Personal agents compared: OpenAI dots, Manus Cue, Meta Muse, Grok Bot
In one month, four companies launched the same idea: an AI with its own computer that works while you are away. They differ on who can get one, what it may do with your money and identity, and how they see small businesses.
OpenAI sells agents to its top subscribers, Meta gives them free to small businesses, Manus gives them a phone and a wallet first.
Pick by where you already work and what you will let an agent touch. Every one of them can still make mistakes; keep approval on for money and messages.
Four agents, eight questions
dots
- Maker
- OpenAI
- Launched
- Sep 29, 2026
- Model
- GPT-6 Astra
- Its computer
- Its own cloud computer and browser; can connect to your laptop if you allow it
- Identity
- Its own identity for access and permissions; reachable in ChatGPT, SMS, Slack and Teams
- Who can use it
- Pro and Business Premium in eligible markets (first Dot included); Enterprise beta
- Price
- Included with those plans; more Dots will be a fixed monthly add-on
- Guardrails
- Built-in rules for what needs approval; automatic review of risky actions; password changes always yours
Cue
- Maker
- Manus
- Launched
- Sep 28, 2026
- Model
- Not disclosed
- Its computer
- Its own computer
- Identity
- Its own email, phone number and wallet; pays within a budget you set
- Who can use it
- Early access with an invite code; web, desktop, Android (iOS pending review)
- Price
- Free during early access; paid pricing not published
- Guardrails
- Budget limits and in-app approval; Manus terms place responsibility for agent actions on the user
Muse
- Maker
- Meta
- Launched
- Sep 8, 2026 (Small Business: Sep 29)
- Model
- Muse Spark
- Its computer
- Muse Secure VM
- Identity
- Works through connected accounts; credentials and payments kept from the model
- Who can use it
- US (Small Business: US and Canada); iOS, Android, web
- Price
- Free for most uses; paid subscriptions available
- Guardrails
- A separate Sentinel agent must approve anything that reaches the internet; nothing publishes, sends or spends without you
Grok Bot
- Maker
- xAI
- Launched
- In beta
- Model
- Grok
- Its computer
- Its own cloud computer with browser, filesystem and terminal; bots share one computer
- Identity
- Memory across sessions; learns workflows by demonstration
- Who can use it
- Paid individual Cursor plans, Cursor Teams, SuperGrok tiers
- Price
- Included with those plans; usage resets weekly
- Guardrails
- See xAI’s documentation
Who gets to sit at the shop counter?
Cue: every QR code becomes an agent
In Manus’s launch video, a customer scans the QR code of “Lucky Dumpling” and orders dumplings by chatting with the shop’s agent; the film ends on a street of shops—florist, laundry, tailor, ramen, books, cafe, bakery—each shown as an agent. Manus’s blog describes scanning a restaurant QR code to order or hold a place in line.
Our read: If any QR code can become an ordering or booking agent, the layer that delivery platforms and restaurant software sell—QR ordering, queuing, reservations—gets cheaper to replace. Unclear so far: whether merchants must sign up, and who pays.
Muse for Small Business: a growth plan from your own data
Meta connects Muse to Shopify, QuickBooks, Klaviyo, Stripe, Canva, Notion and Facebook and Instagram business accounts, among others. Its own example prompt: “Analyze this year’s sales, campaigns, and social and make me a growth plan.” Nothing publishes, sends or spends without approval. US and Canada, free for most uses.
Our read: Meta already owns the ad channel most small businesses pay for. An agent that reads sales data and drafts the next campaign sits right where that money is spent.
dots: the invoice you forgot
OpenAI’s example: an early tester’s Dot noticed he had not invoiced a publisher, prepared the invoice and sent it after he approved. OpenAI is also piloting dedicated Dots for procurement, invoicing, email marketing, customer support and contracts inside companies.
Our read: OpenAI starts from the office worker and the enterprise, not the shop counter. For a one-person business on Pro, the back-office jobs are the fit.
What early users are saying
Early Cue tester: feels closer to Grok Bot, still behind Muse, and the member quota is small for now.
xiaomovps · X
Original post (opens in a new tab)Expects Cue to cost from $20 a month after a free month; the sandbox got residential IPs from random countries; uninstalled it. Pricing claim is the author’s, not Manus’s.
ygkkkg · X
Original post (opens in a new tab)Reads Manus’s updated terms: third parties can hold you responsible for what your agent does, and revoking access cannot undo completed actions.
0x99DaDa · X
Original post (opens in a new tab)Muse tester: lately it assumes instead of verifying facts, and context does not carry over into scheduled checks.
JoshExile82 · X
Original post (opens in a new tab)Meta found many people already using Muse to run plumbing businesses, grocery stores, farms and restaurants, hence the new connectors.
Alexandr Wang · Meta
Original post (opens in a new tab)Cue is two days old and dots one; these are early impressions, paraphrased, not tests we ran.
What it means if you build or run a business
The agent is not the moat. Distribution and trust are.
OpenAI has 1.2 billion weekly users; Meta has the businesses that advertise on its apps. Manus competes on taste and speed—and on giving its agents a phone number and a wallet first.
Always-on means always metered
dots, Cue and Grok Bot each run on their own computer. Expect limits, add-on pricing and “fair use” rules to decide which one people keep.
For builders: make things agents can use
A QR menu, an MCP server or a clean booking API may matter more than your own chatbot. Agents will order from the businesses that are easiest to order from.
Questions readers ask
What is a personal agent?
An AI that works toward a goal in the background, on its own computer, using apps you connect—and asks before sensitive actions. OpenAI dots, Manus Cue, Meta Muse and xAI’s Grok Bot all launched versions in 2026.
Source (opens in a new tab)Which personal agent is free?
Muse is free for most uses in the US; Cue is free during invite-only early access. OpenAI includes the first Dot in Pro and Business Premium; Grok Bot comes with paid Cursor plans and SuperGrok.
Source (opens in a new tab)Can these agents spend money?
Cue gives agents a wallet and a budget you set; Muse and dots require your approval before spending. Read each product’s rules before connecting a card.
Source (opens in a new tab)Checked September 29–30, 2026 against each company’s own pages. Prices and availability change quickly; check your own account before relying on a detail here.