# How to set up ChatGPT Dots: create your first dot Create your dot in about a minute: click Your dot in ChatGPT on a computer, choose which apps to connect and where it can work, then give it a name. *From How to Use Dots, an independent guide (not affiliated with OpenAI). Web version: https://howtousedots.com/setup Last verified: 2026-10-06.* *Step 3 of 10 on the path "Learn Dots, step by step". Before it: [Can I get Dots?](https://howtousedots.com/availability.md). After it: [Give your dot a job](https://howtousedots.com/tasks-and-schedules.md).* You create a dot from the **Your dot** entry in ChatGPT's sidebar, on a computer. It takes about a minute: a few short screens, then your dot says hello and asks what to call it. **In short** - Open ChatGPT in a desktop browser or the desktop app and click **Your dot**, right under **New chat**. - A few screens follow: what a dot is, which apps to connect, and where it can work. - You can skip the apps and your own computer. Both can be added later. - Your dot messages you first. Reply with a name, or leave it as "dot". Have these three things before you start. **What you need** - [ ] A plan that includes a dot: Pro, Business Premium, or an Enterprise workspace where an admin has turned dots on. [Check yours](https://howtousedots.com/availability). - [ ] ChatGPT on a computer. A dot can't be created on a phone. - [ ] Two minutes. ## Create your dot The walkthrough shows each screen in order, with a circle on the part that matters. **Walkthrough: Create your dot** ### Step 1: Click Your dot in the sidebar Open [chatgpt.com](https://chatgpt.com) on a computer. **Your dot** sits at the top of the sidebar, right under **New chat**. Click it. ![The top of the ChatGPT sidebar: New chat, then Your dot, then Projects](https://howtousedots.com/assets/shots/setup-sidebar-your-dot.jpg) Image: Pat Simmons (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fzbEP_sOjk) No **Your dot** entry? [Find out why your dot isn't showing up](https://howtousedots.com/not-showing-up). ### Step 2: Read what you're getting, then click Continue The **Create your dot** screen says three things about a dot before you make one. Click **Continue**. ![The Create your dot screen with three statements and a Continue button](https://howtousedots.com/assets/shots/setup-create-your-dot.jpg) Image: Pat Simmons (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fzbEP_sOjk) ### Step 3: Choose which Google apps to connect, or skip **Make your dot more helpful** offers four Google apps: Email, Calendar, Contacts and Drive. Click **Continue with Google** to connect them, or **Continue without giving your dot this context** to skip. ![Make your dot more helpful: Email, Calendar, Contacts and Drive, with Continue with Google underneath](https://howtousedots.com/assets/shots/setup-connect-apps.jpg) Image: Pat Simmons (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fzbEP_sOjk) Once an app is connected, your dot reads it without being asked, to look for ways to help. Connect what you're happy for it to read. [What your dot can see](https://howtousedots.com/privacy-security) has the detail. ### Step 4: On Google's screen, tick every box If you chose Google, ChatGPT reminds you to **select all permissions** before it sends you there. Click **Continue to Google**, tick every box on Google's own screen, and confirm. ![A reminder card: Remember to select all permissions. Make sure ChatGPT has access to enable Google plugins. Continue to Google](https://howtousedots.com/assets/shots/setup-google-permissions.jpg) Image: Pat Simmons (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fzbEP_sOjk) Back in ChatGPT, a small notice says how many plugins were installed, for example "2 plugins installed". Then **Setting up your dot** shows for a few seconds. ### Step 5: Choose where your dot can work Your dot gets its own computer in the cloud, and that row is already ticked. Letting it use your computer as well is optional. Click **Continue**. ![Choose where your dot can work: Your dot's computer is ticked, Your local computer has an Open app button, and Continue is underneath](https://howtousedots.com/assets/shots/setup-choose-computer.jpg) Image: Pat Simmons (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fzbEP_sOjk) Not sure about your own computer? Leave it for now. [Let your dot use your computer](https://howtousedots.com/connect-your-computer) covers when it's worth it. ### Step 6: Say hello and give it a name Your dot writes first. It introduces itself and asks what you want to call it. Type a name and send it. ![A new dot's first messages: Hey! I'm your dot. Message or call me anytime. Want to give me a name? Then a Customize your dot button](https://howtousedots.com/assets/shots/setup-first-message.jpg) Image: Pat Simmons (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fzbEP_sOjk) > **You should see** > > The top of the conversation and the sidebar entry change from **Your dot** to the name you chose. That's your dot, ready for a job. ## Change its name or its look Once your dot has a name, you can change it, and its picture, at any time. Click **Customize your dot** in its first messages, or the pencil on its picture in its profile. ![The Customize your dot dialog: rows of Colors, Characters and Pets on the left, a preview with the dot's name on the right, and a Save button](https://howtousedots.com/assets/shots/setup-customize.jpg) 1. Pick a color, a character or a pet. 2. Click the name in the preview to type a new one. 3. Click **Save**. The sidebar, the top of the conversation and the profile all update. Image: Pat Simmons (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fzbEP_sOjk) You can also rename your dot by asking it. "Call yourself Juno from now on" is enough. ## Can't see Your dot in the desktop app? Switch it to ChatGPT Everything so far works the same in the desktop app, with one catch. The app has two modes, ChatGPT and Codex. If the top of the sidebar says **Codex** and there's no **Your dot** entry, click **Codex** and choose **ChatGPT**. ![The desktop app's mode menu, opened from the word Codex: ChatGPT, Create, learn, and explore; and Codex, Build, debug, and ship](https://howtousedots.com/assets/shots/setup-desktop-mode-switch.jpg) Image: Pat Simmons (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fzbEP_sOjk) **Your dot** now appears under **New chat**. If the app shows **Create your dot** again, click **Continue**: it's the same dot, and the app only needs the next screen from you. ## Two mistakes to avoid If setup didn't go as shown, check these two. > **Common mistake: Starting on your phone** > > The ChatGPT phone app shows your dot once it exists, and you can't create one there. > > **The fix:** Create your dot on a computer. After that, open the app's menu on your phone: your dot is the first entry. > **Common mistake: Leaving boxes unticked on Google's screen** > > Google lists each permission separately. Leave a box empty and that app's plugin isn't enabled, so your dot can't use it. > > **The fix:** Tick every box for the apps you want. To add one you missed, open your dot's profile and connect it from there. ## Check you've got it Your dot exists. One question about what it can do right now. **Predict: You skipped the Google apps and your own computer. What can your dot do now?** - Nothing until you connect something - Work on its own cloud computer, and use any apps you'd already connected to ChatGPT - Only chat, like a normal conversation Answer: Work on its own cloud computer, and use any apps you'd already connected to ChatGPT A dot always has its own cloud computer with a browser, so it can research, build and keep going while you're away. Apps and your own computer add reach. They aren't required. ## Next step Your dot is set up and waiting. Give it something to do, or [run a practice first day in the simulator](https://howtousedots.com/try) before you hand over a real job. **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. ### Can I have more than one dot? Each person gets one dot. - 2026-10-06: Rebuilt around the real setup screens. - 2026-10-05: First published. ## Sources - [OpenAI Help Center: Getting started with your dot](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001530-getting-started-with-your-dot) - [OpenAI docs: Get started with your dot](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/dots/getting-started) - [OpenAI docs: Connect computers and apps to your dot](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/dots/computers-and-apps) - [OpenAI docs: Control your dot](https://learn.chatgpt.com/docs/dots/controls) - [OpenAI Help Center: Dots privacy, security, and safety FAQs](https://help.openai.com/en/articles/20001529-dots-privacy-security-and-safety-faqs) - [Pat Simmons on YouTube: screenshots of the setup screens](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fzbEP_sOjk)