In about three months, every big AI company shipped the same idea. Meta launched Muse in September. OpenAI announced Dots at DevDay a few weeks later. xAI had Grok Bot in beta by August, Anthropic opened Claude Duet in October, and Town, a startup building an assistant for every employee, raised $108 million the same month.
They all promise roughly the same thing, an AI that keeps working after you close the app. They're built for very different people, though, and they stop in different places. This guide lines them up so you can pick the one that fits your work, as of November 2026.
What these agents have in common
Each one gets its own computer in the cloud, so it can open a browser, read files and keep a task going while you're doing something else. Each connects to your accounts, such as email, calendar and documents, and works toward a goal instead of answering one message at a time.
They also share a safety pattern. Reading and drafting happen on their own, but anything that sends, pays, signs or deletes comes back to you for a yes. The details differ, and those differences matter when the agent has access to your inbox.
Where they really differ is whose work they do, where you talk to them, which apps they reach and what they cost.
Muse, from Meta
Built for personal errands and life admin. Meta launched Muse in the US on September 9, 2026. It sends emails, books travel, fills out forms, works on lowering bills and makes purchases, and it keeps going after you close the app.
Where it runs in the Muse apps for iPhone and Android, on the web and in WhatsApp.
Controls. Muse works in a cloud machine Meta calls Muse Secure VM, and a separate system controls what it can send out. Sensitive actions such as purchases and emails can require your approval, and purchases go through one-time cards from Link by Stripe.
Cost. Free for most people, with paid Power ($20 a month) and Maximum ($100 a month) plans.
Dots, from OpenAI
Built for people who already live in ChatGPT, at work. OpenAI announced Dots on September 29, 2026. Each dot has its own cloud computer you can open to watch it work, and it learns your preferences from feedback.
Where it runs in ChatGPT on desktop, web and mobile, and in Slack and Microsoft Teams. It reaches more than 4,000 apps through ChatGPT's plugins.
Controls. Actions that touch your accounts or share information go through a check OpenAI calls auto-review. Changing a password or moving money always comes back to you.
Cost. One dot is included with ChatGPT Pro (from $100 a month) and Business Premium. Pro accounts in the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the UK are excluded for now, and Enterprise workspaces get a beta their admin turns on.
Grok Bot, from xAI
Built for heavier, more technical work. xAI opened Grok Bot as an early beta in August 2026. Each bot runs on a persistent cloud computer with a browser, files and a terminal, and it can run on a schedule. According to a breakdown by Vellum, which makes a competing product, it has built-in connectors for Gmail, Google Drive, Outlook, Teams, SharePoint and Salesforce, and it can use MCP tools.
Where it runs in desktop apps for Mac and Windows, with an iPhone companion app, separate from Grok on X.
Controls. You approve actions one at a time or set rules that always allow or always ask.
Cost. A 14-day trial, then $200 a month on its own, or included with xAI's top Grok plan.
Claude Duet, from Anthropic
Built for a chief of staff for your inbox and calendar. Anthropic opened Claude Duet on October 21, 2026, as a research preview with a waitlist. It watches your connected accounts, prepares a morning brief and keeps assigned work going in its own cloud browser, from scheduling meetings to building dashboards and forecasts.
Where it runs in its own apps for iPhone and Android and on the web, separate from the main Claude app for now.
Controls. Duet reads, drafts and prepares on its own, but it shows you the action and waits before it sends a message, makes a payment, signs a document or deletes anything. Trading securities and moving money between accounts are off the table.
Cost. Available to Claude Pro and Max subscribers in the US, as they come off the waitlist.
Town
Built for whole companies, with a work assistant for every employee. Town launched publicly in June 2026 and gives each person a Townie that connects to their email, documents, calendar and work systems. The difference is teamwork. Townies can ask each other questions and hand off work, and when a team updates a process, every member's Townie picks up the change.
Where it runs across the apps each person already uses, and Townies can work with customers, partners and candidates by email and text.
Controls. Townies ask permission when needed, and each shares only what its person would share. Town picks a model for each task from the major AI labs.
Cost. Town doesn't publish pricing.
Which one fits your work
If you want help with life admin, bookings and shopping, start with Muse. Its free tier makes it the easiest to try.
If your company runs on ChatGPT and you talk to colleagues in Slack or Teams, Dots fit in without a new app, as long as you're on Pro or Business Premium and outside the regions excluded for now.
If the work involves files, code, a terminal or MCP tools, Grok Bot is built for it, at a price that assumes you'll use it daily.
If your inbox and calendar are the bottleneck and you're on Claude Pro or Max in the US, Claude Duet is worth joining the waitlist for. Expect preview rough edges.
If you want every employee to have an assistant and those assistants to coordinate, Town is the one designed around the team from the start.
The one thing no agent brings on its own
Most of these agents learn one person's preferences. That's useful for your inbox and much less useful for the weekly client report, the competitor brief or the proposal your team writes the same way every time. Teach one agent how your team does it, and the colleague using a different agent still gets their own version.
This is where Skillyo fits alongside them. Write the method down once as a skill, with a short form for the inputs and the model chosen for the job, and Muse, Dots, Grok Bot and Claude Duet can all run it. They can run it on a schedule, watch for new results and follow up, and every result lands in one shared skillspace your team can see, whichever agent or app ran it. Anything an agent would send, share or save waits for a person to approve it.