Chatbot vs agent
A chatbot writes the answer. Your agent finishes the task.
ChatGPT and Ermes both use frontier models. The difference is that Ermes is connected to the tools you actually use and authorised to act on them — once you nod. If it explains what you should do, it’s a chatbot. If it goes and does it, it’s an agent.
ChatGPTErmes · $20/mo
What it is—A general-purpose chatbot you open when you have a question.A named AI agent you hire once, then keep around. Knows you, your week and your tools.
Where it lives—In its own app and another browser tab.In Telegram, WhatsApp and iMessage — the threads you already keep open.
Voice—A voice mode inside the ChatGPT app.Native voice notes in your messenger. Walking, driving, mid-run — just talk.
Proactivity—Waits for the next prompt.Pings you with a morning brief, a Friday recap, a birthday in four days. You set the cadence; you can pause the pulse.
Scheduled tasks—Has scheduled tasks in beta, runs inside ChatGPT.Routines run on your private server — every Friday at 16:00, every weekday at 07:30 — and report back to your messenger.
Actions on your tools—Some connectors via custom GPTs. Most actions still want copy-and-paste.Sends the email, books the meeting, files the note. Irreversible moves stage themselves and ask for one tap to approve.
Integrations—GPTs and the connectors OpenAI ships.90+ first-party connectors: Gmail, Google Calendar, Drive, Notion, GitHub, Linear, Stripe — sign in once.
Memory—Per-account memory, shared across every thread on every device — managed by OpenAI.Lives on your server. People, projects, routines, decisions. Editable, exportable, prune-able.
Where your data sits—In OpenAI’s multi-tenant cloud.On a server we provision in your name. Encrypted at rest. No multi-tenancy, no shared agent context.
Bring your own keys—No.Yes — route model traffic through your own Anthropic, OpenAI, Mistral or Gemini key. Zero-retention carries over.
Setup—Make an account; start typing.Name your agent, pick a messenger, pick a region. We provision a private server in minutes. No terminal opened.
Pricing—Free tier; ChatGPT Plus $20/mo; Pro $200/mo.$20/mo. One tier. Cancel any time.
Same frontier models. Different shape. A chatbot lives in a tab and waits to be asked. An agent lives on a server of its own, in the messenger you already keep open, and is connected to the tools where your week actually happens.
Private beta · spring 2026
Stop reading how-to threads.
Hire an agent that finishes the task instead. $20 a month, on a server of your own.
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