# Dots vs Codex, Work and scheduled tasks: which to use

Pick the job and get the tool: a dot for ongoing work, Work for a deliverable, Codex for code, a scheduled task for a fixed check, and how a dot uses the rest.

*From How to Use Dots, an independent guide (not affiliated with OpenAI). Web version: https://howtousedots.com/dots-vs-codex-work-scheduled-tasks Last verified: 2026-10-06.*

Use a dot for a job that keeps going and needs someone to follow up. Use ChatGPT Work for one finished deliverable, Codex for code, and a scheduled task for the same check at a set time. They connect: a dot can hand pieces of its job to Work or Codex.

**In short**

- **A dot** holds an ongoing job and decides when to check back.
- **Work and Codex** each do one job at a time, when you ask.
- **A scheduled task** runs one saved prompt at the times you set. You don't need a dot for that.
- **A dot can start Work and Codex tasks.** Those count toward your Work and Codex usage, like any other.

## Pick the job, get the tool

Start from the job you have in mind. Pick it, and the card names the tool and where to start.

**Interactive: Which one do I use: a dot, Work, Codex, a scheduled task or a workspace agent**

Open it: https://howtousedots.com/widgets/lineup-pick-by-job.html

What it does: A picker with seven jobs. Choose one and it names the tool that fits, why, where to start it, who directs it, where it runs, what it counts against and which plans have it. A project to keep moving goes to a dot. The same check at a set time, or a reaction to a new email, Slack message or pull request, goes to a scheduled task. One finished report, spreadsheet, deck or site goes to ChatGPT Work. Code goes to Codex. A workflow teammates can run goes to a workspace agent. Open questions in a Slack or Teams conversation go to @ChatGPT.

Its content as text:

### Which one do I use?

Pick the job you have. You get the tool that fits, why, and where to start it.

What do you need done?

- Keep a project moving and tell me when it needs me
- Run the same check at a set time every day or week
- Do something whenever a new email, Slack message or pull request arrives
- Produce one finished report, spreadsheet, deck or site
- Write, debug or review code in a repository
- Build a workflow my teammates can run too
- Let anyone in a Slack or Teams conversation ask for help

**Use a dot**: The job changes from day to day, and something has to notice and follow up. A dot holds the job, decides when to check back, and remembers what you've told it.

**Use a scheduled task**: Same job, same time, nothing to decide between runs. A saved prompt on a schedule covers it, and you don't need a dot. If you have a dot, you can ask it for the schedule.

**Use a scheduled task**: A scheduled task can start on new Gmail messages, new messages in Slack channels you choose, or GitHub pull request activity. A dot can watch for events too, and follow up on what it finds.

**Use Work**: One job with an end. You steer it in one chat and get the finished thing back.

**Use Codex**: Codex writes and debugs code, runs tests and commands, reviews changes and works in your repository.

**Use a workspace agent**: It's built once, then shared with teammates or published to the workspace directory. A dot belongs to one person and can't be shared.

**Use @ChatGPT**: Anyone in an enabled conversation can mention it. A dot in Slack takes direction only from its owner.

#### A dot

An always-on agent of your own, inside ChatGPT.

**Start here**: Click your dot under **New chat** in the ChatGPT sidebar and type the job.

- **Who directs it:** You. One dot per person, and only its owner can direct it.
- **Where it runs:** Its own cloud computer. It can also use a computer you connect, and hand work to Work or Codex.
- **Works without a new prompt:** Yes. It decides when to follow up, runs the schedules you ask for, and reads your connected apps for ways to help.
- **What it counts against:** Talking to it doesn't count toward your ChatGPT usage limits. Tasks it starts in Work or Codex count toward those limits as usual.
- **Plans:** Pro 100, Pro 200 and Pro 500 outside the EEA, Switzerland and the UK, a Business Premium seat, or an Enterprise workspace with dots turned on.

[Give your dot a job](https://howtousedots.com/tasks-and-schedules)

#### ChatGPT Work

An agent for one longer job that ends in a finished thing.

**Start here**: Start a new chat in ChatGPT and choose **Work**.

- **Who directs it:** You, one task at a time.
- **Where it runs:** The cloud on web and mobile. In the desktop app it can also use local files and desktop apps with your permission.
- **Works without a new prompt:** No, unless you attach a scheduled task.
- **What it counts against:** The Work and Codex usage on your plan, then credits where your plan offers them.
- **Plans:** Web, mobile and desktop on Plus and Pro. Limited desktop access on Free and Go. Business and Enterprise as the workspace allows.

[OpenAI's page on Work and Codex](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001275-chatgpt-work-and-codex)

#### Codex

OpenAI's tool for software work.

**Start here**: In the desktop app, click the title at the top of the sidebar and choose **Codex**.

- **Who directs it:** You, one task at a time.
- **Where it runs:** Your computer, or OpenAI-managed computers with Codex Cloud.
- **Works without a new prompt:** No, unless you attach a scheduled task.
- **What it counts against:** The same Work and Codex usage, or API pricing if you sign in with your own API key.
- **Plans:** All plans. Access is limited on Free and Go.

[OpenAI's page on Work and Codex](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001275-chatgpt-work-and-codex)

#### A scheduled task

A saved prompt that runs at set times, or when something arrives.

**Start here**: Click the clock in ChatGPT's left rail to open **Scheduled**, then **New task**.

- **Who directs it:** You, by saving a prompt with a schedule or an event.
- **Where it runs:** The cloud for tasks made on the web. Your computer for tasks made in the desktop app for a local project.
- **Works without a new prompt:** Yes, at the times or events you set, and only then.
- **Plans:** Go, Plus and Pro, and Business and Enterprise where the workspace allows. Tasks that start on an event aren't on Free or Go.

[OpenAI's page on scheduled tasks](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/automations)

#### A workspace agent

A shared agent a team builds once for a job many people run.

**Start here**: Ask your workspace admin whether workspace agents are turned on.

- **Who directs it:** Whoever builds it, plus anyone it's shared with or who finds it in the workspace directory.
- **Where it runs:** From ChatGPT, a Slack channel, a schedule or an API call.
- **Works without a new prompt:** Only on a schedule or an API call you add, or when someone messages it.
- **Plans:** Business and Enterprise. Off in Enterprise until an admin turns it on.

[OpenAI's page on workspace agents](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001143-chatgpt-workspace-agents-for-enterprise-and-business)

#### @ChatGPT in Slack and Teams

A shared assistant for a workspace's conversations.

**Start here**: Mention **@ChatGPT** in a conversation where your admin has enabled it.

- **Who directs it:** An admin sets it up. Anyone in an enabled conversation can mention it.
- **Where it runs:** Slack or Teams, through a service account set up for the assistant.
- **Works without a new prompt:** No. It answers when someone mentions it.
- **What it counts against:** The assistant's service account, or the member when the work uses their own connections.
- **Plans:** Business and Enterprise.

[OpenAI's page on @ChatGPT in Slack and Teams](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001536-chatgpt-with-slack-and-microsoft-teams)

## How a dot connects to the others

The picker gives one tool per job, and a dot can also use the other three. It sits in front of them, as the drawing shows.

Diagram: Your dot in the middle, with arrows to three things. Work gets a brief from it, Codex gets a brief from it, and the Scheduled page holds its schedules.
- Your dot → Work
- Your dot → Codex
- Your dot → Scheduled
- Note on Work: gets a brief
- Note on Codex: gets a brief
- Note on Scheduled: holds its schedules

- **Work and Codex:** your dot starts the task, writes its instructions, checks on it and brings you the result.
- **Scheduled:** a schedule you ask your dot for is saved on the same **Scheduled** page as your own scheduled tasks, in a group with your dot's name.

## What a hand-off looks like

When your dot hands a piece of work over, an ordinary Work or Codex task appears in your sidebar. Open it and you'll see who wrote the request.

![The top of a Work task. A label reads Sent by László, over a message that names the owner and says what he asked the dot to do](https://howtousedots.com/assets/shots/compare-work-thread-sent-by.jpg)

Image: Pat Simmons (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fzbEP_sOjk)

The circled label is **Sent by** and your dot's name. Your dot wrote this request, about you by name, and passed on only what this task needs.

A task your dot starts counts toward your Work and Codex usage as usual. Talking to your dot doesn't. [Dots usage limits](https://howtousedots.com/limits)

## Two pairs people mix up

@ChatGPT in Slack and a workspace agent both sound like a dot. The difference each time is who the thing belongs to.

| | Belongs to | So |
|---|---|---|
| **Your dot in Slack** | You. Only you can direct it, and it knows your work | Use it for your own follow-ups, wherever you are |
| **@ChatGPT in Slack** | The workspace. Anyone in the conversation can mention it, and it doesn't carry your memory or instructions | Use it for a question the whole channel wants answered |
| **A dot** | One person | Your projects, your inbox, your decisions |
| **A workspace agent** | A team. Someone builds it, tests it and shares it | A process many people run the same way, such as routing vendor requests |

## Check you've got it

**Predict: Your dot starts a Codex task on your laptop to fix a bug. Which usage does that task count toward?**

- None. Dot work is separate
- Your Codex usage, as usual
- A special dots allowance for code

Answer: Your Codex usage, as usual

Talking to your dot doesn't count toward your ChatGPT limits. A task it starts in Work or Codex is a normal Work or Codex task and counts like one. To keep control, tell your dot to ask before it starts one, or [set a custom rule](https://howtousedots.com/custom-rules).

**Next:** [Give your dot a job](https://howtousedots.com/tasks-and-schedules)

Type a four-part brief into your dot's conversation, ask for a schedule in plain words, check on the work in Recent activity, and stop it three ways.

### Is a dot better than a scheduled task?

Not for a fixed check at a fixed time. A scheduled task is enough for that, and it comes with Go, Plus and Pro. Use a dot when the job changes as it goes: a dot decides when to follow up and takes new information without starting over.

### Can I choose which model my dot uses?

No. A dot runs on GPT-6 Astra and its message box has no model picker. A Work or Codex task your dot starts has its own model setting.

### Can my dot use my Codex cloud environments?

Yes. Create the environment in Codex first, with its repository and setup. Your dot can then start cloud coding tasks in it, and those run with your computer off. [Dots and GitHub](https://howtousedots.com/github)

### What are specialist dots?

A separate preview for organizations: a dot that takes on one dedicated job inside a company, with its own identity, credentials and access. They're available only through pilots run with OpenAI's engineering teams.

- 2026-10-06: Rebuilt around a pick-by-job tool, a drawing of how the tools connect, and a real hand-off.
- 2026-10-05: First published.

## Sources

- [OpenAI docs: Meet dots](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/dots)
- [OpenAI docs: Tasks and memory (dots)](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/dots/tasks-and-memory)
- [OpenAI: Introducing dots (launch post)](https://openai.com/index/introducing-dots/)
- [OpenAI Help Center: ChatGPT release notes (first-month usage terms)](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/6825453-chatgpt-release-notes)
- [OpenAI Help Center: Getting started with your dot](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001530-getting-started-with-your-dot)
- [OpenAI Help Center: Manage dots in ChatGPT workspaces](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001554-manage-dots-in-chatgpt-workspaces)
- [OpenAI Help Center: ChatGPT Work and Codex](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001275-chatgpt-work-and-codex)
- [OpenAI docs: Scheduled tasks](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/automations)
- [OpenAI Help Center: ChatGPT Workspace Agents for Enterprise and Business](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001143-chatgpt-workspace-agents-for-enterprise-and-business)
- [OpenAI Help Center: ChatGPT with Slack and Microsoft Teams](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001536-chatgpt-with-slack-and-microsoft-teams)
- [OpenAI Help Center: Setting up and managing @ChatGPT (usage and billing)](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001538-setting-up-and-managing-chatgpt-in-slack-and-microsoft-teams)
- [ChatGPT pricing page (plan features)](https://chatgpt.com/pricing)
- [OpenAI docs: Pricing for Work and Codex (plan features, shared usage)](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/pricing)
- [OpenAI: DevDay 2026 recap (@ChatGPT in Slack and Microsoft Teams)](https://openai.com/index/devday-2026-recap/)
- [Pat Simmons on YouTube: screenshot of a Work task started by a dot](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fzbEP_sOjk)