Using ChatGPT on your Mac computer just got easier: OpenAI's popular AI chatbot is now available to all macOS users, the company announced on Tuesday. The app was first announced ahead of Apple's WWDC 2024 in June, where the two companies jointly announced the integration of OpenAI's chatbot with Apple's operating systems for iPhone, iPad and Mac.
On the latter platform, after installing the new ChatGPT app, users can quickly invoke ChatGPT using the Option + Space keyboard combination.
This makes accessing the AI chatbot instantly familiar to Mac OS users who frequently use other keyboard shortcuts such as Command+Space to pop up the search bar and access Spotlight search. However, instead of a traditional search, a much broader world of knowledge becomes accessible at the touch of a button. Once launched, ChatGPT appears as an overlaid chat interface on your screen.
The release of OpenAI's macOS app was somewhat overshadowed when it was originally announced, as it was released at the same time as the company's flagship generative AI model, GPT-4o, which promises greater intelligence, including the ability to process video as well as text and voice. (Its multimodal capabilities and media understanding abilities give the AI model its name, with the “o” standing for “omni.”)
ChatGPT's desktop app was announced in the same press release as a new app for free and paid users. The company said at the time that the app can be invoked with a simple keyboard shortcut and that users can also take screenshots and discuss directly within the app. Users can also upload files and other photos via the macOS app, talk to ChatGPT from their desktop, and search past conversations.
The app has been gradually rolling out to Mac users, starting with Plus subscribers, but today the company announced in an X post that it's now available to everyone.
This isn't OpenAI's only integration with Apple devices. At WWDC, the companies announced a broader agreement that will give Apple customers access to ChatGPT on their iPhones and iPads, including in Siri and other areas where AI can help, like writing tools. These integrations, also powered by GPT-4o, will roll out to Apple customers with the release of Apple's latest operating system later this year.