OpenAI's Dots product lead to discuss 'What Comes After the Chatbot?' at Disrupt 2026

Alexander Embiricos, product lead for OpenAI's Dots, will speak at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, held October 13-15 at Moscone West in San Francisco. He will join TechCrunch on the AI Stage for a session titled "What Comes After the Chatbot?" to discuss the thinking behind Dots, where personal AI agents are headed, and why privacy and trust could determine whether they take off.

Dots, OpenAI's new always-on personal AI agent, is designed to go beyond answering prompts. It has its own cloud computer, can connect to apps people use every day, and can keep working toward a goal in the background, potentially giving AI far greater access to users' work and digital lives. The launch is one of OpenAI's biggest bets yet on what comes after the chatbot.

The session will also address harder questions raised by greater autonomy: how much control users are willing to hand to an AI agent, what it should be allowed to do without asking, and whether OpenAI can earn enough trust as these systems learn more about users and gain access to increasingly sensitive information.

TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 will feature more than 200 sessions across six industry stages, with more than 250 tech leaders speaking and around 10,000 founders, investors, and operators expected to attend.