OpenAI
We’re all eagerly anticipating Apple’s big foray into AI, but Macs have now received their own boost in AI capabilities thanks to OpenAI. As part of its extensive spring update, OpenAI announced that its ChatGPT Mac desktop app would soon be launched, featuring some AI capabilities that are eerily similar to Microsoft’s aspirations with Copilot.
Living within a web browser, ChatGPT lacks context regarding anything else happening on your computer. However, with a desktop app, the chatbot can gain access to other elements on the screen. In the demonstration, it opened the desktop app alongside another software application. Just like Copilot, ChatGPT could be asked about what else is on the screen. This endows ChatGPT with enhanced capabilities and a greater sense of context.
It’s important to note that as of now, this desktop app will be available exclusively on the Mac, presumably because Windows already has Copilot.
Copilot, of course, takes things to the next level with the Copilot Pro suite, which has been integrated into numerous Microsoft’s first-party apps, be it Edge, Word, or PowerPoint. While ChatGPT can’t achieve the same level of integration, its ability to interact with other things on the screen makes it significantly more powerful. Coupled with the announcement regarding the updated GTP-4o model that will be accessible for free, there is a substantial boost in the AI capabilities of the Mac as a platform.
The announcement comes just a week after the launch of the M4 chip in the iPad Pro. Apple claims that the new neural engine in the M4 is more powerful than the NPUs available in the current Windows AI PCs. Although the M4 isn’t yet available on Macs, Apple clearly has an interest in investing more in on-device AI hardware in the future.
Of course, this is just the beginning for AI on Macs. Rumors suggest that Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) next month will primarily focus on AI, and that AI-related updates to macOS will take center stage. Reports from Bloomberg indicate that Apple is nearing a deal with OpenAI for ChatGPT integration, but we haven’t yet seen the fruits of these negotiations.
The ChatGPT Mac app will be available starting today to ChatGPT Plus subscribers, and it will gradually expand to a larger launch “in the coming weeks.”