OpenAI adds an Apple Messages plugin that lets ChatGPT send texts

In short: OpenAI has launched an Apple Messages plugin that can connect ChatGPT to your Messages inbox and help write, manage, and send texts.

What happened

OpenAI released a new plugin for Apple Messages, according to TechCrunch. A plugin is an add-on that lets one app work with another, like giving ChatGPT a key to open a specific door on your phone or computer.

With the plugin, users can ask ChatGPT to sort, analyze, or edit messages. It can also search through old conversations to find details you forgot, like a date or an address buried in a long chat history.

OpenAI’s demo shows ChatGPT suggesting follow-up replies based on messages you received the day before. The company says the tool can also delete messages, draft new ones, and send messages on your behalf. TechCrunch reports it also works with Codex and ChatGPT Work, meaning it can be used for work conversations as well as personal chats.

Why it matters

Handing an AI tool access to your texts can save time, but it also raises privacy and control concerns. OpenAI told Bloomberg that the plugin runs locally on the user’s machine, and that it does not create an index of all messages, meaning it is not supposed to build a full searchable copy of your entire inbox.

OpenAI also warns users to watch what ChatGPT is doing when it is set up to send messages. The company discourages “persistent approval,” since that removes your last chance to review a message before it is sent as you.

Source: TechCrunch AI