Cicada vs ChatGPT
Cicada gives every person on your team their own agents, and they work together: in iMessage, WhatsApp, Slack and email, on the phone and in your meetings. ChatGPT is the assistant most people already use, and since September its dots work in the background too.
Cicada is built for a team: every person gets their own agents, a coordinator splits each job between specialists, and teammates' agents work from the same business know-how and check with each other. They live in iMessage, WhatsApp, Slack and email, call businesses for you and join your meetings. ChatGPT is the most widely used general assistant, with agents that work inside ChatGPT, Slack and Teams.
A team of agents for a team of people.
ChatGPT gives each person a dot, and its business plans add shared workspace agents. Cicada's agents work as a team.
Agents for every person
Each person in your workspace gets their own agents. The apps the team shares are connected once; personal ones, like your inbox, stay under your own login.
A coordinator and specialists
A big job is split between specialists that work at the same time, and you get one answer back from the agent you asked.
Agents that work together
Teammates' agents know what each other covers, use each other's fresh figures and check with each other through the apps you share, never through anyone's private notes.
Know-how the whole team shares
What one agent learns about the business, every agent in the workspace knows, and a skill one agent proves is shared with the rest.
Cicada and ChatGPT, feature by feature.
| Feature | Cicada | ChatGPT |
|---|---|---|
| Agents across your team | Every person gets their own agents, a coordinator running specialists, and they work together across the team | One dot per person on Pro and Business Premium; shared workspace agents on business plans |
| Where you use it | iMessage, WhatsApp, Slack, email and a web app | Web, desktop and mobile apps; Slack and Microsoft Teams on business plans |
| Text it from your phone's messages | Yes, iMessage and WhatsApp, including group chats | Not yet in most places: texting dots is "coming soon", WhatsApp only in the EEA |
| Works on its own | Schedules, app events and proactive checks | Scheduled tasks, app-event triggers, dots researching in the background |
| Real phone calls for you | Yes, in a natural voice, from your number if you like | No calls to other people; you can call ChatGPT (1-800-CHATGPT, voice in the app) |
| Joins your meetings | Yes, Meet, Zoom, Teams and Webex, notes by text | Notes from your Mac's audio (beta); no notetaker joins the call |
| Group chats | Works in your iMessage and WhatsApp groups and Slack channels | ChatGPT group chats were retired in July 2026; @ChatGPT in Slack and Teams |
| Connected apps | 1,000+, plus any MCP server | Plugins for 4,000+ apps; custom MCP servers on business plans |
| Permissions | Per app: Full, Ask first or Read-only, for every agent in the workspace | Low-risk actions allowed by default; rules to allow, require approval or block |
| Price | Free to start with 300 credits, no card; credit packs, or plans from $99 a month. Credits are shared across the workspace and roll over. | Free, Go $8, Plus $20, Pro from $100 a month; Business from $25 a seat; dots on Pro and Business Premium |
ChatGPT details checked against its own site and docs on 16 October 2026. Products change fast; see the sources below.
Both have agents now. They live in different places.
ChatGPT's dots and workspace agents work inside ChatGPT, Slack and Teams, with texting promised. Cicada's agents are already in iMessage and WhatsApp, one-to-one and in your group chats, as well as Slack and email. You text them like a colleague and they answer in the same thread.
It picks up the phone, and it joins the call
Cicada calls a supplier, a venue or a support line in a natural voice, from your own number if you like, and texts you the outcome with the transcript. It also joins your Meet, Zoom or Teams calls as a notetaker. ChatGPT lets you call it and takes notes from your Mac's audio, but it doesn't call other people for you.
A lock on every app, for every agent
Any member can set an app to Full, Ask first or Read-only, and that holds for every agent in the workspace, on every channel. You choose how far each agent goes on its own, from asking before every change to fully autonomous.
Where Cicada is stronger
- Every person on the team gets their own agents, and they work together.
- A coordinator splits big jobs between specialists that work at the same time.
- What one agent learns about the business, every agent in the workspace knows.
- You text it today on iMessage or WhatsApp, including in group chats.
- It makes real phone calls for you and joins your meetings as a notetaker.
- A Read-only or Ask-first lock per app for every agent in the workspace.
Choose Cicada if you want agents for your whole team that work together, reach you on iMessage, WhatsApp and Slack, call people and join meetings.
Where ChatGPT fits
- Frontier models (the GPT-6 family) and answers with interactive charts and tools.
- Reach: the app most people already use, with plugins for 4,000+ apps.
- Image generation, Codex for coding, computer use on your desktop, and Office add-ins.
ChatGPT may suit you if you mainly want a general assistant for your own work, inside ChatGPT.
Or use both. They work well together. Add Cicada as a connector in ChatGPT to search what your agents know, send one of them a job, or save what ChatGPT knows about you into Cicada.
Cicada vs ChatGPT, answered.
Is Cicada a ChatGPT alternative?
Yes, for a team that wants work handed off. ChatGPT is a general assistant with agents inside ChatGPT, Slack and Teams; Cicada gives every person their own agents that work together, live in iMessage, WhatsApp, Slack and email, make phone calls and join meetings. Many people use both.
What are ChatGPT dots?
Always-on agents OpenAI launched on 29 September 2026. Each has its own cloud computer and memory, works in ChatGPT, Slack and Teams, and comes with Pro and Business Premium. OpenAI says texting them is coming soon.
Can ChatGPT make phone calls for me?
Not to other people, as of October 2026. You can call ChatGPT, and it books restaurants through apps like OpenTable, but it doesn't phone a business for you. Cicada does, and sends you the transcript.
Can I use Cicada from inside ChatGPT?
Yes. Add Cicada as a connector and ChatGPT can search your agents' work, send one of them a job, and save documents into Cicada.
Sources, checked 16 October 2026
- Introducing dots (29 Sep 2026)
- ChatGPT for your most ambitious work (9 Jul 2026)
- Workspace agents in ChatGPT (22 Apr 2026)
- ChatGPT pricing
- ChatGPT release notes
- 1-800-CHATGPT and WhatsApp
- Group chats retired
- ChatGPT plugins
Spotted something out of date? Tell us at support@cicadalabs.io and we'll fix it.
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