Best AI Assistants for Work, Compared on Security

A manager signs up for an always-on agent on a personal plan to help her with her work. She connects her mailbox and a shared drive, hands it a few standing jobs and walks away. The agent keeps going, reading mail and pulling files from shared folders she didn't know she could open.

Nothing broke, but nothing was approved either.

Picking the best AI assistants for work used to come down to which model had the best performance. Now the question is what they connect to, what an administrator can see them do and what you can stop them from reaching.

This guide compares six always-on AI assistants for work: Claude Duet, ChatGPT Dots, Gemini Spark, Copilot Autopilot, the Muse agent and Grok Bot. We look at four things:

• What it can reach, through the permissions it holds and the accounts it connects to
• Whether you can detect and audit what it did
• Whether it runs on a work account or a personal one, and which controls IT, security and governance teams can use
• What happens to your data, including training and retention

Each section also covers who the assistant is for, what it does well and what to watch for.

Six AI Assistants for Work, at a Glance

Six AI assistants for work, as of late October 2026

AI Assistant vs AI Agent: How They Differ at Work

The practical difference between an AI assistant and an AI agent is independence. An assistant works when the user asks. An AI agent can work on its own. It follows a schedule, acts through the accounts the user has connected and often keeps going on a cloud computer after the laptop closes. Because it keeps working after the user leaves, you need to be able to see what it did.

The six products here work both ways, so this guide uses the two words interchangeably. For security, four questions matter more than the label:

• What can it reach, through its permissions and connected accounts?
• Can you see what it did?
• Is it on a work account or a personal one, and can an admin turn it off?
• Is your data used for training, and how long is it kept?

Claude vs ChatGPT vs Gemini vs Copilot vs Meta AI vs Grok: Assistants Compared for Work

Choosing the right AI assistant for your business comes down to the controls on the plan you buy, more than the brand on the box.

Four vendors state that business data is not used for training: Anthropic and OpenAI by default, Microsoft for work-account data and xAI for Business and Enterprise content. Google says Workspace does not train on customer data without the customer's permission. Meta lists no business plan for Meta AI.

The two tables below compare the work plan behind each assistant. Meta's column covers Meta AI, and the Muse section covers how the agent relates to it. Grok Bot reaches businesses through Cursor plans, so the Grok column covers xAI's own Business and Enterprise plans. The sections after the tables cover the always-on products themselves.

Work plans compared: Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini, as of late October 2026

Work plans compared: Microsoft Copilot, Meta AI and Grok, as of late October 2026

Claude Duet (Anthropic)

Claude Duet is Anthropic's always-on assistant, a separate app where Claude works as a proactive agent. It runs on a cloud virtual machine with its own browser. It checks your connected accounts every few hours, whether you're in the app or not, and writes a morning brief. Anthropic announced it on Oct. 21, 2026 as a research preview in the US, with a waitlist, for Pro and Max plans.

Anthropic's launch article says Duet draws on more than 6,000 connectors and plugins. The connector list includes Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, QuickBooks and HubSpot. Microsoft 365 isn't available yet.

Who Claude Duet is for

Anyone with too much to track. An executive gets a morning brief built from Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive, and Duet can schedule the meetings. A finance lead connects QuickBooks and Stripe and has Duet chase unpaid invoices and build forecasts. A sales manager connects HubSpot and has Duet draft the follow-up emails.

• Does well: it shows you the exact action and waits for your approval before it sends, pays, signs or deletes.
• Watch for: Duet works only on personal Pro and Max plans for now, so work use happens outside what IT manages.

Security and governance in Claude Duet

Team and Enterprise plans can't use Duet yet, and Anthropic gives no date. Ask Anthropic what admins will get, because its safety article mentions no admin controls, audit logs or compliance certifications.

Duet remembers until you reset it. Disconnecting an app stops new access, but what Duet already learned stays. Ask Anthropic whether Duet chats train models and how long it keeps your data, because its Duet pages don't say.

Getting started: see Anthropic's Duet product page.

ChatGPT Dots (OpenAI)

ChatGPT Dots are always-on assistants inside ChatGPT. Each Dot gets its own cloud computer and browser and keeps working when your computer is off. You can reach one in ChatGPT, Slack, Microsoft Teams or by voice call. A Dot can research without asking, but follow-up actions need your permission. OpenAI announced Dots on Sept. 29, 2026 and is rolling them out gradually. On Enterprise, Dots are a beta that stays off until a workspace administrator turns them on. OpenAI also lists Business Premium.

Who ChatGPT Dots are for

Teams that want to hand off whole jobs. A product engineering team can have a Dot watch incoming customer feedback, then approve the fixes it ships. A data analyst can hand one a recurring analysis to rerun. A manager can ask one to research a topic and prepare the document, then approve each follow-up action.

• Does well: Enterprise admins get separate permissions for using Dots, adding them to Slack and Teams, letting them use cloud computers and allowing local computer access.
• Watch for: OpenAI's admin guide describes no single company-wide off switch, so turning Dots off takes several steps.

Security and governance in ChatGPT Dots

To turn Dots off, you remove the permission from the workspace default and every role. Then you disconnect plugin authorizations, website sessions and each Dot's Slack identity. Stopping a task doesn't undo what it already did.

Compliance logs keep supported Dots records for 30 days, and OpenAI tells you to check which records exist before you rely on an export for an audit or legal hold. Dots don't let you choose where data is stored or processed. Dots on a ChatGPT Pro plan are personal accounts, outside any workspace admin, and OpenAI's pages don't say which data settings apply to them.

Getting started: OpenAI's Dots documentation covers setup.

Gemini Spark (Google)

Gemini Spark is Google's 24/7 personal AI agent, built into the Gemini app. It keeps working when you close your laptop and runs recurring tasks. It works in Gmail, Docs and Slides. Google announced it on May 19, 2026, and it's in beta on personal Google AI plans.

Google also said it would bring a version to businesses through Workspace and Gemini Enterprise. Gemini Spark isn't available for Gemini Enterprise or Workspace as of late October 2026.

Who Gemini Spark is for

People who run on routines. A marketing manager can turn meeting notes into a Google Doc and a draft follow-up email. An operations lead can set a recurring task that gathers the week's mail into a Docs summary.

• Does well: it asks first before high-stakes actions like spending money or sending email.
• Watch for: today it runs on personal Google AI plans, so work use sits outside what a Workspace admin sets up.

Security and governance in Gemini Spark

Until Google makes Spark available for business, any work use runs on a personal Google AI plan. Before you plan around it, ask Google for Spark's admin controls, training terms, audit detail and data-location terms. Ask how a Workspace admin can manage it on someone's personal plan.

Copilot Autopilot (Microsoft)

Copilot Autopilot is Microsoft's always-on agent in the Copilot app. Microsoft says it lives in your tenant with its own identity, memory, computer and workspace. You give it a name, a role and a goal. It keeps working when you're not, follows up on threads and handles recurring work. You can @mention it in Teams, Outlook and documents.

Microsoft introduced it on Sept. 25, 2026, and it's in private preview as of late October 2026. Microsoft's Copilot Business pricing page lists Autopilot in plan contents, billed by usage. Access still takes enrollment in Microsoft's Frontier early-access program, an Intune device policy and an opt-in step, so it starts with your admins.

Who Copilot Autopilot is for

Recurring operations work. An operations manager can hand it a supplier review, from scheduling and prep through meetings and follow-ups. A project lead can give it the recurring follow-ups on open threads in Teams and Outlook.

• Does well: Microsoft built it to live inside your tenant with its own identity, and says permissions, audit and governance stand behind it.
• Watch for: it's in private preview, so ask Microsoft what admins can set before you switch it on.

Security and governance in Copilot Autopilot

Autopilot works through Teams, Outlook and documents, so it interacts with your Microsoft 365 mail, calendar and files. In preview, treat Microsoft's governance claims as a promise to test. Ask Microsoft what they cover for sign-in, audit logs, retention, where data lives and training.

Getting started: Autopilot is in private preview, so there's no public getting-started guide yet. Microsoft's announcement is the best place to start.

Muse Agent (Meta)

The Muse agent is Meta's always-on assistant. Meta introduced it on Sept. 8, 2026 in the US and says it's in limited testing. Press describes Muse as a separate product from Meta AI, and Meta's pages don't spell out how the two relate. Each user gets a dedicated cloud computer with its own browser. Muse connects to apps one at a time, using API credentials where it can and the browser where it can't. It keeps working after you leave, and it makes suggestions you didn't ask for.

Muse is free with a usage limit, and paid plans run $20 and $100 a month. Muse for Small Business adds connectors such as Shopify, Slack, QuickBooks and Stripe to the same individual plans.

Who the Muse agent is for

Small teams and people who work on the move. A shop owner can connect Shopify, QuickBooks and Stripe and let Muse work across them. A sales rep on the road can hand it email, travel booking and forms.

• Does well: each user's Muse runs on its own cloud computer, with a separate permission check on connector actions.
• Watch for: Meta says the current design doesn't prevent its own access to your data when needed to support, secure or operate the service.

Security and governance in the Muse agent

Meta lists no business plan for Meta AI, so Muse for Small Business is the work option, and it runs on the individual Muse plans. Any work use therefore sits outside what IT manages. Meta's technical post on Muse agents says Meta trains on conversations after removing personal information, with an opt-out in settings. Before anyone uses Muse for work, ask Meta about admin controls, sign-in, audit logs, data location and compliance.

Getting started: start with Meta's Muse launch post and its Muse subscriptions help page.

Grok Bot (xAI)

Grok Bot is xAI's always-on assistant, and businesses get it through Cursor, the AI code editor. It has been in beta since Aug. 11, 2026. Each user gets a persistent cloud computer with a browser, a file system and a terminal, and it keeps working when your laptop's closed. It signs in to your existing tools and operates them the way a person would, even tools with no clean API. You can run several Bots at once and have them message each other. Paid individual Cursor plans and Cursor Teams include it, and a linked SuperGrok subscription works too.

Who Grok Bot is for

Teams that want an assistant per job. A sales rep can hand a Bot outbound research, demo-environment prep and pipeline cleanup. A recruiter can use a talent-scouting Bot, and a marketer a paid-media Bot. A finance lead can run an expense-manager Bot, and an engineer a Bot that reproduces bugs.

• Does well: Enterprise gives admins one off switch, group access, network controls and an audit log.
• Watch for: on Cursor Teams, Grok Bot is on for every member and an admin can't turn it off.

Security and governance in Grok Bot

Your Cursor plan sets the admin controls, and the gap between plans is wide. On Cursor Teams, Grok Bot is on for every member, and xAI's docs say the team can't disable it. Teams gets no audit log either.

On Cursor Enterprise, Grok Bot stays off until an admin turns it on, and one switch blocks all members. xAI says customer data isn't used for training when Privacy Mode is on. Computers run in the US today, and xAI makes no written commitment on where data lives, so ask your account team.

One more detail matters for security: xAI's pages disagree on whether Bots share a computer. The launch page says each Bot has its own. xAI's current docs say all of a user's Bots share one and warn against treating separate Bots as a security boundary.

Best AI Assistant for Work: The System You Already Run On

We won't rank these six, because every team needs something different. Start with the assistant your team already uses, then check the controls.

• Microsoft 365 organization: start with Microsoft Copilot on a work account. It carries your identity, permissions and labels, so the controls you already run apply. Autopilot is still in private preview.
• Google Workspace organization: Gemini through Workspace or Gemini Enterprise. Google announced Spark for business but hasn't made it available.
• ChatGPT organization: ChatGPT Enterprise gives admins roles and audit logs, and Dots stay off until an admin turns them on.
• Cursor engineering organization: Grok Bot on Cursor Enterprise, not Teams. Enterprise gives admins an off switch and an audit log.
• A small business without an IT team: Claude Duet and the Muse agent, including Muse for Small Business, both run on individual plans. Read the data terms before you connect company accounts.

Security and Governance Compared: Controls, Data and Activity Logs

The next two tables answer the four questions from the start of this guide. The third question, account and admin controls, gets two rows: account type and company default.

Security and governance controls: Claude Duet, ChatGPT Dots and Gemini Spark, as of late October 2026

Security and governance controls: Copilot Autopilot, the Muse agent and Grok Bot, as of late October 2026

Where a cell says to ask, get the answer in writing before you plan around it. Do the same for where data is stored: Dots don't let you choose and Grok Bot computers run in the US today, so ask the other four vendors.

Where Vendor Controls Stop and What Businesses Need to Own

Each vendor's controls end at its own product

Approved-tools lists, single sign-on and web category filters were built for AI that was a website or a seat. They still do that job. An assistant with connected apps is neither, because it reaches company data through permissions a user approved. An always-on agent adds two more things: it runs on the vendor's computer, and it runs on a schedule no login triggers.

Coverage is uneven, and no vendor's controls reach another vendor's assistant.

What you own: connected accounts, permissions and data

Three things set what any of these products can reach: the account it connects to, the permissions a user approved and the data behind that account. Your organization owns all three.

Claude Duet, the Muse agent, Gemini Spark and ChatGPT Dots on Pro run on personal accounts, where no administrator has a switch. Grok Bot on Cursor Teams comes close: an admin exists, but the off switch doesn't. That's the risk to plan for. An employee signs up on their own, connects a work mailbox or drive and starts handing over jobs, like the manager at the top of this guide. The vendor gives your admins no console for that account.

Revoking a permission stops future reads. It doesn't erase what an agent already learned.

Where Forcepoint fits in

Forcepoint helps businesses secure AI agents and assistants, starting with access and the data AI can interact with. Forcepoint AI Security, now in limited GA, does that through three components.

Forcepoint Shadow AI discovers and controls the AI applications and agents running across the business, so you can see what is in use.

Forcepoint AI Detection and Response connects to ChatGPT Enterprise, Claude Enterprise and Microsoft 365 Copilot (now Microsoft Copilot) through native API connectors. It inspects prompts, responses and file uploads against existing classification policy and triggers remediation, such as revoking access to an overshared file.

For the data side of that problem, see how Forcepoint AI Data Security classifies data before AI touches it.

AI assistant security best practices: next steps for your team

• List and revoke permissions. Open your identity provider and your SaaS admin consoles. Find the AI assistants and agents, note who approved each one and remove any permission no one can explain.
• Shrink what sits behind them. Forcepoint DSPM discovers and classifies sensitive data across cloud, SaaS and on-premises storage, so you can fix oversharing in the files a connected account reaches.
• Write a one-page rule on plan tiers and account types. Say which plans people can use for work and which accounts stay out. If your developers use Cursor Teams, assume Grok Bot is on.
• Send every vendor the same questions. Who holds the off switch? What is the training default on each plan? How long is data kept? Which actions show up in the audit log? What do always-allow approvals cover?
• Test log coverage yourself. OpenAI says not every action appears in an export.
• Get where data lives in writing. If a vendor's pages are silent on it, treat that as a no until the vendor says otherwise in writing.
• Take inventory yourself where a vendor offers admins no console. Find which agents are running, whose they are and what they can reach. That inventory is the starting point of agentic AI security.

Then add a control on what agents do once they're connected. For agents that act inside business applications, there is the Forcepoint AI Agent Gateway, also part of Forcepoint AI Security in limited GA. It brokers temporary credentials and holds high-risk operations for review.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which AI assistant should a business choose?

Start with the AI assistants your team already uses, then compare sign-in, audit and training controls on the plan you would buy. The best-for list above matches each setup to a product.

What is the difference between an AI assistant and an AI agent?

An AI assistant works when the user asks. An AI agent acts on its own schedule, through accounts the user has connected. The six products in this guide do both.

Is it safe to use these assistants with company data?

It depends on the plan. Check four things first: whether the plan is a work plan IT manages, whether the vendor states that business data is not used for training, whether an admin can turn the tool off and whether activity is logged. Claude Duet, Gemini Spark, the Muse agent and ChatGPT Dots on Pro run on personal accounts IT does not manage, so keep company data out of them.

Can IT turn these agents off?

Only some. Grok Bot on Cursor Enterprise has one off switch. On Cursor Teams, admins can't turn it off. OpenAI's admin guide describes no single company-wide switch for ChatGPT Dots, so an admin removes the permission from the default and every role. Anthropic, Google, Microsoft and Meta have not documented an off switch for Claude Duet, Gemini Spark, Autopilot or the Muse agent, so ask each one.

How much do these assistants cost?

Work plans start at these prices, and billing terms vary, so check the comparison tables above:

• Google Workspace: from $7 per user, billed monthly
• Claude Team and ChatGPT Business: $20 per seat or user, billed annually
• Gemini Enterprise: from $21 per seat
• Copilot Business add-on: $21 per user, annual list price
• Grok Business: $30 per user a month, from a December 2025 post, so confirm before you plan around it

Claude Duet comes with Pro and Max at no extra cost during its preview. The Muse agent is free with a usage limit, and paid plans run $20 and $100 a month.

Where are these assistants available?

Claude Duet and the Muse agent are US only. ChatGPT Dots on Pro is not available in the EEA, UK or Switzerland, while Business Premium and Enterprise are rolling out worldwide. Ask Google, Microsoft and xAI before you roll out outside the US.

Is Muse the same as Meta AI?

Press describes the Muse agent as a separate product from Meta AI, and Meta's pages don't spell out how the two relate. Meta lists no business plan for Meta AI.

Is Autopilot the same as Windows Autopilot?

No. Windows Autopilot is an older Microsoft product that sets up and pre-configures new devices for IT. Autopilot in the Copilot app is an always-on agent that works inside your Microsoft tenant.