You can now operate ChatGPT more easily on your Mac. Popular AI chatbot OpenAI is available to all macOS users, the company announced on Tuesday. The app was first announced ahead of Apple’s WWDC 2024 conference in June, where the companies jointly announced the integration of the OpenAI chatbot with Apple’s operating systems for iPhone, iPad and Mac.
On the latter platform, users can quickly invoke ChatGPT using the Option + Spacebar key combination after installing the novel ChatGPT application.
This will make accessing the AI chatbot immediately familiar to macOS users who regularly operate other keyboard shortcuts such as Command + Spacebar to bring up the search bar and access Spotlight search. But instead of a more established search, they will have access to a wider world of knowledge at the touch of a button. When you launch ChatGPT, it appears as a chat interface overlaid on the top of the screen.
OpenAI’s macOS app launch was somewhat overshadowed at the time of its original announcement, as it came alongside GPT-4o, a flagship generative AI model that provides more advanced intelligence, including the ability to handle not only text and speech, but also video. (Its multimodal capabilities and ability to understand media give the AI model its name; the “o” stands for “omni”).
The ChatGPT desktop application was announced in the same press release, as a novel app for both free and paid users. The company then noted that it can be invoked with a elementary keyboard shortcut, and users can also take and discuss screenshots directly within the app. Users can also transfer files and other photos through the macOS app, as well as chat with ChatGPT on their computer and search their past conversations.
The app has been slowly rolled out to Mac users, starting with Plus subscribers, but today the company announced wa write to X that it is now available to everyone.
This is not the only integration of OpenAI with Apple devices. At WWDC, the companies announced a more comprehensive deal in which Apple customers will have access to ChatGPT from their iPhones and iPads, including through Siri and in other areas where AI can be assisted, such as writing tools. These integrations are also supported by GPT-4o and will be available to Apple customers later this year with the launch of Apple’s latest operating systems.