Meta announced Muse for Small Business, a version of its Muse AI agent built for the workplace.1 On the same day, OpenAI announced dots at its DevDay event.2 Both are agents that keep working in the background. Both are open to Canadian and US owners, with some conditions.
What Meta launched
Muse for Small Business is an AI agent that performs tasks across a range of business software.3 It can pull from a company's Instagram and Facebook business accounts. It can also connect to Shopify, Stripe, Intuit QuickBooks, Asana, Box, Canva and Zoom.3 Meta says it can help build a growth plan for the next year after looking at sales and social media data.4 It can also draft a week of posts and a new ad campaign for the owner to review.4
Meta's Muse page says it is available to people in the US and Canada who are 18 and over.5 Meta says Muse is free for most of what people and small businesses need.4 One third-party write-up reports a free tier with a weekly usage limit, and paid plans at $20 or $100 per month.6 The same source adds that Muse is still in limited testing.6 Check the price inside your own account before you plan around it.
Meta has a built-in audience here. The company says 200 million small businesses can be found on Facebook.1
What OpenAI launched
A dot is an always-on agent inside ChatGPT that keeps making progress between conversations.2 Each dot has its own cloud computer and browser. It can connect to over 4,000 apps through OpenAI's plugin ecosystem.2 A first dot is included on Pro and Business Premium plans.2 OpenAI's pricing page shows the Pro plan starting from $100.7
Availability depends on your plan and region. Pro users in the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the UK will not get dots for now. Business Premium users get them in all supported ChatGPT regions.8 We did not find a Canada-specific statement, so confirm in your account.
The safety limits are worth reading
Both companies built in approval steps. Meta says businesses can require human approval before Muse makes purchases or publishes information.3 When Muse transacts, it uses single-card numbers for new merchants and does not collect password or payment information.3 Connections can also be narrow. Shopify's help page for its Muse connector says orders and customer records are read-only, and refunds or cancellations are blocked.9
OpenAI says some sensitive tasks, such as changing a password, always stay with the user.8 It also warns that dots can still make mistakes, so consequential work should be reviewed.8 That is honest advice. Treat these as fast junior helpers, not as staff you can leave alone.
How many small firms actually use agents
The numbers depend on who is asking. The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council reports that 58% of small employers use AI agents regularly or occasionally.10 That is an advocacy group's own survey, and the full results were not yet out when it wrote about them.10
Other data is more cautious. McKinsey's August 2026 survey found 22% of organisations under $1B in revenue are scaling AI agents, unchanged from 2025.11 That group is far larger than a typical small business. The OECD's 2026 survey of SMEs found 61% report using AI. Only a small minority combine complex, tailored AI solutions, including agents.12 In plain terms, many firms use AI tools, but few have agents running real processes.
Other tools are adding agents too
Muse and dots are not the only option. Klaviyo released its email marketing AI agent to general availability. It builds multi-message flows from simple text prompts.13 If you already pay for software like this, an agent may show up as a feature in a tool you use. You may not need to adopt a new platform.
What this means for your team
- Start with one narrow job. Drafting social posts, chasing a late invoice or sorting email are good candidates. Do not hand over your whole operation on day one.
- Keep approvals on. Both products let you require sign-off before anything is published or bought.38 Leave that switch on until you trust the output.
- Limit what the agent can touch. Connect read-only access first. The Shopify connector shows that vendors can restrict what an agent does to orders and customer records.9
- Check the real cost. Free tiers have usage limits, and pricing for Muse was still being tested.6 Dots sit on plans that start around $100 a month.7 Compare that with the hours you expect to save.
- Check where you are. Muse is for the US and Canada.5 Dots depend on your plan and region.8 Confirm before you build a routine around either one.
- Be careful with customer data. These agents connect to your accounting, store and customer records. Decide who in your company owns the connections and who can switch them off.
- Expect mixed results. Most firms are still at the early stage.12 A slow, tested rollout is a reasonable plan, and waiting a quarter for the tools to settle is also reasonable.