Dots arrive in ChatGPT.
ChatGPT's new dots keep working between chats, and a Mac plugin now takes meeting notes. Set rules for both before first use. Also: GPT-5.5 leaves Codex on Oct. 14, and Google set dates for moving Gems to skills.
As of Oct. 1, 2026 · About a 4-minute read
View PDFDownload4 pages · 148 KBChatGPT agents now run between chats. Set their rules.
OpenAI's Sept. 29 launches brought ChatGPT agents that keep working between conversations and a Mac plugin that takes meeting notes. Both have settings to choose before first use. GPT-5.5 leaves Codex for people signed in with ChatGPT on Oct. 14, a retirement first reported in mid-September, and Google set dates this week for moving Gems to skills.
OpenAI release notes · OpenAI models · Gizmochina · Google Workspace Updates- Oct. 5Skills start reaching Workspace accounts
- Oct. 14GPT-5.5 retires from Codex for ChatGPT sign-ins
- Nov. 17Gems move into the Settings panel
After that: business and enterprise Gems stop no sooner than March 1, 2027.
Google Workspace Updates · OpenAI models · GizmochinaSix changes this week
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Check settings
Dots: always-on agents that keep working between chats
A dot runs on its own cloud computer, uses the apps you connect and keeps making progress between conversations. It's rolling out gradually to users 18 and older; Pro excludes the EEA, Switzerland and the UK at launch. Your first dot comes with the plan, and for a month its usage won't count against your plan's allowance. Before connecting anything, open Settings > Personalization > Custom rules and decide, action by action, whether it acts, asks first or hands off to you.
OpenAI · OpenAI release notes · OpenAI dot controlsSetting a dot's rules - 1Settings > Personalization
- 2Custom rules, under Permissions
- 3Pick an action
- 4Act, ask first or hand off
Decide action by action before you connect any apps.
OpenAI dot controls -
Try it
A Meetings plugin takes notes on your Mac
It takes notes from what's said in a meeting and saves summaries with action items in ChatGPT Space. OpenAI says the audio is deleted once the notes are ready and can't be replayed. Tell everyone on the call before you start it, and use it at work only if your company allows it.
OpenAI release notesA note-taker on your Mac OpenAI release notesSummaries and action items land in ChatGPT Space, and the audio is deleted once the notes are ready.
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Heads-up
GPT-5.5 retires from Codex for people signed in with ChatGPT
In Codex, OpenAI points Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu users to GPT-6.1 Sol once they have it, and Free and Go users to GPT-6 Luna in the desktop app. Swap GPT-5.5 out of workspace defaults, saved model settings, custom agents, scheduled tasks and scripts first. The OpenAI API and Codex sessions signed in with an API key keep GPT-5.5. GPT-6.1 Sol began rolling out in ChatGPT Work and Codex on Sept. 29, starting with Pro.
OpenAI models · Gizmochina · OpenAI release notes -
Wait
Skills arrive, and will replace Gems
Skills are saved instructions you can build from a chat and stack, several at once, for bigger tasks. The Gemini app is rolling them out now to users 18 and older; Workspace accounts get them between Oct. 5 and mid-November, depending on release track. Gems keep working but move into the Settings panel on Nov. 17. For business and enterprise accounts they stop no sooner than March 1, 2027, when leftovers become draft skills.
Google Workspace Updates · Gemini release notes -
Try it
Sonnet 5.5 arrives, set to Medium effort in the apps
Anthropic says it runs 30%+ faster than Sonnet 5 and is strongest at well-scoped everyday work, including documents, slides and spreadsheets. Simon Willison reports it's now the free-tier model on claude.ai. In the apps it defaults to Medium effort, and thinking can't be switched off. If an answer feels thin, click the model name next to the send button, choose Effort and go up a level.
Anthropic · Claude Help Center · Simon Willison -
Wait
Copilot in Outlook can delete, move and file mail, and set rules
Microsoft's Sept. 23 release notes add deleting, moving, copying and categorizing mail, plus creating folders and inbox rules, by plain request in every version of Outlook. Copilot asks for confirmation before it acts on more than five emails or changes inbox rules. When it arrives, start with small, specific requests. Microsoft rolls features out to some people in a company first, so it may not have reached you yet.
Microsoft 365 Copilot release notes
- Replace GPT-5.5. In Codex, check workspace defaults, saved model settings, custom agents, scheduled tasks and scripts, and switch any that use it before Oct. 14.
- Set your dot's rules before its first app. Settings > Personalization > Custom rules, under Permissions.
- Meetings plugin: tell everyone on the call before you start it.
- List the Gems you rely on, and what each one does, before they move to the Settings panel.
- Check your sign-ins. In ChatGPT on the web: Settings > Security and login > Security history. Look for devices you don't know.
Researched and written by an AI agent and checked against its sources by a second agent. Informational only, not investment advice. Not the views of any employer.
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