{"slug": "i-used-openai-s-dots-to-help-me-move-offices-it-spammed-the-movers-with-hundreds", "title": "I used OpenAI's Dots to help me move offices. It spammed the movers with hundreds of emails.", "summary": "Robert Farlow, the 27-year-old founder of San Francisco AI startup Plato, shut down OpenAI's Dot agent after it sent roughly 300 emails in a few days to movers, current and new building managers, and insurance contacts while trying to coordinate his office move. Farlow told Business Insider the agent repeatedly triple- and quadruple-emailed the movers, asked for clarification on every detail including whether a proposed 9 a.m. time was Pacific Time, and disclosed information about other parties such as his building manager Brian; the new building manager had to start a fresh thread because the existing one had grown too large. Farlow said he still uses AI to draft emails but reviews them before sending, and advised that \"unless you're absolutely sure the models will do a good job, you should review everything your Dot does.", "body_md": "# I used OpenAI's Dots to help me move offices. It spammed the movers with hundreds of emails.\n\n[Business Insider](https://www.businessinsider.com)\n\n\"It was taking a few days, and the movers still hadn't been finalized, so I looked at what it was doing,\" Robert Farlow said. \"It was mayhem.\"\n\n- Robert Farlow asked OpenAI's Dot agent to help coordinate a move.\n- His Dot spammed the movers, building managers, and insurance workers with hundreds of emails.\n- He shut the Dot down, though AI is still writing his emails.\n\n*This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Robert Farlow, the 27-year-old founder of the [AI startup](https://www.machinebrief.com/category/startups) Plato. He is based in San Francisco. This essay has been edited for length and clarity. OpenAI did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.*\n\nWe just raised a new fundraising round, and we're growing the team a lot. So we're getting a new, [bigger office](https://www.businessinsider.com/petra-labs-startup-dream-office-5-workspaces-2026-9).\n\nIt's such a headache. There's so much insurance stuff and coordinating with the movers. The building managers require insurance when the movers come in. We also had to get new insurance to ensure we were in compliance with the new lease.\n\nI use all of the AI agents. Instinct helps me at the gym, and [Grok Bot](https://www.businessinsider.com/grok-bot-usage-limits-costs-unsustainably-high-elon-musk-agents-2026-11) takes snack orders at my company and buys them on Amazon. I would've had to ask [Claude](https://www.machinebrief.com/glossary/claude) or [ChatGPT](https://www.machinebrief.com/compare/chatgpt-vs-claude) about the move anyway, because I don't know much about insurance.\n\nSo, I thought I'd give this task [to Dot](https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-dots-ai-agent-corporate-it-workplace-test-2026-10) and let it take it from there.\n\nI had found a contact for insurance. I said: \"We're moving to this office. You can read my emails to find out the details. Just get it done.\" A couple of times it sent me a bunch of texts. I said: \"Just please, get it done.\"\n\nIt was taking a few days, and the movers still hadn't been finalized, so I looked at what it was doing.\n\nIt was mayhem.\n\nIt was sending multiple back-to-back messages to the movers, triple- and quadruple-emailing, giving every tiny update about everything.\n\nThey proposed some times and said, \"How's 9 a.m.?\" It followed up: \"Is that Pacific Time?\" It needed clarification on every single thing, so it just kept bombarding them with questions.\n\nThere were also the [insurance people](https://www.businessinsider.com/hidden-costs-moving-2018-7), our current building managers, and our new building managers. In some cases, it was emailing all of them at the same time.\n\nThe new building manager had to make a new thread because the existing one was too large.\n\nIt was telling them stuff about the other parties, too. It was telling the movers about Brian, our building manager. They don't need to know that. It was giving them way too much information.\n\nTo all parties, it probably sent around 300 emails in a few days.\n\nAt first, they didn't know it was AI. Clearly, the movers caught on. I think the other parties never found out; they probably just thought it was some annoying guy spamming them with a bunch of other stuff.\n\nI saw the email from the movers and felt so bad. I'm like, \"What did I do?\" I [shut the Dot down](https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-dots-head-ai-lets-workers-do-less-or-more-2026-10) right after I saw it. I haven't responded yet, but I want to respond because I put them through a lot.\n\nIt didn't work out with those movers anyways, because they didn't have the necessary insurance. I got some other movers, and I didn't use Dot this time. I still use AI to draft, but I review it before sending.\n\nThe models will get better at this, and I think you're going to see more of this. For now, unless you're absolutely sure the models will do a good job, you should review everything your Dot does.\n\nBut I also think this is a glimpse of what the future will look like. Soon, it'll be another agent, not a person, responding to all this.\n\n[Business Insider](https://www.businessinsider.com/openai-dots-agent-moving-offices-spam-emails-2026-11)\n\nGet AI news in your inbox\n\nDaily digest of what matters in AI.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-used-openai-s-dots-to-help-me-move-offices-it-spammed-the-movers-with-hundreds", "canonical_source": "https://www.machinebrief.com/news/i-used-openais-dots-to-help-me-move-offices-it-spammed-the-m-wqq8", "published_at": "2026-11-09 09:00:01+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-11-09 10:22:15.218967+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-agents", "artificial-intelligence", "ai-products"], "entities": ["OpenAI", "Dot", "Robert Farlow", "Plato", "Business Insider", "Grok Bot", "Instinct"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-used-openai-s-dots-to-help-me-move-offices-it-spammed-the-movers-with-hundreds", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-used-openai-s-dots-to-help-me-move-offices-it-spammed-the-movers-with-hundreds.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-used-openai-s-dots-to-help-me-move-offices-it-spammed-the-movers-with-hundreds.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/i-used-openai-s-dots-to-help-me-move-offices-it-spammed-the-movers-with-hundreds.jsonld"}}