OpenAI Expands ChatGPT with Desktop App Integrations for Mac and Windows Users

OpenAI has rolled out desktop versions of ChatGPT. The aim? To help users incorporate ChatGPT into their daily tasks more seamlessly.

Recent updates for both Mac OS and Windows versions encourage users to do more within the app. For some Mac OS users, there's now the ability to open third-party applications directly from ChatGPT. This feature is available to ChatGPT Plus and Teams subscribers, with ChatGPT Enterprise and Edu users getting access soon.

Think of it like this: you can now access tools like VS Code, Xcode, Terminal, and iTerm2 right from a dropdown menu in the app. This integration is similar to what GitHub Copilot announced for coding platforms back in October.

Alexander Embiricos, who leads the ChatGPT desktop team, shared some insights. He mentioned that many users often copy and paste text or code generated by ChatGPT into other applications. Embiricos was previously the CEO of Multi, a collaboration startup that OpenAI acquired in June.

He stated, “We wanted to start integrating with development environments because we know many of our users are developers. We saw a lot of text being copied from the app to other platforms.”

Privacy is a big concern for OpenAI. Embiricos assured that third-party apps will only open when users choose to do so.

When users want to code, they can simply select VS Code from ChatGPT. Once they do, VS Code opens up with the same code they were working on. Theoretically, users can have multiple apps open while using ChatGPT on Mac.

Right now, this third-party app integration is exclusive to Mac OS. However, Embiricos confirmed that PC users will also get this feature eventually. OpenAI plans to add more apps in the future, too.

The Windows version of the ChatGPT desktop app is now available for all users after a limited release for subscribers. Along with expanding the user base, OpenAI has updated the PC app to include Advanced Voice Mode and screenshot features.

Embiricos noted that customers have been asking for Advanced Voice Mode on desktop for a while. So, they focused on making that happen for the PC app. The screenshot feature will allow users to choose which windows to capture, taking advantage of specific Windows capabilities.

“ChatGPT can understand what you describe, but if you add a photo to your chat, its responses become richer. Many users copy-paste images into ChatGPT, so adding a screenshot option makes that process easier,” he explained.

Most features from the Mac OS app will also come to the PC version. However, Embiricos emphasized that the team prioritized making the PC app widely available first.

Chat interfaces like ChatGPT have proven to be incredibly useful. Before desktop versions, users had to visit a website to generate text, code, or images. Then, they had to transfer responses to the applications where they were actually working.

It makes sense that companies like OpenAI want to capture more of their customer base by streamlining workflows right within their interface.

GitHub has done this well with its integrations with VS Code and Xcode. Meanwhile, Anthropic’s Claude doesn’t integrate with third-party apps, but it created Artifacts so users can see what their generated web pages look like without going elsewhere. OpenAI followed suit with Canvas, which works similarly.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has also jumped in. They recently integrated their Q Developer AI assistant into popular IDEs like Visual Studio Code and JetBrains, allowing users to get in-line suggestions and code completion without switching screens.

App integration isn’t new in the software world. Many companies collaborate to bring services closer to where users need them. For example, Slack includes apps from Zoom, Atlassian, Asana, and Google, making it easy for users to access these tools in one place.