Personal AI agents, explained: Grok Bot, Dots, Muse and Claude Duet

Disclosure: ToolsThatWork uses Grok Bot in its own operations; we’ve tried to judge it by the same standard. No company paid for placement in this piece. Status: Researched. We read each company’s own pages on October 23, 2026.

What’s new here

Until recently, AI tools waited for you to type a question. The new “personal agents” work differently. You message them like a helper, they work on their own computer in the cloud, and they come back when something is done or needs your OK. They can keep going after you close the app.

Four have launched recently: Grok Bot (xAI), Dots (OpenAI, inside ChatGPT), Muse (Meta) and Claude Duet (Anthropic, opened as a research preview on October 21, 2026). They sound alike, but they’re aimed at different people.

The four, in plain words

Muse (Meta)

What it is: A personal agent app from Meta, launched September 2026. You chat with it in the Muse app or in WhatsApp. Everyday jobs: setting reminders so birthdays and deadlines don’t slip; sorting scheduling conflicts and booking dinner; finding forgotten subscriptions and tracking price drops (it asks before it cancels or buys). Price: Free with a usage limit; paid plans for more. We couldn’t confirm the paid price. Platforms: US only. iOS and Android apps and the web (muse.ai), plus WhatsApp. What you connect: Your choice of email, calendar, Instagram, Facebook, health and fitness data, and finances. Meta says each Muse runs on its own secure cloud computer, a separate “Sentinel” checks anything going to the internet, Muse can’t see your passwords, and there’s a full activity log. You can opt out of training. Skip it if: you’d rather not give Meta more of your personal data, or you live outside the US.

Claude Duet (Anthropic)

What it is: Yes, it’s real and new. Anthropic opened a research preview on October 21, 2026, built “for professionals and small business owners.” Everyday jobs: a morning brief of what needs you in your email and calendar, with drafted replies to approve; finding unpaid invoices and drafting reminders; following up on threads that went quiet. Price: Included in Claude Pro and Max during the preview, at no extra cost. It uses your plan’s usage limits, and background checks count too. Platforms: US only, by waitlist. iOS and Android apps, plus claude.ai on the web. What you connect: Your Claude connectors (email, calendar and more). Microsoft 365 isn’t available yet. It asks before sending, paying, signing or deleting, and won’t move money between accounts. It doesn’t make calls or text people. Skip it if: you mainly want help with errands and family bookings. Anthropic itself says it’s built for work, not errands. Also skip it if you use Outlook/Microsoft 365, or if you don’t want to wait on a waitlist.

Dots (OpenAI)

What it is: An “always-on” agent inside ChatGPT, launched September 29, 2026. You name your dot, and it keeps working on projects between conversations. Everyday jobs: keeping a project moving, like tracking RSVPs for an event and asking before it requests new pricing; research and preparing documents; staying on top of what matters to you across connected apps. Price: Your first dot is included in ChatGPT Pro or Business Premium. It’s not on Free or Plus. (We didn’t verify those plan prices today.) Platforms: ChatGPT on web, desktop and mobile. You create it in the ChatGPT desktop app, on desktop web, or in the iOS/Android app (not mobile web). Not available in the EU/EEA, Switzerland or UK for Pro users; 18+. What you connect: Apps through OpenAI’s plugins (4,000+, OpenAI says), your ChatGPT memory, and optionally your own laptop. You choose what it can do alone and what needs approval, and you can open its computer to see what it’s doing. Skip it if: you’re on ChatGPT Free or Plus and don’t want a top-tier plan, or you’re in Europe or the UK.

Grok Bot (xAI)

What it is: “AI teammates” from xAI. You can run several Bots at once, each with its own job, and teach one a task by doing it once while it watches. Everyday jobs: working in websites and apps for you, including clunky ones; running a weekly routine you showed it once; drafting emails in your voice and leaving a list for you to approve. Price: Included in The X Subscription Premium ($30/month), Super ($100) or Ultra ($200). Not in Free or Plus. Usage is shared with Grok and Cursor. Platforms: Desktop (macOS or Windows) and the iOS app, per xAI’s Grok Bot FAQ; also for teams and enterprises. What you connect: You sign it into the apps and sites you use. xAI says its cloud computer is encrypted, you can opt out of training, and sensitive actions can go through a review step first. Skip it if: you want a personal-life helper for family logistics. Grok Bot’s own examples are mostly business work (sales outreach, support queues, reporting). Also skip it if you’re on Android only.

Side by side

	Muse	Claude Duet	Dots	Grok Bot
Made by	Meta	Anthropic	OpenAI	xAI
Best at	Home life, reminders, deals	Work inbox, calendar, morning brief	Ongoing projects	Business tasks in many apps
Free option	Yes, with limits	No	No	No
Cheapest way in	Free	Claude Pro (preview, waitlist)	ChatGPT Pro or Business Premium	$30/month Premium
Where	iOS, Android, web, WhatsApp	iOS, Android, web	ChatGPT web, desktop, mobile	Mac, Windows, iOS
Region	US	US	Not EU/UK for Pro	Not stated on page
Asks before sensitive actions	Yes	Yes	You set it	Can be set

Our verdict: who should start where

• Busy at home, never paid for AI: start with Muse’s free tier. Connect one calendar, ask for three reminders, and see if it helps for a week.
• Already pay for Claude: join the Claude Duet waitlist and try the morning brief on your work inbox.
• Already pay for ChatGPT Pro: you already have a dot. Give it one real project, like an event or a supplier comparison.
• Small business with repeat computer chores: Grok Bot suits teaching a routine and running several helpers, but it costs money from day one.
• Where the others beat Grok Bot: Muse is free to try and is better for family logistics. Claude Duet’s morning brief and approve-the-reply flow is more focused on a work inbox. Dots comes included if you already pay for ChatGPT Pro. Grok Bot wins when you have repeat chores that run across several apps and sites.

The honest answer for most people: try the one that comes with what you already have, and don’t buy a new plan just to experiment.

Skip this

• Skip all four if your week already runs fine. An agent is one more thing to supervise.
• Skip connecting money, health or a spouse’s accounts at the start.
• Skip turning off approvals to “save time.” The approval step is where you catch mistakes.
• Skip any of these for anything legally or medically serious without reading it yourself.

A note on privacy and safety

These agents only help because they can see your inbox, calendar and more. That’s the trade. Before you connect anything, ask: would I be OK if this company’s computer read it? Connect the smallest set first, keep approvals on, check the activity log once a week, and turn off training on your data where the setting exists. And remember that every company here says its agent can still get things wrong.

What we couldn’t check

We read official pages only and didn’t run a full setup on each. We couldn’t confirm Muse’s paid price or today’s ChatGPT Pro and Claude Pro/Max prices, so we left those out rather than guess.

Sources

1. Grok Bot product page (xAI): https://x.ai/bot
2. The X Subscription pricing (xAI): https://x.ai/pricing
3. Grok Bot on The X Subscription (xAI docs): https://docs.x.ai/x-subscription/grok-bot
4. Introducing dots (OpenAI): https://openai.com/index/introducing-dots/
5. Getting started with your dot (OpenAI Help Center): https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001530-getting-started-with-your-dot
6. Introducing Muse (Meta Newsroom): https://about.fb.com/news/2026/09/introducing-muse-personal-ai-agent/
7. How to get started with Muse (Meta Help Center): https://www.meta.com/help/artificial-intelligence/1331373868832401/
8. Muse from Meta (Google Play): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?hl=en_US&id=com.facebook.aura
9. Introducing Claude Duet (Anthropic): https://claude.com/resources/articles/claude-duet
10. Get started with Claude Duet (Claude Help Center): https://support.claude.com/en/articles/17631495-get-started-with-claude-duet
11. Claude Duet product page (Anthropic): https://claude.com/product/claude-duet