What Bot: the AI agents that do the job — and what you surrender in return

The best AI agent is the one built for the job you actually have, and in Britain the choice is narrower than the headlines suggest. For ongoing errands across websites and apps, Grok Bot is the most complete agent a UK buyer can simply sign up for, and Instinct is the stronger personal concierge if you can get an invitation.

Programmers should compare OpenAI's Codex with Anthropic's Claude Code. Office workers are usually better off with whichever Microsoft or Google agent their employer already pays for and manages.

Three of the most talked-about rivals are not yet open to ordinary UK customers: OpenAI's dots on personal plans, Anthropic's Claude Duet and Meta's Muse.

Whichever you pick, the real cost is not the subscription. It is the access. An agent that can read your inbox, drive your browser and use your card can also get those things wrong, quickly and politely.

From answering to doing

Chatbots answer questions. Agents act on the answers: they open a browser, fill in forms, send emails and come back later with progress. A chatbot can give you bad advice; an agent can act on it before the kettle boils.

The model is not the product. The model does the reasoning, while the product supplies the tools, storage, permissions and the ability to keep working after you close the laptop. Paying for a company's newest model does not get you its agent, any more than buying petrol gets you a car.

The field has filled up in a matter of weeks. Meta launched Muse in the US in September, OpenAI followed with dots at the end of that month and Anthropic announced Claude Duet on 21 October. A guide from the Associated Press, published on 7 November, put Grok Bot and Instinct in the same wave.1

The shortlist at a glance

Dollar prices are the companies' own list prices; the tax and currency at a UK checkout can differ. Usage limits and add-on charges matter more than the headline figure.2

Grok Bot: a team that shares one desk

Grok Bot's pitch is continuity. You can give separate Bots separate jobs, connect them to email, files and other services, and schedule work so it happens without a reminder. The Bots work on a cloud computer with its own browser and files, so nothing depends on your laptop staying awake.

The product is changing quickly. Its makers announced saved logins, cards and contacts on 23 October, shopping and order tracking on 3 November, and phone calls the following day.3

The catch is set out in its own security guide. All of one person's Bots share the same computer, including signed-in browser sessions and saved credentials, so separate Bots are not separate safes.

A vault keeps supported passwords and card numbers out of the model's view, but a browser that is already signed in still opens the account. Deleting a Bot does not wipe the computer, and whether your work trains models follows your Cursor account privacy settings.4

Instinct: the concierge with a big keyring

Instinct works through messages and calls rather than a dashboard. Its own examples include ordering groceries, booking trains and finding a sports court. In late October it added restaurant bookings through OpenTable, logins through 1Password and purchases through Shop Pay, which still need your approval.5

The Verge, testing it in October against Muse and dots, found it handled online chores about as well as its far larger rivals. The start-up had been valued at US$10bn in late September and, at the time of that review, had no app and charged no subscription.6

Its privacy policy, revised on 26 August, lets your data train its models unless you opt out, and the opt-out applies only from then on. Disconnecting an app does not delete what Instinct has already indexed. TechCrunch reported on privacy and security concerns about the assistant in August.7

OpenAI: Operator has gone; Work and dots replace it

OpenAI has retired its old agent mode and points users to ChatGPT Work, which researches and writes documents, and Codex, which edits and tests code. Both can run scheduled tasks, so "it keeps checking while you sleep" is no longer anyone's unique selling point.8

Dots, launched on 29 September, are closer to Grok Bot: an always-on agent with its own cloud computer and memory. The Verge reported that they can connect to more than 4,000 apps and are represented by customisable avatars, which is one way to make a security model look cuddly.9

OpenAI's help page says personal Pro access excludes the UK, the European Economic Area and Switzerland. Business Premium works differently, so a British company may get a dot even when a British individual cannot.10

On personal ChatGPT accounts, using your conversations to improve the models is switched on by default; you can turn it off in data controls.11

Anthropic: Code now, Duet later

Claude's paid plans include Claude Code, which works directly inside a software project. For programmers, it and Codex are the two to compare, ideally on one small, real task rather than a demo.2

Claude Duet is Anthropic's answer to dots. It sends a morning briefing, watches connected apps and asks before paying, signing or deleting anything. The Verge reported on 21 October that it is a US-only research preview behind a waitlist, and that Anthropic itself warns it "still might misread a thread".1312

Claude Code keeps consumer data for 30 days if you turn model improvement off and for five years if you leave it on. Commercial accounts are not used for training by default.14

Google and Microsoft: the office is the advantage

Google's enterprise agent, launched on 8 October, runs in the cloud on schedules, hands work to sub-agents and gives each agent its own identity with an audit trail. Its strength is governance inside an organisation that already lives in Google Workspace.15

The consumer AI Pro plan costs £18.99 a month, but Google's UK plans page marks some consumer agent features as US-only. Gemini activity is deleted after 18 months by default, and chats selected for human review can be kept for up to three years.1516

Microsoft is building agents into Microsoft 365: Autopilot for longer jobs, announced on 19 October, and recurring finance workflows in Cowork. The Business Standard bundle with Copilot costs £18.10 per user a month, excluding VAT, on an annual contract, and advanced features can cost extra.

Microsoft says business prompts are not used to train its models but are kept under the organisation's own retention and eDiscovery rules. Not used for training is not the same as not stored, or invisible to your employer.17

Perplexity, Manus and Genspark: three workbenches

Perplexity has two products here. Comet is a web browser with an assistant built in; Computer runs tasks on its own, and since 5 November Max subscribers can add proactive "teammates" that message colleagues in Slack. A browser assistant can see whatever you are signed into, so a separate browser profile is the sensible place to try it.18

Manus builds research reports, slide decks and websites, and can now export video projects to editors such as Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro. Its privacy policy says its Browser Operator can send pages from your own signed-in browser to its servers.1920

Genspark turns prompts into slides, spreadsheets, documents and media. Its cloud computer, Claw, needs a separate subscription and can use credits on top: "included AI" can arrive with quite an entourage. The company processes data in the US and says account data is deleted within 30 days of closing an account.2122

Meta Muse: the cautionary tale

Muse works through its own app or WhatsApp, runs on a dedicated cloud computer and lets users opt out of their conversations training Meta's models. It launched in the US in September and is not available in the UK.23

It has also supplied the autumn's most instructive mishap. The Guardian reported on 28 September that Muse, left to handle a user's Facebook Marketplace sale, gave a buyer the seller's home address and told him the seller was waiting at home. He was not.

The user had clicked "Allow Always" rather than "Allow One Time", and the agent treated that as consent to share the address. Meta said it would make the difference clearer.24

The lesson applies to every product on this page: the button you click on day one is the permission the agent uses on day 30.

Which should you use?

Ongoing admin across websites and apps: Grok Bot, or Instinct if you have an invitation.

Software: Codex or Claude Code, tested on the same small job.

Office work: the Copilot or Gemini agent your organisation already manages, so its permissions and audit trail are someone's responsibility.

Reports, slides and sites: Manus or Genspark, keeping an eye on credits.

Ways to pay less

Use the agent your employer already pays for.

Use the agent your employer already pays for. Microsoft 365 Copilot and Gemini for Workspace sit inside the tools you are already allowed to put company files into. Catch: work agents follow work rules; they are the wrong place for personal errands.2

Buy the product, not the model. A ChatGPT or Claude subscription that includes the coding agent you need beats a separate "pro" model tier that cannot act. Catch: usage limits and overage charges can exceed the headline monthly price.2

Prefer plans that already include the agent. Grok Bot is bundled from X Premium rather than sold as a second meter; dots and Claude Duet are tied to eligible regional plans that may not be on sale in Britain. Catch: "included" still means the outer subscription, and UK availability is the real gate.2

Skip invitation-only concierges until you are invited. Instinct's appeal is the access, not a discount code. Catch: waitlists are not a UK checkout.

Turn off tools you are not using. Connected inboxes, calendars and cards are the expensive bit when something goes wrong. Catch: fewer connectors means fewer automated wins as well as fewer automated mistakes.

The verdict

In our view, start with one low-risk task that has a clear finish line, and set the agent to ask before it sends, spends or deletes anything. Count the time spent correcting it as work.

The best assistant is the one that lightens the load without quietly promoting itself to account holder.

1. Public page
2. Signed-in browser
3. Connected inbox/files
4. Sending or spending

Scroll sideways to see every column.

UK availability, from the dated source rows. Words carry the meaning; colour does not.

Product	Personal access	Business or workspace access	Not established
ChatGPT dots	Personal Pro excludes the UK	Business eligibility differs. That is not a UK business ban.	—
Claude Duet	—	—	US waitlist. UK availability not established.
Instinct	—	—	UK access and a GBP price were not established.
Meta Muse	—	—	UK availability was not established.
Gemini	Consumer AI Pro is £18.99 a month. Some consumer agent features are marked US-only.	The enterprise agent is a separate product.	A British consumer price does not make every feature British.
Microsoft Copilot	—	Business Standard bundle £18.10 per user a month, ex VAT, annual.	—
Grok Bot	—	—	Announced phone calls are not proof every UK destination works. List prices are in dollars.

Sources

1. Associated Press via The Vindicator, "How to get started with AI agents and which are best for specific tasks", 7 November 2026. Read the report Back
2. Grok Bot inclusion and prices: X Subscription pricing; Claude plans; Manus plans; Genspark plans. All checked 8 November 2026. Back
3. Grok Bot product page; official announcements on X: saved logins, cards and contacts, 23 October, shopping, 3 November, phone calls, 4 November. Back
4. Grok Bot approvals, security and privacy guide, checked 8 November 2026. Back
5. Instinct; official announcements on X: OpenTable, 30 October, 1Password, 29 October, Shop Pay, 28 October. Back
6. The Verge, "Instinct was the buzziest AI agent around — can it survive Muse?", 9 October 2026. Read the review Back
7. Instinct privacy policy and terms, revised 26 August 2026; TechCrunch, "Instinct's powerful AI assistant is raising privacy and security concerns", 24 August 2026. Read the report Back
8. ChatGPT Work and Codex guide; retired agent mode notice. Back
9. The Verge, "OpenAI launches Dots, its Muse competitor", 29 September 2026. Read the report Back
10. OpenAI, Getting started with your dot, checked 8 November 2026. Back
11. OpenAI data controls FAQ. Back
12. Official Anthropic announcement on X: Claude Duet, 21 October. Back
13. The Verge, "Anthropic takes on Muse with Claude Duet, its new AI agent", 21 October 2026. Read the report Back
14. Claude Code data usage. Back
15. Google Cloud, Gemini at Work 2026, 8 October 2026; Google AI plans (UK). Back
16. Gemini Apps Privacy Hub, updated 26 October 2026. Back
17. Microsoft 365 Copilot UK pricing and FAQ; official announcements on X: Autopilot, 19 October, Cowork, 29 October. Back
18. Official Perplexity announcements on X: Computer teammates, 5 November, BrowseSafe, 29 September. Back
19. Official Manus announcement on X: Studio exports, 5 November. Back
20. Manus and Cue privacy policy, 28 September 2026. Back
21. Official Genspark announcement on X: Media Studio, 6 November. Back
22. Genspark privacy policy, 24 July 2026. Back
23. Meta, Introducing Muse, 8 September 2026, updated 30 September. Back
24. The Guardian, "Meta's AI agent Muse gives out user's home address without permission, sending buyer to his house", 28 September 2026. Read the report Back