ChatGPT lets iPhone users add their dot as a Home Screen widget to open a conversation or start a call with one tap
A new buddy for your iOS home screen: Add your dot as a widget to jump into your conversation or start a call with just a tap.
Context
A Home Screen widget puts OpenAI's personal agents one tap away on the phone, competing directly with built in assistants.
This is a first hand announcement from the official ChatGPT account. OpenAI designer Gavin Nelson shared the same image earlier that day, and Codex lead Tibo later told people to update their app, but none of the posts give full release notes.
Deep dive
On October 16, the ChatGPT account posted: A new buddy for your iOS home screen. It said users can add their dot as a widget to jump into their conversation or start a call with just a tap.
The attached image shows an iPhone Home Screen with a ChatGPT widget featuring a blue character with glasses named Iris, with buttons to message or call it. A weather widget sits beside it.
Gavin Nelson, whose profile says he is a designer at OpenAI, posted the same image several hours earlier with the words: Dots, now on your Home Screen. OpenAI's Dominik Kundel added that OpenAI had shipped dot widgets and Action button support on iOS. Later, Tibo quoted Nelson's post in a reply to his Day 12 update and wrote: And update your app to enjoy this gem.
Dots are personal AI agents in ChatGPT, each with its own character. OpenAI's Space page says users can tag in ChatGPT, Codex or their dot to help with shared work.
None of the posts say which plans get the widget or whether an Android version is coming.
What to expect next
Watch for official release notes describing the widget, which plans include it and whether an Android version follows.
Also watch whether people use the call button for voice chats with their dots, and how this compares with Apple's Siri and Google's Gemini, which are built into phones. More widget options or lock screen support would show how far OpenAI wants to push dots onto the phone.