In plain English
- What happened
- At DevDay 2026 on September 29, 2026, OpenAI announced more than 20 changes across ChatGPT, Codex and its models. The two most relevant for a small business are Dots, a new always-on agent, and a plugin platform that opens ChatGPT to outside developers and replaces custom GPTs.
- Why it matters to your business
- Which of these actually reach a solo owner depends entirely on the plan they pay for — several features are Business or Enterprise only, and some are betas turned off by default. Anyone who built a custom GPT for their business now has a firm deadline to deal with, since custom GPTs retire on December 11, 2026.
- Do this
- Open ChatGPT, check which plan the account is on, and if a custom GPT was built for the business, start reviewing OpenAI's migration notes ahead of the December 11, 2026 cutoff.
OpenAI called its September 29, 2026 event the biggest DevDay yet, with announcements spanning developer tools, model updates and new ways for people to work alongside AI inside ChatGPT. Most of the list is aimed at software teams — reusable coding environments, a security scanning tool for GitHub repositories, an API for building custom agents. A handful of items, though, land directly on a ChatGPT subscription a small business owner might already be paying for.
An agent that stays on the job
The headline consumer feature is Dots, described by OpenAI as an always-on agent meant to take ongoing work off a person's plate rather than answer one question at a time. It is available on ChatGPT Pro and Business Premium plans in what OpenAI calls eligible markets. Enterprise, Edu and Healthcare workspaces can try a beta version, but only if a workspace administrator turns it on — it ships off by default.
Reality check
An 'always-on agent' sounds like it runs itself, but nothing here has shipped broadly yet. Dots is limited to specific plans and markets, and the enterprise version requires an admin to switch it on. Worth watching before assuming it replaces any current workflow.
A cheaper, faster model
OpenAI also introduced GPT-6.1 Sol, pitched as delivering performance close to its top-tier model at a fifth of the standard input and output token price of that flagship. It's available across the API as well as Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu ChatGPT plans. For anyone using ChatGPT day to day rather than through the API, the practical effect is a model upgrade already included in the plan they have.
Plugins replace custom GPTs
The bigger structural change is a new plugin platform that lets outside developers build experiences that live inside ChatGPT — a sidebar app, an interactive panel, a file viewer — rather than a standalone chatbot persona. Plugins are available to all plans, and a related feature lets Business, Enterprise, Healthcare and Edu workspaces host plugins on the Sites they build.
OpenAI is also rolling out Sign in with ChatGPT, which lets a subscriber's plan usage carry over into other tools — 16 partners are named, including Notion and Vercel. Plan usage through this feature is currently limited to Plus and Pro subscribers in participating tools, though the sign-in identity itself is available more broadly.
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| September 29, 2026 | DevDay 2026 announcements published |
| Fall 2026 | Private Inference preview becomes available |
| December 11, 2026 | Custom GPTs retire; plugins are the replacement |
Custom GPTs retire on December 11, 2026. According to OpenAI's own migration FAQ, a migrated plugin starts private by default, so anyone who had access to a shared custom GPT loses it unless the settings are redone by hand.
That retirement matters here because plugins are explicitly the thing OpenAI is steering builders toward. Anyone who set up a custom GPT for client intake, a scheduling assistant, or an FAQ bot has a little over two months to check what happens to it. Per OpenAI's migration notice, custom actions, the model that was selected, and past conversations do not carry over — only the most recently published version of the GPT migrates.
- 1
Check your plan
Log into ChatGPT and confirm whether the account is on Free, Plus, Pro, or a Business tier, since Dots, Sites-hosted plugins, and Sign in with ChatGPT are gated by plan.
- 2
Find any custom GPT you built
Go to the GPT builder section of ChatGPT and note anything created for the business — a client-facing bot, an internal tool — before the December 11, 2026 retirement.
- 3
Re-check sharing settings after migration
If a custom GPT migrates to a plugin, reopen its sharing settings and reshare the link with staff or clients, since migrated plugins start private by default.
- 4
Treat new agent features as optional
Dots and similar always-on agents are limited rollouts on specific plans; there's no need to change a workflow around a feature that isn't available on the current plan yet.
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