Several users report dots starting to appear in Europe
Several users reported on X on Nov. 13 (Nov. 13 Japan time) that OpenAI's always-on AI agent "dots" in ChatGPT had started to appear in Europe. The first to report it was Federico Viticci, founder and editor-in-chief of "MacStories," a site that covers Apple products and AI. Viticci's X profile lists the location as Rome, Italy. The post was made at 4:02:05 p.m. Nov. 13 Japan time. An official announcement from OpenAI about availability in Europe has not been confirmed.
Woke up, and @ChatGPT Dots are rolling out in Europe! Finally 🇪🇺
Viticci's post briefly said a rollout had begun in Europe and did not mention which plans or countries were covered. The post includes a photo of a screen, but ORIENS did not use the contents of the photo as a basis for this article.
dots is an agent assigned to each user that keeps working between conversations and brings back results. Since the start of November, OpenAI has kept adding features, such as support for users' custom instructions and connecting multiple personal computers.
Upgrade prompts even on Pro, and reports of it disappearing
Other users followed with posts saying it had appeared for them in Europe. One user posted at 7:05:36 p.m. Nov. 13 Japan time that dots was finally rolling out in Europe and wrote that it was working for them.
Others reported that it appeared but could not be used. A user posting on X as "PiotrBoruta1" said at 6:55:03 p.m. Nov. 13 Japan time that dots had suddenly appeared in the EU but could not be used, and that they were asked to upgrade to Pro even though they were already on Pro. At 7:29:25 p.m., the same user wrote that dots showed up, asked them to upgrade, and then disappeared from their account.
Another user, Lucas, posted at 7:18:31 p.m. that they had access on the Pro plan, but their dot was still paused and the message told them to upgrade even though they were already on Pro. The post said other users were seeing the same thing. Can Vural posted at 7:29:42 p.m. that they were able to use it briefly in Europe on the morning of Nov. 13 (local time), but that it was now gone again.
All of these are user reports, and the conditions for it appearing, the situation in each country and the reason for the upgrade prompt have not been confirmed.
Official documentation lists Pro access as outside the European Economic Area and elsewhere
The dots page in OpenAI's official documentation, "ChatGPT Learn," described availability as follows when ORIENS retrieved it at around 8 p.m. Nov. 13. Dots are rolling out gradually to eligible Pro and Business Premium accounts, and access depends on plan, region and workspace settings. The Pro plans (Pro 100, Pro 200 and Pro 500) are for users aged 18 and older outside the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. Business Premium is available in supported ChatGPT regions, subject to workspace eligibility.
In ORIENS's article on custom instructions, published on Nov. 13, this page likewise listed Pro access as being for users outside the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. The What's new page, retrieved at the same time, also showed no item about offering dots in Europe.
ORIENS's attempt to retrieve the dots description and the release notes on OpenAI's official help center (help.openai.com) failed with an access denial (403), and their contents could not be checked. Without an explanation from OpenAI, it is not known whether the appearance spreading among users is the start of a gradual rollout or a temporary display.
