[Olivia Tauber](https://mashable.com/author/olivia-tauber)
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First Meta gave us Jolly. Now, OpenAI is letting you name your own little AI guy.
Less than a week after Meta introduced the cheerful mascot for its Muse AI assistant, OpenAI introduced Dots at its 2026 DevDay conference. Dots is an always-on AI agent represented by your choice of various colorful little characters.
[This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be or has been removed.](https://twitter.com/OpenAI/status/2104984504133918973)
"Dots are frontier intelligence that have your back," OpenAI wrote in its announcement. "Powered by GPT‑6 Astra, they have their own cloud computer, learn from feedback over time, and can work towards your goals 24/7."
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Meet the little guys doing the big jobs #
OpenAI’s launch materials show Dots in pink, blue, green, yellow, and purple, with different appearances. One dot wears glasses, while another headphones, and another a bow-tie. The examples are named Iggy, Felipe, Todd, Alfred, and Jojo, but you can give your own Dot whatever name you like.
The company calls Dots "an extension of you" and describes agents learning how you think and what good work looks like to you. Users can message them in ChatGPT, Slack, and Teams, or hop on a voice call.
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[Privacy Policy](https://www.ziffdavis.com/ztg-privacy-policy).
For anyone juggling deadlines and unfinished projects, the appeal of having something that remembers the context and keeps the work moving. A familiar character gives that promise a cute face you can return to...and trust.
It also raises a question for the person connecting their accounts: How much confidence are they placing in the agent’s abilities, and how much comes from the feeling of familiarity? A name and a colorful avatar can make an interaction feel far more comfortable before a user has much experience actually judging the work.
Dots still needs supervision #
OpenAI says users choose which apps their Dots can access and can set rules governing when they act independently or ask for approval. Users can inspect a Dot’s computer and follow its progress. The company says background "proactive research" uses read-only tools, and certain sensitive tasks, such as changing a password, remain with the user.
"Dots can still make mistakes, so always review consequential work," OpenAI writes.
Altman and OpenAI are pulling from a familiar strategy. After all, it’s a lot easier to ask users to trust an AI agent with their life when it looks like a little guy in a beret.
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April 2025 filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.
Olivia Tauber is the deputy editor of digital culture, covering creators, media, movies, beauty, and more. Based in New York, her work has appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Cut, Teen Vogue, Complex, and Interview Magazine. She holds a Master's degree in Journalism from NYU and a Bachelor's from the University of Michigan. She also runs Fan Mail, a weekly pop-culture newsletter.