# ChatGPT Dots limits: what's free and what uses your plan

Dots aren't unlimited. Chatting with your dot is free, its own work runs on a hidden allowance, and Work or Codex tasks it starts use your plan's usage.

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

Dots aren't unlimited, and chatting with your dot doesn't touch your other ChatGPT usage. Your dot's own work runs on a separate allowance. Only the tasks it starts in Work or Codex come out of your plan's usage.

**In short**

- **Chatting with your dot is free.** Conversations don't count toward your ChatGPT usage limits.
- **Your dot's own work has an allowance** with no meter on screen. For the first month after launch it doesn't count against your plan at all.
- **Work and Codex tasks count as usual**, including the ones your dot starts for you.
- **A stop looks like one of three things**: a break message, a preview limit, or 0% left. Each has its own fix below.

## Where does this get counted?

Your dot can do the same job two ways: by itself, or by handing it to Work or Codex. Who does the work decides the meter. Try it.

**Interactive: Where does this get counted?**

Open it: https://howtousedots.com/widgets/dots-billing-lanes.html

What it does: Pick a kind of work a dot does (chatting, work on its cloud computer, a task on your computer, a Codex coding task, a scheduled check) and see which of three meters it counts on, with one line on why: not counted, your dot's allowance, or your plan's Work and Codex usage. Keep picking and a meter runs out.

Its content as text:

### Where does this get counted?

Pick what your dot is about to do. The meter it counts on lights up. Keep going and see what runs out.

- **Not counted**
  Conversations with your dot.
  Messages sent · 0
  **Stops with:** nothing. Chatting has no meter.
- **Your dot's allowance**
  Work your dot does itself, on its own computer and in your connected apps.
  Jobs run · 0
  **Stops with:** "Your dot is on a break" or "You’ve hit the preview limit". ChatGPT shows no meter for it.
- **Your plan's Work and Codex usage**
  Tasks your dot starts or manages in ChatGPT Work or Codex.
  Usage · 100% left
  **Stops with:** 0% left. It refills at the reset time, or with credits.

| Your dot is about to | Counts on | Why |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Chat with you | Not counted | Conversations with your dot don't count toward your ChatGPT usage limits. |
| Work on its cloud computer | Your dot's allowance | Your dot does this work itself, on its own computer, so it comes out of your dot's allowance and leaves your plan's meter alone. |
| Start a task on your computer | Your plan's Work and Codex usage | Your dot hands the job to Work or Codex on your computer, and those tasks count toward your plan's usage as usual. |
| Start a coding task in Codex | Your plan's Work and Codex usage | A coding task in a Codex cloud environment is a Codex task, so it counts toward your plan's usage as usual. |
| Run a scheduled check of the web or your apps | Your dot's allowance | A schedule doesn't change the meter. Your dot runs this check itself, so it counts like any other work on its cloud computer. |
| Run a scheduled check that opens a task on your computer | Your plan's Work and Codex usage | A schedule doesn't change the meter. This run opens a Work or Codex task, so every run draws on your plan's usage. |

## What a stop looks like, and what to do

Two of those meters can run out without warning. OpenAI doesn't publish the size of your dot's allowance, and ChatGPT shows no meter for it, so you find the edge when your dot stops. Match what you see to its row, then go to that section.

| You see | Which meter ran out | First move |
|---|---|---|
| "Your dot is on a break" | Your dot's allowance | Wait, then send one message |
| "You’ve hit the preview limit" | Your dot's allowance | Ask your dot for the retry time |
| 0% left under **Usage** | Your plan's Work and Codex usage | Check the reset time |

## "Your dot is on a break"

The first stop is the loud one. Your dot answers every message with the same line, in the conversation, like a normal reply.

![A phone conversation with a dot. The owner writes a thank-you, and the dot replies: Your dot is on a break. Congrats you are in the very top users and have hit our abuse prevention limit. Check back in a bit!](https://howtousedots.com/assets/shots/limits-on-a-break.jpg)

1. Your message is delivered and read as usual.
2. The reply gives no time. Asking "when?" gets the same line again.

Image: u/Desperate_Source_712 on Reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenAI/comments/1wy96in/ghatgpt_dot_has_limits/)

The same stop also arrives as "Your Dot is resting. Congratulations on being one of the most active users! You have reached our usage limit to prevent abuse. Come back in a while!"

1. Stop messaging your dot. Every message gets the break line back.
2. Come back later and send one message.
3. When your dot answers normally, tell it to carry on, because it won't always resume by itself: "Pick up the job you were on before the break. Tell me where you left off and what's still to do."

Can't wait? Run the job yourself in Work or Codex. That's a different meter, so the break doesn't block it.

## "You’ve hit the preview limit"

The second stop is quiet. Your dot's work halts mid-job and the error lands in the task, so the conversation may show nothing: your messages are marked read and no reply comes. Ask, and your dot quotes it.

![A dot's message: The service returned this exact error: You’ve hit the preview limit. Try again at Oct 1st, 2026 1:28 AM. That stopped the ongoing analysis.](https://howtousedots.com/assets/shots/limits-preview-limit.png)

*The retry time is the useful part. It carries no time zone.*

Image: u/theycallmeryan on Reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wun6pg/so_much_for_unlimited_dots/)

The exact text is `You’ve hit the preview limit. Try again at 11:05 AM.`, with the time your dot can start again. A longer wait shows a date as well.

1. Ask your dot: "What stopped your last task? Quote the exact error and the retry time."
2. Wait until the retry time. If your dot is still stopped then by your clock, give it a few more hours.
3. Tell your dot to pick the job back up.

No answer at all? Your dot is still stopped. Leave it a few hours and ask again.

## 0% left on your plan's usage

The third stop is on the one meter you can watch. At 0%, Work and Codex tasks won't start, including the ones your dot tries to open.

![The Usage and limits screen in the ChatGPT phone app: Agentic usage limit, a Weekly usage limit bar at 91% remaining, Resets Fri 6:56 PM, Credits remaining 0 Credits, and a Buy credits button](https://howtousedots.com/assets/shots/limits-usage-and-limits.jpg)

1. What's left of your plan's Work and Codex usage this week.
2. When the meter refills.
3. Credits extend usage past your plan's limit.

Image: u/call-me-GiGi on Reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenAI/comments/1wxh6ky/anybody_elses_dot_completely_broken/)

1. Read the reset time. In the desktop app, click your picture at the bottom left of the sidebar and read the **Usage** row.
2. Wait for the reset, or choose **Buy credits** if you're on Pro. OpenAI support can't reset a limit for you.
3. Keep using your dot. Chatting and its own cloud work are on other meters, so ask it to do the job itself: "Do this yourself on your cloud computer. Don't start a Work or Codex task for it."

Check the **Usage** row before and after your dot's first few big jobs. If the number dropped, your dot handed part of the job to Work or Codex.

## Keep your dot off your plan's usage

You can stop that third meter draining without your say. Your dot decides how to do a job, and it can open a Work or Codex task without mentioning it. One custom rule makes it ask first: go to **Settings**, **Personalization**, **Custom rules**, click **Add**, paste the rule below and set it to **Ask before taking action**.

```prompt title="Rule"
Ask for my approval before you start any Work or Codex task.
```

A rule is an instruction your dot tries to follow, and it can slip, so keep an eye on **Usage** for the first week. Two ways to spot a handed-off task after the fact:

- **In the conversation**: a chip with a laptop icon and the task's title.
- **In your dot's profile**: the **Activity** list shows what it has delegated.

[Custom rules](https://howtousedots.com/custom-rules#add-a-rule) shows each screen.

## Check you've got it

One job, three possible meters.

**Predict: You ask your dot to tidy a PowerPoint file that lives on your laptop. Which meter does the work count on?**

- None: chatting is free
- Your dot's allowance
- Your plan's usage

Answer: Your plan's usage

The file is on your computer, so your dot opens a Work or Codex task there, and those count as usual. The same slides edited with its own cloud tools would stay on your dot's allowance. Here's a dot explaining the difference:

![An owner asks: so if you help me edit slides that would count as Codex usage? The dot replies: Not necessarily. Editing slides through my cloud tools doesn't require a task on your Mac. Editing a local PowerPoint file through a Work/Codex task uses the route that just hit your limit.](https://howtousedots.com/assets/shots/limits-route-answer.png)

Image: u/innovaldragon on Reddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wvot0j/psa_dots_will_use_your_codex_usage_if_it_thinks/)

### What happens after the first month?

The extended limits are for the first month after launch. OpenAI will then set usage terms for each plan. Until then, treat today's headroom as temporary: if a daily job only works because your dot's allowance is generous right now, note what it would cost as a Work or Codex task.

### How many dots and computers can I have?

One dot per person, and it can run several tasks in parallel. Only one of your own computers can be connected to your dot at a time.

### Can I buy more usage for my dot?

Not yet. Credits extend Work and Codex usage on Pro. OpenAI plans to let you add more dots and raise a dot's monthly amount of work later.

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

No. A dot runs on GPT-6 Astra, and model settings, yours or your workspace's, don't apply to it. A Work or Codex task your dot starts has its own model setting inside that task.

### Do speed modes use more of my plan's usage?

In Work and Codex, yes. On Pro, Fast mode uses your usage at 2.5 times the Standard rate. GPT-6 Astra Ultrafast, on Pro 500 only, uses it at 8 times.

- 2026-10-06: Rebuilt around the meter tool and real pictures of each stop.
- 2026-10-05: First published.

## Sources

- [OpenAI: Introducing dots (the usage rules)](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 (allowance for deeper work, local tasks)](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001530-getting-started-with-your-dot)
- [OpenAI docs: Tasks and memory (task types and where they run)](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/dots/tasks-and-memory)
- [OpenAI docs: Get started with your dot (delegating to Work or Codex)](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/dots/getting-started)
- [OpenAI docs: Control your dot (custom rules)](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/dots/controls)
- [OpenAI Help Center: About ChatGPT Pro tiers (speed modes, credits, limit resets)](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/9793128-about-chatgpt-pro-tiers)
- [OpenAI Help Center: Manage dots in ChatGPT workspaces (model settings)](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001554-manage-dots-in-chatgpt-workspaces)
- [Reddit r/OpenAI: screenshot of the on-a-break message](https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenAI/comments/1wy96in/ghatgpt_dot_has_limits/)
- [Reddit r/codex: screenshot of the preview limit error](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wun6pg/so_much_for_unlimited_dots/)
- [Reddit r/codex: the preview limit and the resting message](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wy0a37/pro_20x_reduced_allowance_and_an_unexplained_dot/)
- [Reddit r/OpenAI: screenshot of the Usage and limits screen](https://www.reddit.com/r/OpenAI/comments/1wxh6ky/anybody_elses_dot_completely_broken/)
- [Reddit r/codex: a custom rule for Codex tasks](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wtzy8v/custom_rules_for_dots_so_they_dont_use_codex/)
- [Reddit r/codex: screenshot of a dot explaining which route used Codex usage](https://www.reddit.com/r/codex/comments/1wvot0j/psa_dots_will_use_your_codex_usage_if_it_thinks/)
- [OpenAI community forum: a preview limit that showed only in task records](https://community.openai.com/t/codex-dot-chat-shows-sent-read-and-a-loading-indicator-but-no-reply-text/1402790)
- [Zinho Automates on YouTube: the Usage row in the account menu](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGGHiJF6g0c)