Disclosure: Shhots AI is our product.
OpenAI launched Dots on 29 September 2026: always-on agents in ChatGPT that take on ongoing work and keep going between conversations. Connect the Shhots AI MCP server and that work can include making the ads. The Dot checks your credits, plans the tests, generates the videos and stills, and brings finished creative back for you to approve.
Dots use ChatGPT’s plugin system, which supports remote MCP servers like Shhots. You choose which apps each Dot can use, and which of their actions it can run alone or has to ask you about first. Below: what a Dot can do with Shhots, what it costs, and how to set it up.
What are ChatGPT Dots?
A Dot is an agent you hand a standing job to, instead of a chat you prompt step by step. OpenAI showed them at DevDay in San Francisco. Each Dot has its own name, memory, cloud computer and browser, and it runs on GPT-6 Astra (TechCrunch, The Next Web).
| ChatGPT Dots, as of 30 September 2026 | |
|---|---|
| What it is | An always-on agent that keeps working between conversations |
| Model | GPT-6 Astra |
| Apps | More than 4,000 through plugins |
| Where you talk to it | ChatGPT, Slack and Microsoft Teams |
| Plans | ChatGPT Pro and Business Premium, first Dot at no extra cost |
| Regions | Pro users in the EEA, Switzerland and the UK are excluded for now |
| Enterprise, Edu, Healthcare | Beta, if a workspace admin turns it on |
| Controls | Custom Rules to allow, block or require approval for specific actions |
| Background research | Connected apps are read-only, so the Dot can’t send or change anything |
Sources: 9to5Google, The Next Web.
The last two rows matter for ads. A generation spends credits, so it is exactly the kind of action you want a Dot to ask about first.
What does the Shhots AI MCP server do?
The Shhots AI MCP server lives at https://mcp.shhots.ai/mcp/ and is included on the Pro ($49/month) and Scale ($99/month) plans. It gives an AI client seven tools. Six are about making and tracking creative. The seventh sets up the product.
| Tool | Type | What it does |
|---|---|---|
shhots_create_product_video | Spends credits | Makes a product video in one of 7 formats: ugc, cinematic, animated, product_speaking, storefront, lifestyle, unboxing_asmr. 5, 10 or 15 seconds, in 9:16, 1:1 or 16:9. Takes the script, the treatment and the video type, and shows a credit quote before it runs |
shhots_create_product_image | Spends credits | Makes a product still in Studio, Lifestyle, Editorial or Bold style, at 1:1, 4:3, 3:4, 9:16 or 16:9, from a plain creativeDirection sentence |
shhots_edit_image | Spends credits | Changes one thing in an existing image (“warmer light”, “remove the second bottle”) and keeps everything you didn’t mention |
shhots_get_generation | Read | Checks on a render until it finishes |
shhots_list_generations | Read | Pulls back past generations, so a winner can be refreshed instead of rebuilt |
shhots_get_account | Read | Reads the credit balance |
| Product setup | Spends credits | Analyzes the product photo once (1 credit). The product stays active for later generations |
Most generations finish in under two minutes. Product videos take one to three. A person gets bored refreshing a render page. A Dot doesn’t.
What does each generation cost?
Every generation shows its quote before it runs. Published rates as of September 2026, with the dollar cost on the $49 Pro plan (6,000 credits):
| Generation | Credits | Cost on Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Product photo analysis | 1 | under $0.01 |
| Product image | 11 | $0.09 |
| UGC video, 10 seconds | 551 | $4.50 |
| UGC video, 15 seconds | 826 | $6.75 |
| Cinematic or other format, 10 seconds | 577 | $4.71 |
| Cinematic or other format, 15 seconds | 852 | $6.96 |
Five-second videos and image edits are quoted in the chat before they run. A Pro month covers about ten 10-second UGC ads, or more than 500 product images. Every export is watermark-free with a commercial license. Compare plans.
That gap between 11 credits and 551 is why a good agent tests with stills first.
Where the Shhots skills fit
The MCP tools make things. They don’t decide what to make. That is the job of six open-source Shhots skills in github.com/shhots/shhots-claude-skills:
| Skill | What it decides |
|---|---|
shhots-ugc-ads | The script from hook to CTA, the treatment, the format and the length |
shhots-photoshoot | Image directions, and the order to shoot a product page set (5 images, 55 credits) |
shhots-image-ads | 14 static ad formats mapped to funnel stages, with a credit total before anything runs |
shhots-campaign | A full campaign plan across videos and stills, sized to your credits |
shhots-creative-refresh | Variants of a winner that each change one variable |
shhots-ugc-styles | Looks that aren’t native video types, written into the treatment: claymation, stop motion, podcast clip, talking animals, whiteboard explainer |
The skills ship as Claude plugins. Each one is a plain markdown file, so you can paste the one you need into a Dot’s instructions and it follows the same rules.
Five jobs to give a Dot with Shhots connected
In the ad accounts I’ve run, the bottleneck was someone deciding every week what to make next, then making it. That is the job to hand over.
1. An overnight test batch for one product
Give the Dot the product, the site, the audience and a budget. Ask for three hypotheses, for example a problem angle, an identity angle and a curiosity angle. It makes two stills per hypothesis, picks the strongest two, and makes one 15-second UGC ad for each.
Cost: 6 images at 11 credits plus 2 videos at 826 comes to 1,718 credits, about $14 on Pro. You wake up to two finished ads and the four stills that lost, with the reasoning for each.
2. A weekly refresh of your best ad
The Dot calls shhots_list_generations, finds the ad you marked as the winner, and makes four variants that each change one thing: the hook, the opening shot, the creator, or the format (the same script as an animated ad).
Changing one variable at a time is what makes the result readable. If variant B beats the original, you know it was the hook. Three UGC variants at 826 plus one animated at 852 is 3,330 credits, about $27.
3. One idea across seven formats
Same script, seven executions: UGC, cinematic, animated, product speaking, storefront, lifestyle and unboxing ASMR. At 10 seconds that is 4,013 credits, about $33. It answers a question most tests blur: did the idea fail, or did the format?
4. Revisions that edit instead of regenerating
When an image is right except for one thing, the Dot calls shhots_edit_image with that one thing. “Lighting is too cold.” “Change the headline.” The product, the framing and the rest stay as they were, which is how a creative review works with a human designer.
5. One Dot per brand, for agencies
Each Dot keeps its own memory. Give each client its own: approved claims, audience, visual rules, past generations. The skincare Dot never borrows a hook from the supplement Dot. OpenAI includes the first Dot on the plan, so check its pricing before you set up twenty.
How to set up a Dot with Shhots
- Get Shhots Pro or Scale. The MCP server comes with both. See plans.
- Add Shhots to ChatGPT. Turn on Developer mode, add a custom MCP app with the URL
https://mcp.shhots.ai/mcp/, and sign in to Shhots. The /mcp/ page has the steps. - Give your Dot access. Open the Dot’s profile, go to Customize, then Plugins, and connect Shhots.
- Set a Custom Rule. Require approval for the three tools that spend credits (video, image, edit). Allow the read tools, so the Dot can check balances and renders without asking.
- Give it a brief with a budget. Something like:
Own creative testing for our insulated bottle this week. Budget: 2,000 Shhots credits, and check the balance first. Study competitor ads for patterns only. Don’t copy any ad’s script, actor or shots. Write three hypotheses, make two stills for each, pick the best two, then make one 15-second 9:16 UGC ad for each. Ask me before every generation. Report back with the assets, the reasoning, credits spent, and the next test you’d run.
The line about competitor ads is there on purpose. Learning that a winning ad shows the product in the first second is research. Rebuilding a creator’s video shot for shot with your product is copying, and it can get you into trouble on likeness and IP.
What you should still decide
A Dot can run the production loop. These stay with you:
- Claims. Give it the list of claims you can prove. Nothing else goes in a script.
- Approval of every spend. The Custom Rule in step 4 enforces it.
- Likeness and style. The podcast-clip style imitates podcast footage. Keep the speaker a clear brand presenter, never a named real person, and follow each platform’s AI-content disclosure rules.
- Publishing and media spend. Nothing goes live or gets budget without you.
FAQ
What are ChatGPT Dots?
ChatGPT Dots are always-on AI agents OpenAI launched on 29 September 2026. Each Dot has its own memory, cloud computer and browser, connects to apps, and keeps working on a goal between conversations. They come with ChatGPT Pro and Business Premium.
Can a ChatGPT Dot use the Shhots AI MCP server?
Yes. Dots use ChatGPT’s plugin system, which supports remote MCP servers. Add Shhots as a custom MCP app in developer mode, then connect it to the Dot under Customize, Plugins. The same server also works in regular ChatGPT chats and in Claude.
Which plans do I need?
A ChatGPT plan with Dots (Pro or Business Premium) and a Shhots AI Pro ($49/month, 6,000 credits) or Scale ($99/month, 12,000 credits) plan, as of September 2026. The Shhots MCP server isn’t on the $19 Starter plan.
How do I stop a Dot from spending all my credits?
Set a Custom Rule that requires your approval for the Shhots tools that generate. Every generation also shows a credit quote before it runs, and the Dot can read your balance with shhots_get_account before planning a batch.
What can a Dot make with Shhots?
Product videos in 7 formats (UGC, cinematic, animated, product speaking, storefront, lifestyle, unboxing ASMR) at 5, 10 or 15 seconds, product images in 4 styles and 5 aspect ratios, and targeted edits to existing images.
How much does an AI ad cost through the Shhots MCP?
A product image is 11 credits, about $0.09 on Pro. A 10-second UGC ad is 551 credits, about $4.50, and a 15-second one is 826, about $6.75. Other video formats cost 577 and 852 credits. Rates as of September 2026.
How long does a generation take?
Most generations finish in under two minutes. Product videos take one to three minutes, and the Dot can check on them with shhots_get_generation while it works on something else.
Does the same workflow work in Claude?
Yes. Claude connects to the same server, and the six Shhots skills install there as plugins. The Claude AI video generator guide walks through it with real outputs.
Next step
Connect the server from the Shhots MCP page, then give your Dot the brief above with a 2,000-credit budget and see what it brings back.