ChatGPT on Mac can now read and send Apple Messages
The plugin is on Apple silicon, in ChatGPT Work and Codex. It needs Full Disk Access. Sending still asks you first, by default.
ChatGPT for Mac can now read, search, draft and send messages through Apple's Messages app.
The plugin shipped on 20 August. It works with iMessage, SMS and RCS. 9to5Mac and Engadget both reported the change, citing OpenAI's own release notes and a spokesperson.
It is available on all ChatGPT plans, but only in the desktop app on Apple silicon Macs. Intel Macs are out. It runs inside ChatGPT Work and Codex, not in ordinary ChatGPT chats, and not on the web or phone. You cannot text the Mac to remote-control ChatGPT.
OpenAI says the plugin runs locally. It uses AppleScript and macOS Accessibility, the same family of tools as Computer Use. A spokesperson told Engadget it does not build an index of your texts. ChatGPT only opens a thread when you ask it to.
Sending is gated. By default you approve the message and the recipients. You can turn on persistent approval for a conversation. OpenAI warns that "Full access" tasks can hide the confirm prompt. The fix is to switch back to Ask for approval.
Setup is not accidental. You have to grant Messages access, Full Disk Access in System Settings, contacts, and automation. Full Disk Access is a wide door. It also covers Mail, Safari data and Time Machine backups. That is a macOS design, not a Messages-only toggle.
Apple has not commented. There is no public Apple API for this. The plugin is using general Mac automation, not a signed Messages partnership.
The same update syncs pinned chats between the Mac app and iPhone, and lets users share a read-only snapshot of a local Codex thread.
Your iMessage history is now a thing an AI app can open if you say yes.
That is convenient. It is also a lot of private speech sitting behind one Full Disk Access click. OpenAI says the work stays on the Mac. You still have to trust the app that now has the keys.
Apple spent years locking third parties out of iMessage. This arrives through the Mac's older, looser automation layer, while Apple and OpenAI are already in a separate legal fight. Cupertino has not blessed it. It also has not blocked it yet.
Watch whether Apple changes Accessibility or Full Disk Access rules around Messages. Watch how many people leave persistent approval on. The product works today. The permission model is the story that will follow it.