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Thanks to the ChatGPT app for macOS, you can now launch ChatGPT from any window on your Mac and use voice mode. OpenAI has also added some media attachment options to the app that aren’t available on the website, such as screenshots and access to the webcam.

I’ve been using the ChatGPT desktop app for some time now, and despite my first impressions, it’s clear that it’s better than the website version of ChatGPT in almost every way.

How to get ChatGPT for macOS

macOS, iOS, and Android are the only operating systems that have a native ChatGPT app so far. OpenAI says it will provide apps for other platforms in the future, but hasn’t announced when. While you can get the official app for Android and iOS from their respective app stores, there is no version of the ChatGPT app for the Mac App Store yet. Therefore, you should avoid ChatGPT apps on the Mac App Store, as they are likely to be reskins or knockoffs.

The only way to get the macOS app is to subscribe to ChatGPT Plus/Team and download the app’s dmg file from the OpenAI website. For those who don’t understand why they should keep their subscription now that GPT-4o is free, this is just one of the reasons to keep paying for ChatGPT Plus.

After you have purchased a Plus or Team subscription, follow these steps:

1. Go to chatgpt.com and make sure you are logged into your premium account.
2. Click on your profile icon in the top right corner.
3. Choose Download the macOS and select Download when the command prompt appears
4. Run the dmg file from Finder and install ChatGPT.

Of course, after installation, you should log in with your Plus or Team account to access the desktop app.

You get the voice mode and the launcher

The desktop app offers a few additional features compared to the website, but the two strongest and most noticeable are the voice mode and the launcher.

If you use ChatGPT on your phone, you’re probably already familiar with Voice Mode. It lets you speak to ChatGPT using your voice while it replies and transcribes the entire conversation. You can enable it on your Mac by clicking the headphone button on the right side of the input field.

However, the launcher is a unique feature of macOS that allows you to use a shortcut (Possibility + Space) to open a small prompt box. Type in your queries and you can reach ChatGPT anywhere on your Mac. I’ve become pretty addicted to it and that’s the only reason I now use the desktop app instead of the website.

The ChatGPT app can also access your Apple photo library, take screenshots and use the webcam

In addition to the two major features, the voice mode and the launcher, a few other useful features of the Mac app stand out from the website. OpenAI has taken advantage of the direct permissions that an app can have on macOS and expanded the options for uploading media.

Apple users are familiar with the dichotomy between photos in the Photo Library (which is synced across all your devices via the Photos app) and images stored in Files (iOS) or Finder (macOS). The website only lets you upload files and images from the latter, but the ChatGPT app can access your Photo Library directly, allowing you to filter it better.

You can also give the app permission to take screenshots and automatically upload them to the chat. This feature is very useful for quickly analyzing text on your screen. Finally, with appropriate permission, the app can also use your webcam, which can be useful for quick photos of documents.

All these media features can be found in the attachment menu on the left side of the input field, both in the launcher and in the app. Just click paperclip symbol, and all media options will be displayed in the small menu. Of course, you need to grant ChatGPT the appropriate permissions when using it for the first time.

Is it worth using the ChatGPT desktop version?

Aside from the launcher, the desktop version of ChatGPT is similar to the Android and iOS versions. Also, taking photos and handling media (on a small scale) is much easier on a phone than on a computer. However, some of these features were not available on the desktop, and this app has fixed the problem.

While we wait for the new enhanced speech mode with image processing and the ability to read the screen, these media features lay the groundwork for a rudimentary version. They are certainly intended as preparation for the speech mode that OpenAI is planning in the future.

For now, however, the launcher remains the strongest argument for the desktop app. The convenience of being able to launch ChatGPT from anywhere on your Mac is a strong argument. If you use ChatGPT on a daily basis, you will save a lot of time and your computer’s resources.