Have access to Dots but are not sure what to ask it first? Start with a task you can check yourself: preparing a content page for launch. Give it a short plan, ask for a status summary, then add an update. By the end, you will be able to see whether it understood what was completed, what was delayed, and what is still missing.
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All the materials in this exercise are fictional and provided here to copy. There is no need to share client information or connect an inbox. The outputs shown are examples we wrote to explain the process, not answers produced in a Dots experiment. The product instructions are based on official documentation checked on October 2, 2026. The copyable prompts and source texts below are exercise templates; they have not been tested in Dots. The illustrative answers are editorial examples, not tested output.
If Dots does not appear in your account yet, start with our overview of Dots and its availability. Here, we will focus on the task itself.
1. Choose a small task with a clear finish
Instead of starting with “manage my work,” we will ask it to check the preparations for one page. The page needs text, design, photography, and publishing approval. These are four separate things: the text can be ready while the photograph is missing, and design approval does not complete publishing approval.
The goal is a status summary that stays accurate after an update. In this exercise, you bring each update into the conversation yourself. There is no automatic email checking or real-time monitoring.
According to OpenAI’s getting-started guide, you can skip connecting apps during setup and add them later. That is also a convenient way to start this exercise: use only the text in front of you.
2. Paste a request and two sources
Open the conversation with your dot. Copy the request and the next two sources into a single message and send it. Keep the Source A and Source B labels, along with the dates, so it is easy to trace each detail later.
The copyable request
Exercise text for copying; not tested in Dots:
This is a fictional exercise in preparing a content page. All dates are example data; do not create a reminder, schedule, or automatic monitoring.
Based on Source A and Source B, which I will paste below, prepare a short status summary here in the conversation, in English:
1. Text, design, opening photograph, and final publishing approval: status, responsible role, and date, only where specified.
2. What is still missing and what requires a decision.
3. Beside each detail, identify its supporting source. If a detail is absent, write "not specified."
Source B updates A only on the points it addresses. Keep information that has not changed.
Work only from the texts I supply for the exercise, without searching other sources or asking to connect accounts. If something is missing, ask here.
Show a draft in the conversation only. Do not send messages, publish, buy anything, edit external files, or change accounts or permissions. Do not contact the people responsible.
After answering, wait for my follow-up message. No future checks are needed.
Source A: the plan
Exercise text for copying; not tested in Dots:
Source A | Fictional launch plan | October 12, 2026
We are preparing a content page titled "Smartphone Photography Guide."
Planned launch date: October 22, 2026. This is a target, not permission to publish.
The text is ready and is with the content editor.
The design is complete and awaiting the content manager's approval by October 15, 2026.
The opening photograph has not arrived. The photography lead is responsible for delivering it by October 16, 2026.
Final publishing approval will be given separately by the content manager. There is currently no such approval.
Source B: the first update
Exercise text for copying; not tested in Dots:
Source B | Fictional status update | October 14, 2026
The content editor confirms that the text is ready. There is no change to it.
The design is still awaiting the content manager's approval.
The opening photograph has still not arrived. Its delivery date has not changed.
Final publishing approval has not been given.
Send the request and both sources together so the answer has all the information. Leave the example dates unchanged.
3. Define what it may do with the information
The request already sets out two things: the result we want and the actions that are outside the exercise. This distinction matters in real tasks too. “Prepare a draft message to the person responsible for photography” lets you review the wording before deciding whether to send it.
According to the controls documentation, asking for a draft does not authorize sending it. Custom rules do not grant access to an app or computer and do not override safety mechanisms. For this exercise, instructions in the conversation are enough; there is no need to create a permanent rule.
4. If access is requested, check why
All the facts needed here are already in the sources. If you are asked to connect a service, pause before approving and ask which necessary detail is missing from the text you supplied, and whether you can provide it in the conversation. Do not connect an inbox just to find out whether a fictional photograph has arrived.
A connection may be justified in a real task, for example, to check a message that was actually sent. In that case, understand which service is being given access and for what purpose. Connecting a channel where you talk to dot is separate from connecting information services or your computer, as the computers and apps documentation explains.
5. Check the first answer against four details
Do not settle for an answer that sounds organized. Check each area and make sure its status, responsible role, and date match the sources. Not every area has a deadline, and there is no need to invent one just to fill a row.
Our editorial example, not an observed Dots answer:
- Text: Ready and with the content editor. No delivery date specified. Source A; readiness confirmed again in Source B.
- Design: Complete, but the content manager’s approval is still pending. Approval due: October 15, 2026. Sources A and B.
- Opening photograph: Not yet received. The photography lead should deliver it by October 16, 2026. Sources A and B.
- Final publishing approval: Not yet given; the content manager is responsible. No approval date specified. Sources A and B.
The launch target is October 22, 2026, according to Source A. The photograph and approvals are still missing. Even if the answer uses different wording, it must preserve all these distinctions. “Everything is ready for launch” would be an incorrect conclusion.
In the desktop app, OpenAI directs users to dot’s profile and then Activity to review separate work and input requests. If a task of that kind was opened, you can inspect it there. A task being marked complete does not verify that its result is correct. See the guidance on reviewing work.
6. Add a change and check what is still open
Now for the important part: in the same conversation, send the update request and Source C. It contains two specific changes. The design was approved, and the photograph’s delivery date was pushed back. The photograph itself is still missing.
Update request:
Exercise text for copying; not tested in Dots:
Source C is attached. Update the status summary based on A, B, and C, with the later update taking precedence only for the details it changes.
Start with a short list of changes only: what it was, what it is now, and the source.
Then provide a complete updated status summary, including unchanged details and gaps that remain open.
Do not infer that design approval is permission to publish. All boundaries of the previous exercise still apply.
Source C: the change:
Exercise text for copying; not tested in Dots:
Source C | Fictional change | October 15, 2026
The content manager approved the design today.
The opening photograph's delivery date changed from October 16, 2026, to October 19, 2026. The photography lead remains responsible for delivery. The photograph has still not arrived.
The planned launch date remains October 22, 2026.
There is no change to the text, and final publishing approval has not been given.
The change list should convey the following information, though its wording may differ. This is an editorial example, not tested output:
- Design approval: awaiting approval → approved on October 15, 2026. Source C.
- Opening photograph delivery date: October 16, 2026 → October 19, 2026. Source C.
A complete updated status summary should follow: the text is still ready and with the content editor; the design is approved; the opening photograph has not arrived, and the same role remains responsible; final publishing approval has still not been given; and the launch target remains October 22, 2026. The inputs do not contain a launch time, a photographer’s name, or permission to use a different photograph.
If the answer removes the photography task, brings the launch forward, or declares that the page can be published, ask for a focused correction with the template below.
Exercise text for copying; not tested in Dots:
The last answer said: [paste the incorrect sentence].
According to Source [A/B/C], the correct status is: [paste the source detail].
Correct that detail and all conclusions that depend on it, and briefly show what was corrected. Do not change other details for which there is no update.
After the correction, check the entire list again. Correcting one date may also require correcting a summary sentence such as “all the materials have already arrived.”
The exact checklist after the update
- The design is marked approved, with Source C and the date October 15, 2026.
- October 19, 2026, is the current delivery date for the photograph. October 16, 2026, may appear only as the previous date.
- The opening photograph has still not arrived. The responsible role has not changed.
- The text remains ready and with the content editor, without an invented new deadline.
- October 22, 2026, remains the launch target, without a time or a promise that the page will be published.
- Final publishing approval remains open and with the content manager; no date has been invented for it.
- Every change refers to Source C, and unchanged details can be traced to the relevant sources.
- The work stayed inside the conversation, without external actions or new scheduling.
7. End the exercise explicitly
Once you have checked the result, send the following closing message. It ends the fictional exercise; it is not an instruction to close a real project or cancel other work. Use the template below.
Exercise text for copying; not tested in Dots:
The "Smartphone Photography Guide" exercise is complete. Give a short final summary of what is closed and what is still open in the example, then end work on the exercise. Do not create reminders, future tasks, or further monitoring for it.
If separate work or schedules were created anyway, check them separately. According to OpenAI, Pause stops the current main task but does not necessarily stop every separate task or future run. Check separate tasks in Activity and schedules in Scheduled. Stopping work also does not undo an action that has already happened. See the explanation of stopping work.
Moving from the exercise to a real task
Choose a small project you are actually working on and whose details you are allowed to share. Use the same structure: what you are preparing, which materials already exist, who is responsible, what is awaiting approval, and which date is known. Leave room for “not specified” too; that is better than a convenient deadline the system supplied on its own.
If you want automatic monitoring later, define separately what should be checked, in which source, when, and where updates should go. Do not assume that “keep track of this” has already set a schedule. First, make sure the basic summary is accurate and that one update does not make another problem disappear.
At the end of the exercise, you should have a status summary you can explain yourself: the design was approved, the photograph was delayed and is still missing, and publishing approval remains open. That is a useful starting point for ongoing work.
Sources
- OpenAI: Dots getting started
- OpenAI: Dots controls
- OpenAI: Dots computers and apps
