Side by side · Checked October 22, 2026 to October 23, 2026
Always-on AI agents compared
OpenAI, Anthropic, Meta and SpaceXSI each now sell an always-on personal agent, and the startup Instinct offers one free by invite. Here are all five in one table: what each costs to start, every plan, and who can actually use it today. Ordered by entry price, never by payment.
| Agent | Cheapest way in | Plans | Limits and availability | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meta Muse Meta | Free; Power $20/mo | Free: $0 (usage limit that refreshes; Meta doesn't publish its size) Power: $20/mo (500M Muse tokens per week) Max: $100/mo (larger weekly Muse token allowance) | US rollout; subscriptions renew monthly. Meta doesn't say what one Muse token buys. | vendor page · October 22, 2026 |
| Instinct Instinct | Free (invite-only beta) | Invite-only beta: $0 (no paid plan or price published; Instinct says it is free for invite-only users) | Access by invite from a current user or approval from a waitlist. No pricing page; Instinct's terms (instinct.com/terms) say paid features may come later and pricing can change at any time. No country list published. Free status per The Verge (Oct 9, 2026) and instinct.com. | news report · October 23, 2026 |
| Claude Duet Anthropic | Included with Claude Pro $20/mo | Pro: $20/mo ($17/mo billed annually ($200/yr); Claude Duet included at no extra cost, shares Pro usage limits) Max: from $100/mo (5x or 20x Pro usage; Claude Duet included) | Research preview: US only, Pro and Max plans, invite from a waitlist; not on Team or Enterprise yet. Background checks count toward your usage limits. Plan prices from claude.com/pricing. | vendor page · October 22, 2026 |
| Grok Bot SpaceXSI | Included with The X Subscription Premium $30/mo | Premium: $30/mo ($300/yr ($25/mo) billed annually; Grok Bot included, 4x Plus usage from a shared weekly pool) Super: $100/mo ($1,000/yr billed annually; 15x Plus usage) Ultra: $200/mo ($2,000/yr billed annually; 50x Plus usage) | Not on the Free or $8 Plus plans. Grok Bot usage comes from the same weekly pool as Grok and Cursor; past it you buy prepaid top-up credits. Existing paid Cursor plans and linked SuperGrok, SuperGrok Plus, SuperGrok Heavy or X Premium+ subscriptions also give access. Prices exclude tax. Plan prices from docs.x.ai/x-subscription/pricing and x.ai/pricing. | vendor page · October 22, 2026 |
| ChatGPT dots OpenAI | Included with ChatGPT Pro from $100/mo | Pro 100: $100/mo (first dot included) Pro 200: $200/mo (more usage than Pro 100; first dot included) Pro 500: $500/mo (highest usage, Ultrafast models; first dot included) Business Premium seat: $125/user/mo ($100/user/mo billed annually; 2-seat workspace minimum) | Not on Free, Go or Plus. Pro is billed monthly only. Not in the EEA, Switzerland or the UK at launch. Talking to your dot doesn't count toward ChatGPT limits; tasks it starts in Codex or ChatGPT Work do. OpenAI says extra dots will be sold later (no price yet). Pro prices from help.openai.com 'About ChatGPT Pro tiers'; Business Premium from openai.com/business/pricing. | vendor page · October 22, 2026 |
What each one is
Meta Muse
Meta's personal AI agent (US, Sep 2026) that you message in its app or in WhatsApp; it can connect to email, calendar and payments and act for you, and runs in a dedicated secure virtual machine.
Instinct
A startup personal assistant (launched Aug 2026) with no app: you text or email it (iMessage, WhatsApp or email) or call it, and it uses a phone and computer the way you would, connects to Google Workspace, Slack and Notion, and handles errands like bookings, orders and appointment emails.
Claude Duet
Anthropic's proactive assistant app (research preview, Oct 2026): it watches your connected apps, sends a morning brief, does tasks in the background and asks before it sends, pays, signs or deletes anything.
Grok Bot
SpaceXSI's always-on AI teammates (beta): you message a Bot like a colleague, and it works on a persistent cloud computer with a browser, files and a terminal, keeps going while your laptop is closed, runs scheduled routines and asks for approval on sensitive steps.
ChatGPT dots
OpenAI's always-on agents inside ChatGPT (launched Sep 2026): a dot keeps working on your goals between conversations and uses connected apps such as Slack and Microsoft Teams.
Head-to-head
- Claude Duet vs ChatGPT Dots
- Claude Duet vs Meta Muse
- ChatGPT Dots vs Meta Muse
- Grok Bot vs Claude Duet
- Grok Bot vs Meta Muse
- Grok Bot vs ChatGPT Dots
- Instinct vs Meta Muse
- Instinct vs ChatGPT Dots
- Instinct vs Grok Bot
Common questions
What are always-on AI agents?
Personal AI agents that keep working between your chats: they run in the background, follow up on goals, and act in connected apps, asking before sensitive steps. The 5 we track are Meta Muse (Meta), Instinct (Instinct), Claude Duet (Anthropic), Grok Bot (SpaceXSI), ChatGPT dots (OpenAI).
Which always-on AI agent is cheapest?
By entry price on the vendors' pricing pages (checked October 22, 2026 to October 23, 2026): Meta Muse: Free; Power $20/mo; Instinct: Free (invite-only beta); Claude Duet: Included with Claude Pro $20/mo; Grok Bot: Included with The X Subscription Premium $30/mo; ChatGPT dots: Included with ChatGPT Pro from $100/mo.
Can I use them outside the US?
Check the limits column. As of October 22, 2026 to October 23, 2026: ChatGPT dots is not in the EEA, Switzerland or the UK at launch; Claude Duet is a US-only research preview with a waitlist; Meta Muse is a US rollout; Instinct publishes no country list and is invite or waitlist only. Our Grok Bot listing has no country limit noted, so confirm on x.ai for your country.
Is there a free always-on AI agent?
Meta Muse has a free plan (usage limit that refreshes; Meta doesn't publish its size); Instinct has a free plan (no paid plan or price published; Instinct says it is free for invite-only users). The others need a paid plan: Claude Duet from Claude Pro $20/mo; Grok Bot from The X Subscription Premium $30/mo; ChatGPT dots from ChatGPT Pro from $100/mo.
Plans, prices and limits are copied from each vendor's public pages on the date shown; these products are new and change often, so confirm before you subscribe. We haven't tested them hands-on, so this page compares price and access only. More: all assistant agents, cheapest AI personal assistants, all prices.
Prices change. We track them.
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