we're in the third phase of AI for business
phase 1: chat
chatgpt and claude. you ask, it answers
phase 2: connected chat
connectors, integrations, a bit of memory. it can see your stuff
phase 3: agents with their own computer
openclaw was first. then grok bot, muse, and now openai's dots
tool calls, computer use, learning your business over time, and taking actions for you
this is openclaw going mainstream
phase 4 is next: the multiplayer AI workspace
your team and your agents in one platform, working on the same stuff together
openai's space is the first look at it. people, chatgpt and dots building on shared knowledge
the gap is the agents. one dot per person for now. openai showed specialist dots for roles like invoice processing, procurement and support, but they're enterprise pilots
I've been building this by hand for my client builds:
- the agents live in the team's slack, where the work already happens
- every step that leaves the building gets a human approval
- one always-on agent for the daily work, and a coding agent for building the software
the labs are about to make that the default
the businesses that already know which roles to hand off will move fastest