dots in the European Union: why it is excluded
The dots exclusion across the EEA, Switzerland and the UK applies to the Pro plan only. What OpenAI said, what is reported as the reason, and the open routes.
In Europe dots exists, but not on the Pro plan: OpenAI excludes the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the United Kingdom from the Pro launch. The open route is Business Premium, which does get dots across every region where ChatGPT is available.
What the exclusion covers
The European Economic Area is wider than the European Union: it covers the 27 member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Together with Switzerland and the United Kingdom, the block excluded from Pro covers essentially all of western Europe.
| Market | On Pro? | On Business Premium? |
|---|---|---|
| European Union and EEA | No | Yes |
| Switzerland | No | Yes |
| United Kingdom | No | Yes |
The reason: what is known and what is attributed
This is where most coverage speculates, so precision is worth the space.
Confirmed by OpenAI: the exclusion exists. Pro users in the EEA, Switzerland and the UK are not included at launch.
Not confirmed: the reason. OpenAI has published no explanation. Press reports attribute it to European privacy and data protection rules.
Why it is plausible, without asserting it: dots combines three things squarely inside GDPR territory — a cloud computer with access to corporate systems, context retention for as long as the dot exists, and a proactive research layer that reads information from connected apps. A product built that way needing extra review before operating in Europe is reasonable. But “reasonable” is not “confirmed”, and we will not present it as though it were.
The routes that actually stay open
If you are in an excluded market, these are the legitimate options:
- Business Premium through your employer. The most direct. If your organisation uses Business Premium, you have dots today, wherever you are.
- The Enterprise, Edu or Healthcare beta. A workspace admin can enable it. It ships off by default.
- ChatGPT Work. Not dots, but it is available in Europe and covers part of the use case with scoped delegated tasks.
- Wait. No date, but a valid option: OpenAI products usually reach Europe after the first wave.
What we do not recommend
Using a VPN to pretend you are in an enabled market. It can violate OpenAI’s terms of use and expose your account to suspension — and on a company account the risk is not yours alone. We cover this on the excluded-countries page.
What this means for a buyer
If you are evaluating dots for your company and you operate in Europe, the practical conclusion is that the Pro exclusion does not block you. It changes which plan you have to buy. That difference matters for a budget: Pro starts at $100 per month while Business Premium is a per-seat plan with a different billing model.
For the status of each market, including the ones OpenAI has not enumerated, see the availability table by country. It updates with a visible verification date.
Sources
Frequently asked questions about dots
Can you use dots in Europe?
Yes, but not on the Pro plan. OpenAI excludes the EEA, Switzerland and the UK from the Pro launch, and states instead that Business Premium users get dots across all supported ChatGPT regions.
When will dots arrive in Europe?
No date has been announced. OpenAI confirmed the Pro exclusion without committing to a timeline for those markets.
Why did OpenAI leave Europe out?
OpenAI has not explained the reason. Press reports attribute it to European privacy rules, but that is a journalistic attribution, not an official statement.
Is Spain excluded from dots?
On the Pro plan, yes: Spain is part of the European Economic Area, which is one of the markets OpenAI explicitly excludes.
What exactly is the EEA?
The European Economic Area covers the 27 European Union member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
What if my company has Business Premium?
Then you do have access: Business Premium is included in every region where ChatGPT is supported, without the exclusion that applies to Pro.
Keep reading
dots by country: where it is available and where it is not
Availability table for dots by market: what OpenAI confirmed, what is excluded from Pro, and what remains unconfirmed, with sources and a verification date.
How to use dots from an excluded country
Legitimate routes to access dots from the EEA, Switzerland or the UK, and why a VPN is a bad idea that can cost you the account.
dots pricing and availability: what each plan includes
What dots costs, which plans include it, what the usage quota covers, and why conversations with your dot do not use up your ChatGPT limits.