The short version
- On September 25, Jake Boggs posted a screenshot of the ChatGPT Pro upgrade screen on X. One line read "o, your always-on assistant."
- The next day, TestingCatalog posted ChatGPT configuration showing "o" as a display name and "-o" as an email suffix. It said the line appeared only briefly on the upgrade screen, for some users.
- OpenAI has not announced "o." Its DevDay is Tuesday, and TestingCatalog expects to hear more there.
- The only description is "your always-on assistant." Read literally, that is an assistant that keeps working after you close the chat. For a small business, that points at the inbox, the calendar and the follow-ups nobody gets to.
What actually leaked
Two screenshots, both posted on X and neither confirmed by OpenAI.
The first, posted by Jake Boggs on September 25, is a "Get ChatGPT Pro" upgrade screen. Under "Everything in Plus, and:" it lists "o, your always-on assistant."
The second, posted by TestingCatalog the next day, shows ChatGPT's internal configuration with a display name of "o" and an email suffix of "-o." TestingCatalog says the line appeared only briefly on the upgrade screen, for some users.
That is the entire evidence base. There is no feature list, no release date and no separate price. On the leaked screen, "o" is a Pro perk on top of Plus. Whether Plus, Business or Enterprise get it is unknown, and TestingCatalog says the assistant's tasks, permissions, scheduling, memory and availability remain unknown.
What "always-on" would mean in practice
ChatGPT Work can already run scheduled tasks that repeat or watch for changes, and since August 25, Plus and Pro users can have a task respond when a new Gmail message arrives. An always-on assistant would presumably keep working without you setting up each task, but OpenAI has not said what "o" does. If it goes that way, these are the three places a business would feel it first:
- The inbox. Sorting what needs you, drafting replies in your voice, and chasing threads that went quiet. TestingCatalog reads the "-o" email suffix to mean "o" will handle email. As Kingy AI points out, a suffix alone could mean the assistant gets its own address rather than access to your inbox.
- The calendar. Finding times, confirming appointments and handling reschedules without the back-and-forth.
- Follow-ups. The quotes that never got a second touch, and the leads that went cold because everyone was busy.
These are inferences, not confirmed features. The only concrete clue is the email suffix. The calendar and follow-ups come from the word "assistant" alone.
Confirmed vs. reported
| Claim | Status |
|---|---|
| DevDay is Tuesday, Sept 29, at Fort Mason in San Francisco. The keynote is at 10:00 AM PT and livestreamed free. | Confirmed by OpenAI |
| A Pro upgrade screen listed "o, your always-on assistant" as a perk on top of Plus. | Reported |
| App configuration shows "o" as a display name and "-o" as an email suffix. | Reported |
| OpenAI announces "o" at DevDay, as TestingCatalog expects. | Speculation |
| "o" handles email, as TestingCatalog reads the "-o" suffix. | Speculation |
| Price, and whether Plus, Business or Enterprise get it. | Unknown |
Who this is for, and who can skip it
Prepare if your week is eaten by email, scheduling or follow-ups and your team already uses ChatGPT. Skip it for now if your team does not use ChatGPT at all, or if client data rules mean a new assistant would need a long approval process anyway.
What to do before Tuesday
No need to buy anything yet. These steps make day one easier if it ships:
- Clean up the shared inbox. Archive dead threads and set up labels for sales, support and billing. An assistant works better on an organized inbox.
- Write down your three most repetitive email types. Booking confirmations, quote follow-ups and "just checking in." Those are the first jobs to hand off.
- Check who owns your accounts. Know which Google or Microsoft account holds the company email and calendar, and who can grant access.
- Decide your rules. What should an assistant never send without a person approving it? Write that down now, while it is calm.
- Try the closest thing that exists now. If you are on Plus or Pro, ChatGPT Work can run a scheduled task when a new Gmail message arrives, and actions that need approval wait for you. One small test shows how your team feels about an assistant touching email.
Tuesday: DevDay
OpenAI DevDay is Tuesday, September 29, at Fort Mason in San Francisco. Sam Altman's opening keynote starts at 10:00 AM Pacific and is livestreamed free for anyone. We are watching it live. This page gets a plain-English update the same afternoon: what was announced, who gets it, and what to switch on or ignore.
If you want help
If "o" ships, we set it up in your accounts from the day it is available to you, with only the access it needs, then test it with a few people and teach it to the team. See Day One Setup. Members of First Quarter get it filtered to their tools, with priority in the setup queue.
Sources
- OpenAI: DevDay 2026 (date, venue and keynote time)
- OpenAI: ChatGPT release notes (ChatGPT Work and Gmail-triggered tasks; no mention of "o" as of Sept 27)
- OpenAI News (no mention of "o" as of Sept 27)
- Jake Boggs on X: the Pro upgrade screen (Sept 25)
- TestingCatalog on X: the configuration screenshot (Sept 26)
- TestingCatalog: OpenAI to announce "o" always-on agent during DevDay (Sept 26)
- Kingy AI: what the ChatGPT leak reveals (Sept 27)
Update log
- Named the original poster, added TestingCatalog's report and ChatGPT Work's existing Gmail-triggered tasks, and checked OpenAI's DevDay page, news and release notes, none of which mention "o." Removed an unsourced comparison and a source that could not be reached.
- First posted.
Signals is general information, not legal, security or financial advice. How we source Signals.
