# Response and task completion speed (`ask.speed`)

Feedback Bench, personal agents, built 2026-10-19, window 2026-08-31 to 2026-10-18. Web page: https://feedbackbench.com/#/criterion/ask.speed

Area: [Talking to the agent](https://feedbackbench.com/criteria/ask.md)

**Definition.** How long the agent takes to reply or to finish a task, from fast responses to multi-minute waits on simple jobs.

**Boundary.** Not this: see [Outages, errors and agent going unresponsive](https://feedbackbench.com/criteria/vendor.uptime.md) when it does not respond at all; see [Says it did something it did not do](https://feedbackbench.com/criteria/act.false_reports.md) when it promises to check back and never does.

Rated user-weeks, all agents: 1901. Complaint share: 49%.

## The brief

Written by large language models from this page's numbers and the posts it quotes, then checked: every number in the text is in the build. Interpretation, not measurement.

Muse leads on speed. Its users say replies come without delay and tasks finish in a few minutes. Grok Bot is close behind, and its users say it responds quickly and moves tasks along smoothly. Speed matters to users: it is the 8th most rated of 53 criteria. ChatGPT Dots ranks low, in 7th of 7 place. Its users rate speed 2.18 times as often as other users, mostly to complain. Hermes Agent and OpenClaw also rank low.

### What separates the best from the rest

Users of Muse and Grok Bot describe quick answers. Users of the three agents that rank low describe long waits. Muse users say it is quick and clean, and some call it faster than their other tools. Grok Bot users say it answers the same questions faster than Grok does in its own app. Hermes Agent users describe waits of up to 30 seconds for a reply and sessions that drag on. OpenClaw users say responses were too slow to use. ChatGPT Dots users describe long gaps between actions, and their posts run 31 praise to 202 complaints.

- **Ranks high**: [Muse](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/muse.md), [Grok Bot](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/grok-bot.md)
  - Muse, 2026-10-17, App Store (App Store): “muse out paces all my other tools in speed and execution! i freaking love it.” [source](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/muse-from-meta/id6760173601)
  - Grok Bot, 2026-10-17, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “one of the reasons for the low stress of grok bot is its speed. also, it's good that it responds super quickly for now. it instantly communicates what it has received and smoothly progresses tasks. it feels like it captures the important aspects of user experience well. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1000303004539498496/status/2111603162289500361)
- **Ranks low**: [Hermes Agent](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/hermes-agent.md), [OpenClaw](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/openclaw.md), [ChatGPT Dots](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/dots.md)
  - ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-18, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “@chatgpt dots need a serious speed boost if they want to be competitive. the time between actions taken is excessively slow.” [source](https://twitter.com/1983668982956920832/status/2111857541701681211)
  - Hermes Agent, 2026-10-15, r/hermesagent (Reddit): “looking for a polished android alternative. i have tried hermes relay, but i had to wait up to 30 seconds for a response.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/hermesagent/comments/1x5ynry/realtime_voice_with_hermes_agent_selfhosted/pgutz5k/)

## How it breaks

Rule: A separate pass sorts complaints into failure modes. For each criterion with at least 30 complaining user-weeks, a large language model reads 150 complaint posts drawn at random and names 4 to 8 failure modes; a second large language model then puts every complaint post on that criterion in one mode, or in Other when it fits none. Modes are fixed once named, and new posts are sorted into them each week. A mode counts distinct user-weeks with a complaint in it, per agent; across agents, one user-week per agent. Modes do not change the labels or the Feedback Score. Examples: up to 3 posts per mode from different users, chosen and checked as receipts are.

The largest mode is slow replies to simple messages, with 39% of complaining user-weeks. Most of it comes from Muse, Grok Bot and ChatGPT Dots, so users of the two leaders report it too. Two modes belong mostly to one agent. Hermes Agent accounts for 58% of complaints that the agent is slower than using the model directly. OpenClaw accounts for 50% of slowdowns that follow an update.

927 complaining user-weeks.

| Failure mode | User-weeks | Posts | Agents (user-weeks) | Definition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sluggish replies to simple conversational messages | 362 | 370 | Muse 104, Grok Bot 89, ChatGPT Dots 80, Hermes Agent 50, OpenClaw 24, Hark 8, Gemini Spark 4, Instinct 2, Poke 1 | The agent takes many seconds to a few minutes to answer a greeting, quick question or one-line request that a plain chatbot answers almost at once; replies that arrive hours later or not at all belong to the extreme-delay mode, and slow multi-step work belongs to the task-duration mode. |
| Simple tasks running far longer than expected | 193 | 205 | ChatGPT Dots 45, Grok Bot 39, Hermes Agent 37, Muse 34, OpenClaw 16, Hark 15, Gemini Spark 6, Instinct 1 | Small or routine jobs, such as a bug fix, a booking, a calendar cleanup, a small game or a skill registration, take tens of minutes to hours, far longer than a human, a direct model chat or a rival tool would need; slowness that is specifically on-screen computer or browser control is out. |
| Harness overhead slower than direct model use | 108 | 112 | Hermes Agent 63, Muse 15, Grok Bot 10, OpenClaw 10, ChatGPT Dots 9, Hark 1 | The same model is much slower inside the agent than in its native chat or a lean CLI tool, because of extra harness steps, tool and skill calls, verification passes, token-heavy processing, or poor support for the user's chosen provider or local model; slowness the user blames on the agent's own hosted service with no comparison is out. |
| Unpredictable waits and stalls during work | 54 | 56 | ChatGPT Dots 17, Muse 11, Grok Bot 9, OpenClaw 7, Hermes Agent 5, Gemini Spark 3, Hark 2 | The agent seems to be working but gives no timer, progress signal or reliable status, then hangs, freezes or quietly stops, so the user cannot tell how long to wait or whether anything is happening; slow work that shows clear progress and finishes is out. |
| Slow on-screen computer and browser control | 46 | 51 | Grok Bot 17, Muse 8, ChatGPT Dots 7, Hark 5, Hermes Agent 5, OpenClaw 3, Gemini Spark 1 | When the agent drives a browser or a virtual computer by clicking, typing, moving the mouse or connecting to a screen, each step is painfully slow and does not get faster with repetition; slow chat replies or slow back-end processing with no on-screen control are out. |
| Slowdown from accumulated context, memory and skills | 37 | 38 | Hermes Agent 14, OpenClaw 7, ChatGPT Dots 5, Grok Bot 5, Muse 4, Gemini Spark 1, Hark 1 | The agent gets slower the longer a session runs or the more memories, skills, data or chat history it collects, with lagging chat windows, slow session loading and ten-minute task runs; slowdowns that start with a software update are out. |
| Speed regression after an agent update | 34 | 34 | OpenClaw 17, Grok Bot 6, ChatGPT Dots 4, Hermes Agent 4, Muse 3 | Response or task times get much worse right after the user upgrades the agent or the provider ships a new version, even on the same model and setup; gradual slowdown from the user's own growing usage is out. |
| Messages delayed tens of minutes or hours | 29 | 32 | Grok Bot 9, OpenClaw 7, ChatGPT Dots 5, Hermes Agent 4, Muse 4 | Replies through the app or a linked messaging channel such as Telegram or WhatsApp arrive 10+ minutes, hours, or even a day after the user sent them, often for days on end, which makes the agent unusable; ordinary slowness of seconds to a couple of minutes is out. |
| Other | 75 | 77 | ChatGPT Dots 33, Grok Bot 15, Hermes Agent 7, Muse 7, Hark 6, OpenClaw 5, Gemini Spark 2 | Complaints that fit none of the modes above. |

#### Sluggish replies to simple conversational messages

- Grok Bot, 2026-10-17, Play Store (Play Store): “it's working very slowly. it takes a long time to respond to messages.” [source](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ai.x.grok.bot)
- Muse, 2026-10-17, @muse (X): “at this point my only gripe with muse is the delay in getting a response for basic questions. it has me using google when i need an on the spot question answered. @muse @meta @finkd” [source](https://twitter.com/1437797358859862020/status/2111588121980911749)
- Hark, 2026-10-16, @hark_labs (X): “@adcock_brett @altharbor @hark_labs having the same issue. even typing a message runs on a massive delay on safari.” [source](https://twitter.com/98923477/status/2111144877627244934)

#### Simple tasks running far longer than expected

- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-17, @NousResearch (X): “@nousresearch 5 hours later a 30min task still isnt done, holy fucking airball, is this the start of a downfall?” [source](https://twitter.com/917031602902982656/status/2111480725270679663)
- OpenClaw, 2026-10-17, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “@steipete @lx_t any tips when making bigger projects with openclaw? 1 week for 1 phase feels exhausting @steipete” [source](https://twitter.com/3438943031/status/2111369912434213222)
- Hark, 2026-10-17, @hark_labs (X): “@hark_labs welp it took about 10x longer than it would have to just order myself, but i appreciate the free dinner. incredible marketing nonetheless [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1446597771235106827/status/2111270201480159577)

#### Harness overhead slower than direct model use

- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-16, r/hermesagent (Reddit): “lm studios system prompt is tiny, hermes importants thousands of tokens worth in tools which makes it slower. caching could help but the first response will always be slow” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/hermesagent/comments/1x7gxyk/first_time_hermes_user_kinda_confusing_and/ph3zy3k/)
- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-16, ChatGPT Dots 실제 2주 사용 후기 #ai #비서 #자동화 #개발 #OpenAI (YouTube): “if you use hermes, you must have a server running 24 hours locally, but isn't it faster and more convenient to just have gpt do it locally?? after trying dots, i found it a bit slow, so i'm not sure if it's worth using this.” [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0by7kXqwXo4&lc=UgyVUNsURUdGOOM4zlt4AaABAg)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-10, r/hermesagent (Reddit): “ya same situation here, responses i get harnessing either claude or chatgpt on desktop are so much slower than either platform directly it’s insane” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/hermesagent/comments/1x2faxg/hermes_is_slow/pf1yjq0/)

#### Unpredictable waits and stalls during work

- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-09, ChatGPT Dots Is WAY More Powerful Than You Think (YouTube): “agree... also seems to be quite slow at getting things done, like it does something then takes a break 💁🏻♂️” [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXhOxfPECnM&lc=Ugz8sSwSNxJsjTODDqh4AaABAg.AbkS3sDVA-IAbkbXqzZrK4)
- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-09-30, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “franklin (my chatgpt dot) spoke for 3 mins total in this call. i asked it to make tiny edits on a 4 slide presentation 25 mins ago & it's apparently "still checking on it." [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/968885107103805441/status/2105342907133960329)
- Muse, 2026-09-28, @muse (X): “@muse @alexandr_wang ohh no i waited too long and it....timed out. where is this scary model/ai everyone is talking about? [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/996269221175799808/status/2104567356101968080)

#### Slow on-screen computer and browser control

- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-18, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “@chatgpt dots need a serious speed boost if they want to be competitive. the time between actions taken is excessively slow.” [source](https://twitter.com/1983668982956920832/status/2111857541701681211)
- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-12, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “the browsing speed of @openai #dots is so bad compared to @hark_labs . even @bot @grok is so slow . i dont understand why” [source](https://twitter.com/247897240/status/2109734281694384238)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-03, @bot (X): “@lingxi @poteto @bot direct api to grok imagine image and video generating. it’s so slow for thr bots to use their browser to do the work and repost” [source](https://twitter.com/809940234/status/2106378845817589986)

#### Slowdown from accumulated context, memory and skills

- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-11, r/hermesagent (Reddit): “> code-review-graph it remembering and analysing the codebase is less the issue than it getting through a session in a reasonable amount of time. i do small changes and if i don't specifically tell it to just beta it, it takes a ridiculous amount of time to get done.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/hermesagent/comments/1x2qwb7/those_who_code_with_hermes_how_are_you/pf6xii6/)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-09, r/hermesagent (Reddit): “all is in the title... it gets a little better after a hermes restart, but just creating a new session takes 2/3s, i get freezes loading medium length sessions etc. cpu is barely registering hermes so i don't know what it's doing...” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/hermesagent/comments/1x1ka5z/hermes_desktop_slow_as_hell/)
- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-08, r/ChatGPTDots (Reddit): “i guess it's no surprise that my "dot" seems a bit slow when handling a few simple tasks compared to when i reach out outside of its dot's interface. it’s likely due to everyone abusing the high usage!” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/ChatGPTDots/comments/1wzbkc7/the_secret_about_dots_is_it_uses_a_different/pekkhf5/)

#### Speed regression after an agent update

- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-01, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “can we get openai dots to work just a bit faster - love using it but seems to be a bit slower than i used to working with codex.” [source](https://twitter.com/1252363544/status/2105648297310351530)
- Muse, 2026-09-29, @muse (X): “what happened to @muse spark 1.3 the speed of it was real good and could get alot of work done! now it's just slow the speeds are not same anymore on opencode 20tok/s ? really ??” [source](https://twitter.com/1689951062684241920/status/2104842306667114953)
- OpenClaw, 2026-09-21, r/openclaw (Reddit): “guys i’ve been using open claw for months and after the update 9.5 it is taking around five minutes to start. anybody with something like that i do not have a special configuration.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/openclaw/comments/1wlyigq/is_it_me_or_openclaw_is_becoming_slow_to_start/)

#### Messages delayed tens of minutes or hours

- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-11, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “i tried to set up my own hermes agent. didn't take me that much time but i couldn't make it reply fast enough through telegram (openai sub behind). grok bot instantly solved most of my pain points. now i don't know if i should sacrifice my context for unmatched convenience” [source](https://twitter.com/1018208655827750913/status/2109341160409841795)
- OpenClaw, 2026-10-09, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “is openclaw good? i used it before and judged it to be unusable because the response was too slow, but is it better now?” [source](https://twitter.com/2076203315629801473/status/2108591760968675374)
- OpenClaw, 2026-10-05, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “spent the weekend making my mac mini m1 (8gb) run a local ai agent with openclaw. it actually replied to me on telegram… an hour later, but still. local ai magic. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/22977729/status/2107170610417991941)

#### Other

- Hark, 2026-10-17, @hark_labs (X): “@hark_labs this is going real bad. real bad. trying to see if this works for me then send some to family. man this is like…uhhhh….laggy and slow.” [source](https://twitter.com/1355291616718815232/status/2111257671005266061)
- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-16, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “@openai dots and sol are just so slow it's pathetic please improve that god damn” [source](https://twitter.com/2002411334865190913/status/2111232883063152738)
- Muse, 2026-10-15, Play Store (Play Store): “waaaay too slow sorry. we've gotten used to speedy stuff nowadays.” [source](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.facebook.aura)

## Top requests

What users ask to add or change, most asked first. 234 user-weeks ask for something. Requests do not change the Feedback Score. Rule: A separate pass by a large language model reads every counted post and extracts what the user asks the agent or its vendor to add or change, with the criteria it maps to and a short normalised wording; it does not touch the labels or the Feedback Score. A large language model groups the wordings within each criterion (the first criterion the request maps to) into themes, and a second pass merges themes that ask for the same change under different criteria; a merged theme sits under the criterion most of its requests map to, and code counts it once. A theme counts distinct user-weeks that ask for it, per agent; across agents, one user-week per agent. Themes asked in fewer than 2 user-weeks, and requests that share no theme, are not shown. Examples: up to 3 posts per theme from different users, without slurs: whole posts of 60 to 450 characters with at least 8 words beyond handles and links, posts of at most 280 characters first, then the newest.

| Rank | Request | User-weeks | Posts | Agents (user-weeks) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Faster general reply speed | 92 | 92 | Muse 40, Grok Bot 22, Hermes Agent 16, OpenClaw 8, ChatGPT Dots 3, Hark 3 |
| 2 | Faster, less laggy app | 38 | 40 | Hermes Agent 15, Grok Bot 10, Muse 7, OpenClaw 4, ChatGPT Dots 1, Hark 1 |
| 3 | Faster end-to-end task completion | 34 | 37 | ChatGPT Dots 8, Grok Bot 7, Hermes Agent 7, Muse 7, OpenClaw 3, Gemini Spark 1, Hark 1 |
| 4 | Instant call pickup without fake ringing | 20 | 20 | ChatGPT Dots 12, Grok Bot 5, Hermes Agent 3 |
| 5 | Ultrafast mode or faster model option | 10 | 10 | Hermes Agent 6, Grok Bot 2, Muse 2 |
| 6 | Faster replies over messaging channels | 8 | 9 | Grok Bot 3, Hermes Agent 3, OpenClaw 2 |
| 7 | Faster, reliable updates and startup | 7 | 7 | OpenClaw 4, Hermes Agent 3 |
| 8 | Faster tool and skill calls | 6 | 6 | Hermes Agent 4, Grok Bot 1, OpenClaw 1 |
| 9 | Faster speed with third-party model providers | 5 | 7 | Hermes Agent 4, OpenClaw 1 |
| 10 | Faster email and calendar tasks | 5 | 5 | Gemini Spark 2, Grok Bot 2, ChatGPT Dots 1 |
| 11 | Faster switching between bots and profiles | 4 | 4 | Hermes Agent 3, OpenClaw 1 |
| 12 | Consistent speed during peak usage | 3 | 3 | Grok Bot 3 |

### 1. Faster general reply speed

- Muse, 2026-10-13, App Store (App Store): “does its job, i would like it to be faster and to work across apps but well. it can’t be perfect…” [source](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/muse-from-meta/id6760173601)
- Muse, 2026-10-12, App Store (App Store): “it takes a long time to give a response, fix that or i'm going to chatgpt.” [source](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/muse-from-meta/id6760173601)
- Muse, 2026-10-10, @muse (X): “@jackfriks @muse hope @muse speeds this up. you and @satosh0xsol are my go-to finance accounts.” [source](https://twitter.com/1699631729617534976/status/2108917479062032772)

### 2. Faster, less laggy app

- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-12, r/hermesagent (Reddit): “please, make the chat interface…faster, smoother. now it always loads something, syncing something another. ux experience in telegram is much faster as for me. otherwise, the app is great.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/hermesagent/comments/1x3pfps/hermes_conduit_0117_update_your_agent_can_call/pffmrvz/)
- Hark, 2026-10-10, @hark_labs (X): “@adcock_brett loving @hark_labs but can we please have better performance on low end devices? it laggs a bit rn” [source](https://twitter.com/1289980460244713473/status/2108750508445794757)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-09, r/hermesagent (Reddit): “all is in the title... it gets a little better after a hermes restart, but just creating a new session takes 2/3s, i get freezes loading medium length sessions etc. cpu is barely registering hermes so i don't know what it's doing...” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/hermesagent/comments/1x1ka5z/hermes_desktop_slow_as_hell/)

### 3. Faster end-to-end task completion

- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-18, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “@chatgpt dots need a serious speed boost if they want to be competitive. the time between actions taken is excessively slow.” [source](https://twitter.com/1983668982956920832/status/2111857541701681211)
- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-16, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “@openai dots and sol are just so slow it's pathetic please improve that god damn” [source](https://twitter.com/2002411334865190913/status/2111232883063152738)
- Muse, 2026-10-11, App Store (App Store): “it worked book hotels but it was so slow i fell asleep a few times. changes name to slow mice” [source](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/muse-from-meta/id6760173601)

### 4. Instant call pickup without fake ringing

- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-16, Put your dot on call (YouTube): “it would be amazing if calls didn't take so long to connect or dots didn't suddenly lose access to your codex all the time. when integration isn't an issue, dots are really powerful” [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBOZIRK1ujw&lc=UgzzwlgbTYDmrMUlTQ14AaABAg)
- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-10, ChatGPT Dots Is WAY More Powerful Than You Think (YouTube): “i wish that the call didn’t ring 3 or 4 times. i was used to the voice mode that starts immediately.” [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXhOxfPECnM&lc=UgwfZspntayrj7ZAmnZ4AaABAg)
- ChatGPT Dots, 2026-10-09, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “my @chatgpt dot “call” rings 5x then fails my @grok @bot picks up within 1 sec and gets to work the fake phone call set up is a terrible product decision, especially when your “always on assistant” just… isn’t on? [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1756394384655003648/status/2108566954474938847)

### 5. Ultrafast mode or faster model option

- Muse, 2026-10-12, @muse (X): “if you promose this tok/sec @muse i will take 100 form claude and codex and give it to you. @alexandr_wang” [source](https://twitter.com/323839681/status/2109712719347904712)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-07, @NousResearch (X): “@nousresearch @wsj @nvidia @m12vc @samsungnext @robotventures @usv @ycombinator @menloventures @nousresearch hermes benefits from a large model but mobile needs speed. they might need distillation for the app to work well on phones.” [source](https://twitter.com/417508671/status/2107886053700837861)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-01, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “what we need to fix next with ai... ? inference speed. after using some of these other open source ai models with my hermes agent, i realize that the frontier models are simply too slow.” [source](https://twitter.com/234669170/status/2105637765610148199)

### 6. Faster replies over messaging channels

- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-11, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “i tried to set up my own hermes agent. didn't take me that much time but i couldn't make it reply fast enough through telegram (openai sub behind). grok bot instantly solved most of my pain points. now i don't know if i should sacrifice my context for unmatched convenience” [source](https://twitter.com/1018208655827750913/status/2109341160409841795)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-02, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “@elonmusk grok bot has been unusable for a week — 25-30 min message delays. reported via cursor ticket t-g23547 on sep 26, 4 follow-ups, no fix and no real response. paying users deserve better than silence.” [source](https://twitter.com/2074162920788033536/status/2105885740672365014)
- OpenClaw, 2026-09-30, @openclaw (X): “@openclaw anyone been able to get rid of the super slowwwww telegram responses? streaming mode specifically. the letters crawwwwllll when the agent is responding and it takes forever to get the reply.” [source](https://twitter.com/2007603234731634691/status/2105357579824333053)

### 7. Faster, reliable updates and startup

- OpenClaw, 2026-10-10, @openclaw (X): “@heyneighbor @openclaw every time there's a update it takes at least a hour to update and sort out not the best story. but a true one lol. other than that - i use a local model generate art prompts in comfyui” [source](https://twitter.com/1437260137/status/2109001780185235737)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-09-30, @NousResearch (X): “@mewwts @nousresearch updates takes 20 minutes if not crashed (crashes half of the time).” [source](https://twitter.com/1308155195961081856/status/2105118773300654207)
- OpenClaw, 2026-09-21, r/openclaw (Reddit): “guys i’ve been using open claw for months and after the update 9.5 it is taking around five minutes to start. anybody with something like that i do not have a special configuration.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/openclaw/comments/1wlyigq/is_it_me_or_openclaw_is_becoming_slow_to_start/)

### 8. Faster tool and skill calls

- Grok Bot, 2026-10-03, @bot (X): “@lingxi @elonmusk @bot tool calls done when talking with the bot are very slow.” [source](https://twitter.com/1367216960/status/2106343500048482695)
- OpenClaw, 2026-10-01, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “@nousresearch i think tool and skill calls are too slow there. journey with these types was openclaw(why this trash keeps crashing)>hermes(woah, this is what claw should have been)>opencode(whoa, why so fast)” [source](https://twitter.com/1642587862704029703/status/2105695009605579120)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-09-18, @NousResearch (X): “@tamarajtran @typesafeai @nousresearch guys can we have something similar for hermes agent? would love to fast tool calls and better context compaction handling 😎💪🏻” [source](https://twitter.com/754779383756390400/status/2100924164035219864)

### 9. Faster speed with third-party model providers

- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-09, r/hermesagent (Reddit): “same prompt in claude code takes 10 minutes, in hermes with claude sdk plugin it takes over 45 minutes” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/hermesagent/comments/1x1tpen/hermes_with_claude_plugin_sdk_is_5x_slower/pexlgd5/)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-07, @NousResearch (X): “one thing where grok bot wins hands down is the speed, it replies almost instantly. i assume it's because my hermes works via maple, so the reasoning and roundtrips take much longer. i hope this will improve, too. @trymapleai @nousresearch @bot” [source](https://twitter.com/2077320432852611072/status/2107770363874795800)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-10-07, @NousResearch (X): “@nousresearch the problem is that claude inside hermes is x5 slower than in claude code.” [source](https://twitter.com/1949552628213637120/status/2107742887245144393)

### 10. Faster email and calendar tasks

- Gemini Spark, 2026-09-26, X search: Gemini Spark (X): “i had gemini spark do a bulk review of my google calendar, but it was really slow and required approval every time i deleted an event, so i entrusted it to chatgpt work, and it did it quickly, showing a clear difference in capability.” [source](https://twitter.com/17202355/status/2103818012243677577)
- Gemini Spark, 2026-09-21, X search: Gemini Spark (X): “gemini spark is very slow, even correcting a detail in the calendar takes more than 1 minute, i probably wouldn't bother if i didn't use the pro version.” [source](https://twitter.com/1934256254886502400/status/2102125407642251270)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-12, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “@elonmusk speed on tasks. i've had @bot connected to gmail for a month now, trying to clean up 150k emails (foldering/archiving/unsubscribing/etc), and grokbot couldn't quickly work through those tasks. for example i was able to get my inbox is down from 150k emails to 123k emails by archiving in one month. i connected muse and went from 123k to 77k emails from an archiving sweep in one day” [source](https://twitter.com/321783167/status/2109724930871058550)

### 11. Faster switching between bots and profiles

- Hermes Agent, 2026-09-08, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “if you create a few more bots with hermes agent desktop, switching bots will take a long time, and i don't know if it's my computer's problem or an official bug. is it time to use grok bot? [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/790804453796352000/status/2097226641533534362)
- Hermes Agent, 2026-09-07, @NousResearch (X): “. @nousresearch switching between bots is very slow, takes 2 mins, and sometimes crashes [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/47919865/status/2096947325264437649)

### 12. Consistent speed during peak usage

- Grok Bot, 2026-10-03, @bot (X): “@lingxi @bot clearer error messages and a simple activity history would make troubleshooting much easier. faster responses during peak usage would also be a big win” [source](https://twitter.com/2096645431694675968/status/2106297895280664660)
- Grok Bot, 2026-10-03, @bot (X): “@lingxi @bot clearer error messages and a simple activity history would make troubleshooting much easier. faster responses during peak times would also be a big win” [source](https://twitter.com/2096647070291795968/status/2106297810224402770)

## Every agent

| Agent | Overall rank | Reading | Customer love | 95% interval | n | Praise | Complaint |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Muse](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/muse.md) | 1 | 1st of 7 | 0.661 | 0.627–0.690 | 629 | 440 | 189 |
| [Grok Bot](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/grok-bot.md) | 3 | 2nd of 7 | 0.591 | 0.561–0.624 | 456 | 262 | 194 |
| [Gemini Spark](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/gemini-spark.md) | 7 | 3rd of 7 | 0.496 | 0.480–0.512 | 33 | 16 | 17 |
| [Hark](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/hark.md) | 4 | 4th of 7 | 0.492 | 0.461–0.520 | 75 | 37 | 38 |
| [OpenClaw](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/openclaw.md) | 5 | 5th of 7 | 0.474 | 0.446–0.501 | 162 | 68 | 94 |
| [Hermes Agent](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/hermes-agent.md) | 2 | 6th of 7 | 0.421 | 0.389–0.450 | 301 | 116 | 185 |
| [ChatGPT Dots](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/dots.md) | 8 | 7th of 7 | 0.300 | 0.276–0.326 | 233 | 31 | 202 |
| [Instinct](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/instinct.md) | 6 | Too few posts | – | – | 8 | 5 | 3 |
| [Poke](https://feedbackbench.com/agents/poke.md) | 9 | Too few posts | – | – | 4 | 3 | 1 |

## Posts

Receipts rule: Up to 5 praise and 5 complaint posts per area and 3 per criterion. Each is a whole post of 60 to 450 characters (700 for areas) with at least 8 words beyond handles and links, that judges the criterion, whose labels are all praise or all complaint, and that contains no slur. Posts that touch the fewest criteria come first, then posts of at most 280 characters, then the newest. A second large language model reads the first 3 candidates per slot and keeps a post only if it clearly praises, or clearly complains about, the agent on that criterion. Links and personal details removed by the source show as marks such as [link].

### Muse

- Praise, 2026-10-17, App Store (App Store): “muse out paces all my other tools in speed and execution! i freaking love it.” [source](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/muse-from-meta/id6760173601)
- Praise, 2026-10-16, Play Store (Play Store): “you do everything perfectly 👌 you don't have any delays, i recommend you 👍” [source](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.facebook.aura)
- Praise, 2026-10-15, App Store (App Store): “during the passed two days i tried a lot of job, muse can help almost same as a true assistant . fast, professional , love it” [source](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/muse-from-meta/id6760173601)
- Complaint, 2026-10-17, @muse (X): “at this point my only gripe with muse is the delay in getting a response for basic questions. it has me using google when i need an on the spot question answered. @muse @meta @finkd” [source](https://twitter.com/1437797358859862020/status/2111588121980911749)
- Complaint, 2026-10-15, Play Store (Play Store): “waaaay too slow sorry. we've gotten used to speedy stuff nowadays.” [source](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.facebook.aura)
- Complaint, 2026-10-14, Play Store (Play Store): “works exceptionally well. the only con is that its responses are extremely slow.” [source](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.facebook.aura)

### Grok Bot

- Praise, 2026-10-17, @bot (X): “@elonmusk @bot clients, grok bot got 3x faster and our dough is still proofing at 1x. buffslice just filed a feature request with the oven. 🍕⚡” [source](https://twitter.com/147596655/status/2111266151342682281)
- Praise, 2026-10-17, @bot (X): “@bot 3x faster on computer tasks is the one i'll actually feel. that was the only slow part tbh” [source](https://twitter.com/25809846/status/2111310402218770472)
- Praise, 2026-10-17, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “it is soo strange. > grok normally feels slow asf when i use it here on x, or in the grok app. > grok bot answers the same things like 3x faster. have y’all completely given up on grok inside of grok bot, or are you running a custom version of grok on different chips in bot?” [source](https://twitter.com/2914778029/status/2111379038489211162)
- Complaint, 2026-10-17, Play Store (Play Store): “it's working very slowly. it takes a long time to respond to messages.” [source](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ai.x.grok.bot)
- Complaint, 2026-10-14, X search: Grok Bot, Grokbot, x.ai/bot (X): “have you ever tried that all websites are very fast, but grok bot is particularly slow? 🥵” [source](https://twitter.com/1714118603631714304/status/2110448031887933708)
- Complaint, 2026-10-13, r/GrokBot (Reddit): “thanks man, that worked. although the app is very slow tonight, not sure what’s going on” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/GrokBot/comments/1x4iwd5/help_can_anybody_figure_out_why_the_button_is/pge4lb3/)

### Gemini Spark

- Praise, 2026-09-28, X search: Gemini Spark (X): “@jack_fluxai gemini spark is also very fast h645eu fresh, and there are 29 times left, thank you!” [source](https://twitter.com/87933367/status/2104545693478346978)
- Praise, 2026-09-23, X search: Gemini Spark (X): “@alin_zone it's very simple, just use gemini spark to open it, it opens in seconds.” [source](https://twitter.com/2086728400920780800/status/2102762971504238655)
- Praise, 2026-10-07, X search: Gemini Spark (X): “mr. gemini spark is really good. what took several days with mr. dot was accomplished in about 2 hours. it was also significant that i had already established a form through trial and error with mr. dot, but the work is fast because he doesn't get caught up in the details like mr. gpt-6. after all, it seems that mr. gemini spark is quite a match for my work.” [source](https://twitter.com/1291941951386746881/status/2107840133563376124)
- Complaint, 2026-09-26, X search: Gemini Spark (X): “i am using something called gemini spark for the first time in a while, but it seems to be taking quite a long time to think... ?” [source](https://twitter.com/53900587/status/2103643383017443428)
- Complaint, 2026-09-24, X search: Gemini Spark (X): “now i understand why google never marketed gemini spark as meta did with muse, because...... . . . . spark is useless. it thinks for hours, if this much thinking google employees have done then gemini 3.5 pro would have released on time. @joshwoodward” [source](https://twitter.com/1160020922394402816/status/2103132328692482302)
- Complaint, 2026-09-13, X search: Gemini Spark (X): “#gemini spark while repeatedly using the skill to load and process many documents in geminispark, the processing time until the response has become extremely long and it has become unusable. what should i do?” [source](https://twitter.com/71081619/status/2099054374429528206)

### Hark

- Praise, 2026-10-12, @hark_labs (X): “wow @hark_labs is impressive first time trying a personal agent and it already saved me 30 min incredibly fast !! [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/2042187467596451842/status/2109694204922200277)
- Praise, 2026-10-12, @hark_labs (X): “the browsing speed of @openai #dots is so bad compared to @hark_labs . even @bot @grok is so slow . i dont understand why” [source](https://twitter.com/247897240/status/2109734281694384238)
- Praise, 2026-10-12, X search: Hark Pro, hark.com, Hark AI (X): “i really like @cueagents, it had a nice charm to it! and it's quite capable. but it is slower at tasks than grok bot and hark pro (tested). would like to see speed improvements particularly to how it uses its browser [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/2108261841109499904/status/2109552103177834630)
- Complaint, 2026-10-17, @hark_labs (X): “@hark_labs this is going real bad. real bad. trying to see if this works for me then send some to family. man this is like…uhhhh….laggy and slow.” [source](https://twitter.com/1355291616718815232/status/2111257671005266061)
- Complaint, 2026-10-17, @hark_labs (X): “@hark_labs welp it took about 10x longer than it would have to just order myself, but i appreciate the free dinner. incredible marketing nonetheless [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1446597771235106827/status/2111270201480159577)
- Complaint, 2026-10-16, @hark_labs (X): “@adcock_brett @altharbor @hark_labs having the same issue. even typing a message runs on a massive delay on safari.” [source](https://twitter.com/98923477/status/2111144877627244934)

### OpenClaw

- Praise, 2026-10-17, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “when i interacted with nemotron 3.5 super vl on openclaw via discord while going out, the responses came back in a few seconds, so there are no problems. in everyday conversations, i am not kept waiting with thinking, and the balance is good.” [source](https://twitter.com/120739135/status/2111282685536768511)
- Praise, 2026-10-06, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “after updating macos, the response of openclaw has become much faster, is there something that happened?” [source](https://twitter.com/1151506144801611776/status/2107474814835568953)
- Praise, 2026-10-05, @openclaw (X): “@marcusyul @openclaw 1:24 minutes, this is fast. like really fast this would probably take about 2 minutes in codex lmao” [source](https://twitter.com/1482490355362709507/status/2107163931236356154)
- Complaint, 2026-10-17, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “@steipete @lx_t any tips when making bigger projects with openclaw? 1 week for 1 phase feels exhausting @steipete” [source](https://twitter.com/3438943031/status/2111369912434213222)
- Complaint, 2026-10-13, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “it's frustrating that everything is slow when running openclaw on raspberry pi 4.” [source](https://twitter.com/1670060377881866240/status/2109994508096323847)
- Complaint, 2026-10-09, X search: OpenClaw, openclaw.ai (X): “is openclaw good? i used it before and judged it to be unusable because the response was too slow, but is it better now?” [source](https://twitter.com/2076203315629801473/status/2108591760968675374)

### Hermes Agent

- Praise, 2026-10-18, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “the q4_k_xl of that guy took about 7 minutes to prefill until the first token with opencode, so i was planning to drop it to iq3_s, but when i accidentally used q4_k_xl with hermes agent, the prefill was reasonably fast. opencode is light, and hermes is not necessarily heavy.” [source](https://twitter.com/1468029800832897026/status/2111628422770536836)
- Praise, 2026-10-17, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “@doooyle thank you so much, did the same with my hermes agent, and its sooooooo much faster. thank you so much!” [source](https://twitter.com/1158480008626737159/status/2111551257387356420)
- Praise, 2026-10-14, X search: Hermes Agent, hermes-agent, Hermes Desktop (X): “i typed the /compress command in the same chat that was heavy (hermes desktop) and boom! i was blown away by the result. the chat speed went from 50 minutes to 5 to 10 minutes and it's not slow anymore 😅 [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/2072811975000670208/status/2110312843287421247)
- Complaint, 2026-10-17, @NousResearch (X): “@nousresearch 5 hours later a 30min task still isnt done, holy fucking airball, is this the start of a downfall?” [source](https://twitter.com/917031602902982656/status/2111480725270679663)
- Complaint, 2026-10-16, r/hermesagent (Reddit): “lm studios system prompt is tiny, hermes importants thousands of tokens worth in tools which makes it slower. caching could help but the first response will always be slow” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/hermesagent/comments/1x7gxyk/first_time_hermes_user_kinda_confusing_and/ph3zy3k/)
- Complaint, 2026-10-15, r/hermesagent (Reddit): “looking for a polished android alternative. i have tried hermes relay, but i had to wait up to 30 seconds for a response.” [source](https://www.reddit.com/r/hermesagent/comments/1x5ynry/realtime_voice_with_hermes_agent_selfhosted/pgutz5k/)

### ChatGPT Dots

- Praise, 2026-10-14, OpenAI Dots: ИИ, которому больше не нужно все объяснять? Новый способ работать с AI (YouTube): “dots works quickly. mostly i use dots for short questions and for managing/monitoring other chats. but it seems to me that i haven't fully explored dots yet. i've been working with it for a few days!” [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gs2oOsi18Pg&lc=Ugy1GNSSAuHbDf411T54AaABAg)
- Praise, 2026-10-07, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “chatgpt dots responds to our instructions at lightning speed and then works, so it feels like i'm in the position of the boss in a consulting simulation.” [source](https://twitter.com/265149665/status/2107830959064437232)
- Praise, 2026-09-30, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “this openai dots thing is fast, contextually aware right off the bat, and remarkedly fun. so far impressed! [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/36108586/status/2105209269687812402)
- Complaint, 2026-10-18, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “@chatgpt dots need a serious speed boost if they want to be competitive. the time between actions taken is excessively slow.” [source](https://twitter.com/1983668982956920832/status/2111857541701681211)
- Complaint, 2026-10-16, X search: ChatGPT dots, ChatGPT dot, OpenAI dots, OpenAI's dot (X): “@openai dots and sol are just so slow it's pathetic please improve that god damn” [source](https://twitter.com/2002411334865190913/status/2111232883063152738)
- Complaint, 2026-10-16, ChatGPT Dots 실제 2주 사용 후기 #ai #비서 #자동화 #개발 #OpenAI (YouTube): “if you use hermes, you must have a server running 24 hours locally, but isn't it faster and more convenient to just have gpt do it locally?? after trying dots, i found it a bit slow, so i'm not sure if it's worth using this.” [source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0by7kXqwXo4&lc=UgyVUNsURUdGOOM4zlt4AaABAg)

### Instinct

- Praise, 2026-10-15, X search: Instinct AI, Instinct personal assistant, instinct.com (X): “but man @elonmusk , i tried @bot , it spent half of my free tier tokens just to set it up whereas @muse and instinct ai have been super quick working for me and are so cost effecient!” [source](https://twitter.com/1973249560135999490/status/2110611971624309156)
- Praise, 2026-09-20, X search: Instinct AI, Instinct personal assistant, instinct.com (X): “tried instinct ai and i'm impressed how easy and useful for day to day tasks it is. also pretty fast” [source](https://twitter.com/99634772/status/2101700196908281937)
- Praise, 2026-09-09, X search: Instinct AI, Instinct personal assistant, instinct.com (X): “texting with my instinct ai agent is the first time i have interacted with an ai tool that feels like i am speaking with a human. it is both cool, weird and slightly scary. just the little things it does like reacting to certain text with emojis make it feel very human. the only thing that makes it not feel like a human is how crazy fast it replies to everything.” [source](https://twitter.com/14979845/status/2097782852200825234)

### Poke

- Praise, 2026-10-09, @interaction (X): “one reason why i use imessage agents like @interaction instinct for daily stuff is the launch time. the chatgpt app takes like forever to boot and by that time i have already sent that message in imessage. and also the responses are shorter and quicker. [link]” [source](https://twitter.com/1094982196417318913/status/2108448669313675457)