OpenAI Launches ChatGPT Desktop Apps with Third-Party Integration for Mac and Windows Users

OpenAI has rolled out desktop versions of ChatGPT. The aim? To help users integrate ChatGPT into their daily routines. Recent updates for both Mac OS and Windows are designed to encourage users to make the most of these apps.

For Mac OS users, there’s exciting news. You can now open third-party applications directly from the ChatGPT app. If you're a ChatGPT Plus or Teams subscriber, you’ll soon gain access to tools like VS Code, Xcode, Terminal, and iTerm2 through a handy dropdown menu.

This kind of integration is reminiscent of GitHub Copilot’s recent moves in coding platforms.

Alexander Embiricos, the product lead for the ChatGPT desktop team, noted a key behavior among users. Many people were copy-pasting text or code generated by ChatGPT into other applications. Embiricos previously led a screen sharing and collaboration startup that OpenAI acquired.

He shared, “We wanted to integrate with development environments because we noticed a lot of our customers are developers. They were often copying text from our app to other platforms.”

Privacy was a priority during this integration process. Third-party apps will only open when you choose to do so.

When you’re ready to code, just select VS Code from the ChatGPT app. It will open up with the exact code you were working on. Embiricos mentioned that, in theory, you could have several third-party apps running while using ChatGPT on your Mac.

Currently, this third-party app integration is exclusive to Mac OS. But don’t worry—PC users will get this feature soon. OpenAI also plans to expand the number of available applications.

For Windows users, the ChatGPT desktop app is now available for everyone. This follows a limited release for subscribers. Along with this wider access, OpenAI has added features like Advanced Voice Mode and screenshot capabilities to the PC app.

Embiricos highlighted that many customers had been asking for Advanced Voice Mode on desktop for a while. They focused on this feature for the PC version. The screenshot feature will also take advantage of specific Windows capabilities, allowing you to choose which windows to capture.

“ChatGPT can understand your descriptions, but adding a photo makes its responses richer. We see many users pasting photos into ChatGPT, so the screenshot option simplifies that,” Embiricos explained.

Many features from the Mac OS app will also come to the PC version. However, the team prioritized making the PC app widely accessible first.

Chat interfaces like ChatGPT have proven useful for many users. Before desktop versions, people had to visit a website to generate text, code, or images. Then they would transfer those responses to other applications for their work.

It’s clear why companies like OpenAI want to streamline workflows within their interface.

GitHub has made this integration possible with its tools for VS Code and Xcode. Anthropic’s Claude doesn’t integrate with third-party apps but has created Artifacts to allow users to see their generated web pages without switching platforms. OpenAI has a similar feature called Canvas.

Meanwhile, Amazon Web Services (AWS) has integrated its Q Developer AI assistant into popular IDEs like Visual Studio Code and JetBrains. This allows users to get in-line suggestions and code completion without toggling between screens.

App integration isn’t new in software. Many companies collaborate to bring services directly to users. For example, Slack includes apps from Zoom, Atlassian, Asana, and Google, allowing users to access these tools right within a chat window.