OpenAI has launched an Apple Messages plugin that allows ChatGPT users on Mac to search conversations, review missed messages, draft responses, and send replies through Apple’s Messages app. The integration is currently available through ChatGPT Work and Codex on desktop, extending the company’s push to make ChatGPT more useful for everyday communication and computer-based tasks. OpenAI presented the feature as a way to help users catch up on conversations and handle routine messaging without repeatedly switching between applications.
Messaging Through ChatGPT
Once enabled, the plugin can draw on a user’s Messages history when the user specifically asks ChatGPT to search or review conversations. A demonstration shared by OpenAI showed ChatGPT checking messages from the previous day, identifying a conversation that needed a follow-up, drafting a response, and presenting it for review before sending. The feature can therefore act as an interface between the user and Apple Messages, helping organize communication while keeping the user involved in the final action.
Permissions and User Control
The integration is opt-in and requires several macOS permissions before ChatGPT can access Messages data. Users must authorize access to their on-device message history, grant Full Disk Access through System Settings, and allow access to contact names and automation capabilities needed for the plugin to operate. These steps make activation deliberate rather than automatic, while also giving the software broad access that users must consider before turning the feature on.
Privacy Questions
OpenAI says the plugin does not create an index of a user’s texts and does not read message threads unless the user explicitly asks ChatGPT to use that information. The company has also said the Messages integration runs locally on the Mac, with message content handled on the device rather than automatically being stored on OpenAI’s servers. OpenAI told Engadget that messages are not sent on a user’s behalf without approval, emphasizing that the plugin was designed to keep control of personal communications with the user.
A Broader Desktop Strategy
The Apple Messages plugin fits into OpenAI’s broader effort to connect ChatGPT with applications and information stored on personal computers. By allowing the assistant to retrieve conversational context and prepare responses, OpenAI is moving ChatGPT beyond question answering toward software that can help complete practical tasks across desktop workflows. The Messages integration is particularly notable because private conversations can contain sensitive personal information, making permission design, transparency, and user control central to how the feature is received.
Apple Relationship Adds Context
The launch also comes against a more complicated backdrop between Apple and OpenAI, despite the companies previously working together to integrate ChatGPT into Apple operating systems. Media reports have highlighted uncertainty over whether Apple was directly involved in developing the new Messages plugin, while Apple has historically maintained tight control over access to iMessage and related services. The companies are also involved in a legal dispute filed in July, adding another layer of scrutiny to a feature that connects OpenAI’s software with one of Apple’s core communications products.
OpenAI’s Apple Messages plugin gives ChatGPT a more direct role in personal communication by allowing users to search conversations, catch up on messages, draft replies, and send approved responses from a Mac. Its usefulness will depend not only on convenience but also on whether users are comfortable granting the permissions required for an AI assistant to interact with private message histories. For OpenAI, the release marks another step toward making ChatGPT an action-oriented desktop assistant, while placing privacy, trust, and platform control at the center of the feature’s adoption.
Source: Bloomberg