Now you can more easily use ChatGPT on your Mac. OpenAI’s popular AI chatbot is available to all macOS users, the company announced Tuesday. The app was first announced ahead of Apple’s WWDC 2024 in June, where the companies jointly announced integrations between OpenAI’s chatbot and Apple’s iPhone, iPad and Mac operating systems.
On the latter platform, users can quickly call ChatGPT using the Option + Space keyboard combination after installing the new ChatGPT app.
This makes accessing the AI chatbot something that will feel instantly familiar to macOS users who regularly use other keyboard shortcuts like Command + Space to bring up a search bar to access Spotlight Search. But instead of more traditional searching, they’ll have access to a wider world of knowledge, just a button away. Once launched, ChatGPT appears as a chat interface that overlays the top of the screen.
The release of OpenAI’s macOS app was overshadowed a bit at the time of the initial announcement, as it arrived alongside GPT-4o, the flagship AI model that promises 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 desktop application of ChatGPT was announced on same press release, as a new app for both free and paid users. The company noted at the time that it could be called with a simple keyboard shortcut, and users could also take and discuss screenshots directly in the app. Users can also upload files and other photos through the macOS app, as well as talk to ChatGPT from their desktop and search their past conversations.
The app has been slow to roll out to Mac users, starting with Plus subscribers, but today the company announced to posting on 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 expansive deal that will also give Apple customers access to ChatGPT from their iPhones and iPads, including through Siri and other areas that could be assisted by artificial intelligence, such as Writing Tools. These integrations are also powered by GPT-4o and will be released to Apple customers later this year with the release of Apple’s newest operating systems.
