ChatGPT iMessage Plugin Arrives on Mac to Read, Draft, and Send Messages
OpenAI's Apple Messages plugin works in ChatGPT Work and Codex on Apple silicon Macs. Full Disk Access required. No official Apple API - it runs on AppleScript and Accessibility.
Connected. OpenAI launched an Apple Messages plugin for ChatGPT on August 20 - available in ChatGPT Work and Codex on Apple silicon Macs, not in standard chat. ChatGPT iMessage access covers reading conversations, drafting replies, analyzing threads, and sending messages, with user approval required before each send. ChatGPT already opens and edits Google Drive files inside the chat - adding iMessage puts documents and personal messages inside the same session.
Takeaways
- New Apple Messages plugin available in ChatGPT Work and Codex desktop - not in standard ChatGPT
- Reads iMessages, SMS, and RCS on Mac - drafts replies and sends with per-action approval
- Full Disk Access required in macOS System Settings, plus contact names and automation access
- OpenAI warns against enabling persistent send approval - keep per-action confirm on
- Runs via AppleScript and Accessibility settings - no official Apple API involvement
- Apple and OpenAI are currently in court over trade secret theft (July 2026)
No official Apple API powers this. iMessage gained AI suggestions and better RCS in iOS 27 via Apple Intelligence - a separate stack Apple controls. ChatGPT's plugin runs on AppleScript and macOS Accessibility, standard system automation tools any developer can use. Apple and OpenAI are currently in court over trade secret theft - making the absence of an Apple API notable. OpenAI built around Apple, not with it.
Two messaging integrations landed the same week. Claude gained the ability to send Gmail replies without approval on August 18 - on the same days OpenAI shipped ChatGPT iMessage access for Mac. Email and iMessages, from the two biggest AI assistants, in the same week. Whether users hand that level of access to either one depends on how much they trust an AI to represent them in writing - and Full Disk Access is a bigger ask than most app permissions get.