself
• Your computerLetting your dot work on your machine
• Your dotThe sidebar entry
• Your dot is on a breakThe message at the usage limit

#The basics

Start with what a dot is and where it sits.

#Dot

An always-on agent inside ChatGPT that keeps a job going between your conversations, on its own computer in the cloud. You get one. What is Dots?

#Your dot

Your dot's entry in the ChatGPT sidebar, right under New chat. It reads Your dot until you give your dot a name. Set up your dot

#Handle

Your dot's name in Slack: your first name, a hyphen, then your dot's name, with an AGENT badge beside it. Dots in Slack

#GPT-6 Astra

The OpenAI model a dot runs on. A dot's message box has no model picker. What a dot is made of

#Specialist dot

A dot with one dedicated job inside a company, with its own identity and access. Available only through pilots run with OpenAI. What are specialist dots?

#Around your dot's conversation

These are the labels on the profile, the panel that opens when you click your dot's name.

Marker 1Marker 2Marker 3

1. 1The status line.
2. 2Recent activity.
3. 3Outputs.

#Profile

The panel that opens when you click your dot's name or picture at the top of the conversation. It holds Call, Slack, Computers, Recent activity and Outputs. What a dot looks like

#Status line

The line under your dot's name that says what it's doing right now, such as "Thinking...". What happens after you press send

#Recent activity

The list of your dot's jobs in the profile. A spinner means running, a tick means finished, and a clock means a schedule. Click a row to open the job. See what's running

#Outputs

The part of the profile under Recent activity that lists the files and pages your dot has made, newest first. Give your dot a job

#Paused

The pill that replaces the message box and the Call and Slack buttons after you pause your dot. You can't write to a paused dot. Click the pill to resume. Pause your dot

#Delete

The red item in the ... menu at the top of the conversation. It removes your dot, its conversation, its notes and its scheduled tasks, and it can't be undone. Dot memory

#Jobs and schedules

Next, the words for handing work over and seeing where it went.

#Brief

The message that hands your dot a job. A good one says the job, where to look, what still needs you, and when to tell you. What a good brief says

#Scheduled

The page behind the clock icon in ChatGPT's left rail. It lists every scheduled task on your account, with your dot's in a group under its name. Open Scheduled

#Monitoring

The word on a scheduled task that waits for something to happen, such as a new message in a channel, instead of running at a set time. Give your dot a job

#Proactive research

Reading your connected apps for ways to help when you haven't asked. It can't send messages, change anything or control a browser. What a dot does while you're away

#Sent by

The label, followed by your dot's name, on each request in a Work or Codex task your dot started. Those tasks count toward your Work and Codex usage. What a hand-off looks like

#Rules and approvals

Then the words for what your dot does without asking, and what it brings to you first.

#Approval request

An ordinary message in which your dot asks before it acts. There are no buttons. You answer by typing, and one yes covers one action. Answer an approval request

#Custom rules

Rules you add in Settings, under Personalization. Each is one sentence describing an action, plus one of four behaviors. Add a rule

#The four behaviors

What a rule can tell your dot to do: Take action without asking, Take action when you say so, Ask before taking action or Hand off to you. The four behaviors

#Default rules

What your dot does where you've set no rule: it reads and drafts freely, asks before it sends, buys or deletes, and hands a few steps back to you. Before you add a rule

#Auto-review

The automatic check that runs before your dot acts, against what you asked for, your rules and the safety requirements. No rule switches it off. Where an action stops

#Hand off

A step your dot won't do itself and asks you to do, such as changing a password or moving money. What a rule can't do

#Apps, computers and pages

These are the places your dot works.

#Plugin

How your dot uses an app such as Gmail or Slack. Your dot starts with every plugin already on your ChatGPT account. Apps and permissions

#Permission level

How much your dot can do in one app without asking: Always ask, Read-only actions, Allow low-risk actions or Allow all actions. The four levels

#Cloud computer

Your dot's own computer, with a browser and files. It runs in the cloud, so work carries on while your devices are off. The dot's cloud computer

#Take over and Return control

The two buttons under the cloud computer's screen. Take over gives you the mouse and keyboard, and Return control gives them back to your dot. Open it, take over, hand back

#Your computer

The row under Computers in the profile for the machine you're on. Click Allow, then Allow access, and your dot can use the files and apps there while it's online. Let your dot use your computer

#Space

The part of ChatGPT that holds your pages, sites, images and files. It's the second icon in the left rail. Space and Pages

#Page

A document in Space that you, your teammates and your dot can edit. You call your dot into one with an @ mention in a comment. Ask your dot from a comment

#Plans and limits

Last, the words that come up when you pay for a dot or run into a stop.

#Pro 100, Pro 200 and Pro 500

The three ChatGPT Pro plans, at $100, $200 and $500 a month. Each includes one dot. They differ in usage, and only Pro 500 has Astra Ultrafast. Pricing

#Business Premium seat

The ChatGPT Business seat that includes a dot: $100 per user per month billed annually, or $125 billed monthly. Standard seats don't include one. Pricing

#Your dot is on a break

The message your dot shows when it has hit its usage limit. Wait, then send one message. Dots usage limits

#Preview limit

A stop that reads "You’ve hit the preview limit" and gives a time to try again. Dots usage limits

#Check you've got it

Quick check

A row in Recent activity shows a clock and the word Monitoring. What is it?

• A job that's running right nowA running job shows a spinner.
• A schedule you pausedA paused schedule reads Paused.
• A job waiting for something to happenMonitoring means your dot is watching for an event, such as a new message, with no set time.

Show the answer

A job waiting for something to happen Monitoring means your dot is watching for an event, such as a new message, with no set time.

Start the lessonsWhat is Dots?

A dot is an always-on agent inside ChatGPT with its own cloud computer. See how it differs from a chat, what it does while you're away, and when it asks you.

1. 6 October 2026
   Rebuilt with the labels the launch build shows and a finder. Every term links to its lesson.
2. 5 October 2026
   First published.