The Free ChatGPT App for Mac Is Actually Pretty Cool
When OpenAI first released the ChatGPT app for Mac , it was exclusive to ChatGPT Plus subscribers. Unless you paid $20 a month, you had to use the web app or an app on your smartphone . However, as of Tuesday, the Mac app became free for everyone. And honestly, you should probably give it a try.
At first glance, the OpenAI Mac app offers the usual ChatGPT experience you’re used to. When you log in, you’ll find all your previous conversations saved in the sidebar, just like on the web and mobile apps. You can enter clues into the text field, use the microphone button to ask questions by voice, and click the headphones icon to enter voice mode. (Note, this is not “Her Voice” mode: that feature has been delayed .) You can also use features like temporary chats (conversations that are not retrieved from your chat history), change the GPT model, generate images using DALL-E and access GPT .
Better experience than web app
But there are some Mac features that make this particular application worth using over the Internet. First, in addition to uploading files and photos to ChatGPT, you can take a screenshot of any open window on your Mac right from the app. If you click the paperclip icon and select Take Screenshot , you can select the active window from a pop-up list to share with ChatGPT. (The first time you do this, you’ll need to grant the ChatGPT app screen recording access.)
Alternatively, you can take a screenshot of the window manually and then share it to ChatGPT as an image, but this skips a step and makes the bot more integrated with macOS.
But what is even more convenient, in my opinion, is the ChatGPT “launcher”. Essentially, this launcher is Spotlight search, but for ChatGPT. Using a keyboard shortcut, you can bring up the ChatGPT text box right above whatever window you’re currently using on macOS to start a conversation with the bot. You will then be taken to the app to continue your conversation. Essentially, this saves you the hassle of leaving your current application and starting a new thread in ChatGPT; If you see something on your Mac that you want to know more about, you can press Option+Spacebar, type your query, and get started.
This launcher also has the same paperclip icon as the app itself, which means you can upload files and take screenshots directly from the shortcut. If you are an experienced ChatGPT user, you should like this launcher. (I don’t even use ChatGPT that often, and I really like it.)
Unfortunately, OpenAI makes the ChatGPT app available only on M-series Macs, machines running an Apple processor. If you have an older Intel-based Mac, you will still need to go to the web app to use ChatGPT on your computer.
If you have a Mac with an M1 chip or newer, you can download the app from the OpenAI download site .