OpenAI is rolling out a new integration for its ChatGPT app on Mac , giving the AI assistant the ability to work with Apple’s Messages app . Through a new add-on, ChatGPT can search for content from conversations, analyze messages, prepare replies , and, with user approval, send messages to contacts .
The new feature essentially attempts to transform ChatGPT from a question and text creation tool into a more active digital assistant, capable of performing everyday tasks through computer applications.
How the new integration works
The Messages plugin is available through the corresponding ChatGPT plugins section and is located in the Public. After installing it, the user can ask ChatGPT to utilize information found in their conversations.
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For example, you can ask it to look at your calendar and suggest available times for a dinner date, then use Messages to prepare a response to a specific contact. It can also search for past conversations, identify birthdays , or flag messages that look like spam.
The capability is not limited to iMessage alone. ChatGPT can access iMessage, SMS, and RCS, significantly expanding the amount of data available for searching and processing.
Sending messages requires approval
One of the most important elements of the new feature concerns the control the user maintains over sending messages. By default, each sending attempt requires user approval, so that ChatGPT cannot autonomously communicate with contacts without prior confirmation.
OpenAI even recommends not enabling permanent approval permission. This option is particularly important, as a misinterpretation of a conversation by an AI system could otherwise result in a message being sent to the wrong recipient or with inappropriate content.
Increased Mac access requirements
This integration requires quite extensive permissions on macOS. To work, ChatGPT needs Full Disk Access, while also requiring access to contact names and automation tools.
This requirement highlights an important issue surrounding AI agents: the more actions they can perform on behalf of the user, the more permissions they need in the operating system. This creates a delicate balance between convenience and security.
For the user, therefore, it is not enough to just consider what ChatGPT can do. It is equally important to know what data and applications it has been given access to.
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AppleScript and Accessibility in the spotlight
While it is not known whether Apple was involved in the development of the add-on, its operation on Mac relies on technologies such as AppleScript and Accessibility permissions . Through these, ChatGPT can interact with elements of the Messages app and perform automated actions.
This approach is of particular interest, as it shows how modern AI applications can leverage the existing automation capabilities of an operating system, without necessarily requiring deep integration into the core of the application itself.
The timing is interesting
The new partnership comes at a time when Apple and OpenAI are embroiled in a legal battle, with Apple suing OpenAI over alleged trade secret theft. However, there is no indication that this integration is the product of a formal collaboration between the two companies.
Who can use it?
The feature is available in the ChatGPT Work and Codex of the Mac app and does not work in standard ChatGPT conversations. OpenAI says it is available to all users with Macs running Apple Silicon.
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The evolution points in a broader direction: ChatGPT is no longer limited to answering questions, but attempts to function as a digital agent that understands the work environment and performs actions on it. The next big challenge will be to combine this automation with adequate security controls and clear user control.
