Connecting the Dots · #1

OpenAI launched “Dots”. Here’s the dot nobody’s talking about

Wednesday 7 October 2026 · Emma Williams · 3 min read

Welcome to Connecting the Dots, my weekly look at what’s new in AI and what it actually means for small businesses. Each week I pick what’s launched, what I’m using, and how I’m applying it. No hype, just the joined-up bit.

Dot 1: The launch

This week OpenAI announced Dots: always-on AI agents that sit inside Slack and Teams, keep track of ongoing projects and update things like sales proposals without being asked every time. Meta launched something similar for small businesses (Muse), which links up tools like Canva, QuickBooks and Shopify. Anthropic and Google released new models too.

In short, AI is moving from “a chat window you ask questions” to “a colleague that gets on with things”.

Dot 2: The number that worried me

In the same week, a PwC survey of nearly 50,000 workers found:

• 64% now use AI at work (up from 54%)
• but only 51% say they get training (down from 59%)

So use is going up while learning goes down. People are working it out on their own, at the kitchen table, at 10pm.

Joining the dots

Agents that act on their own are only as good as the person setting them up. If you don’t know what good looks like, an agent will just do the wrong thing faster. One report this week put it plainly: AI agents amplify bad data rather than fixing it.

The skill that matters now isn’t “prompting”. It’s knowing your own process well enough to hand part of it over. That means writing down the steps, spotting the boring bits, and checking the output.

What I’m doing with it

Here’s a real example. I run automations for my own businesses: a site estimator that logs enquiries, sends a follow-up and reminds me when to chase. None of it started with AI. Each one started with a scrap of paper and the question “what do I do every single time?”

Your one next step

This week, pick one task you repeat every week. Write the steps down, just five lines. That’s your first “dot”, and the thing any agent (or person) would need from you.

See you next Wednesday.

Emma

Sources: MarketingProfs AI Update, 2 Oct 2026 (PwC workforce survey, OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic, Google announcements).

Emma WilliamsFounder of ATO Insight Solutions, Northop, North Wales. Builds websites, cost estimators and enquiry automation for small businesses, and runs GetAPage. Ask her anything.