ChatGPT Apple Messages: iMessage, SMS, RCS on Mac

ChatGPT iMessage and SMS: what the Apple Messages plugin does

In Codex and ChatGPT Work, the plugin finds conversations, summarizes them, drafts replies, and sends messages from the Mac's Messages app. A user back from a day away can ask ChatGPT to find the chats that came in and draft an answer. The same ChatGPT iMessage integration also covers SMS and RCS chats.

What the Apple Messages plugin supports

Item	Supported
Message types	iMessage, SMS, RCS
Actions	Read, search, find, summarize, draft, send
Where it runs	ChatGPT desktop app for macOS
Chat types	Codex and ChatGPT Work
Plans	All plans
Hardware	Apple Silicon (arm64), for this release

OpenAI's documentation also lists three things the plugin does not do. Each one names a use that might be expected and is not offered.

• It does not let a user reach ChatGPT remotely by texting through Messages.
• It does not work in regular ChatGPT chats.
• It is not directly available in ChatGPT on the web or mobile, in Codex CLI, or in the IDE extension.

Codex plugins: Apple Messages requires Apple Silicon and ChatGPT Work

Two conditions decide whether the plugin is available: the Mac and the chat type. On the Mac side, the plugin is included for this release only in the Apple Silicon build of the ChatGPT desktop app, the build for Macs on Apple's own chips (the arm64 architecture). OpenAI's documentation does not mention Intel Macs and does not describe a workaround; the only qualifier it gives is "for this release".

The second condition is the chat type: plugins are shared across ChatGPT and Codex, but the Apple Messages plugin works only in Codex and ChatGPT Work. Codex is OpenAI's coding agent, available as a chat type in the desktop app. A regular ChatGPT chat cannot use the plugin, even when it is installed.

Conditions for using the plugin

Condition	Required
Operating system	macOS
App	ChatGPT desktop app, Apple Silicon (arm64) build
Chat type	Codex or ChatGPT Work
Plan	Any plan

Because the plugin is available on all plans, the limit is technical, not a paid tier. A user on any plan needs the Apple Silicon build of the Mac app and a Codex or ChatGPT Work chat.

Install the plugin in the ChatGPT Mac app

Installing the plugin is the first of four steps in the ChatGPT Mac app, which is the desktop app for macOS. The documentation lists them in this order:

1. Open Plugins, find the Apple Messages plugin, and install it.
2. Start a new Codex or ChatGPT Work chat and ask it to find, summarize, draft, or send a message.
3. Grant the macOS permissions that are requested, before ChatGPT reads Messages.
4. Review the message and its recipients before allowing a send.

There is one known issue. If a task is set to Full access, or otherwise has approval prompts turned off, Apple Messages may be unable to show the confirmation it needs to send. The fix is to switch the task to Ask for approval or Approve for me and try again.

For another Codex feature on the Mac, see Codex Record and Replay: Mac Workflows as Skills. It is a separate feature with its own requirements.

ChatGPT iMessage send approval in ChatGPT Work and Codex

By default, ChatGPT sends a message only after the user approves the message and its recipients. The approval prompt offers two choices:

• Allow once approves that send only.
• Always allow sending to this chat lets ChatGPT send future messages to that Messages chat without another approval.

OpenAI advises keeping per-send approval for chats that may contain untrusted or misleading instructions. Its documentation also states the cost of the second choice, which it calls persistent approval: it removes the final chance to review a message before ChatGPT sends it as the user. OpenAI says to use persistent approval only when that risk is acceptable.

The documentation adds that when a plugin capability runs through a Codex host, the host's sandbox and approval policy applies. This holds for plugin capabilities in general, not only for Apple Messages.

Revoke Apple Messages plugin approval: ChatGPT Computer use

Computer use is the ChatGPT setting for letting ChatGPT operate apps on the Mac, and it is also where approvals for Apple Messages are managed. Chats with persistent approval are listed under Always allowed to send. To restore per-send approval for a chat:

1. Open Settings > Computer use.
2. Select Manage next to Messages.
3. Under Always allowed to send, select the trash icon next to the chat.
4. Confirm Remove.

After that, ChatGPT asks before sending to that chat again. The trash icon sits next to each chat on the list, so the steps repeat for every chat that should return to per-send approval.

For a related Mac feature that is opt-in and limited to apps the user picks, see ChatGPT Computer History: What It Records for You. That article covers what the feature records and what the user controls.

Managed workspaces: Apple Messages plugin and ChatGPT Work

In managed workspaces, administrators can disable Apple Messages through the existing Computer Use control. OpenAI's documentation names no separate switch for the plugin, so an administrator looking for one should start at that control.

ChatGPT Apple Messages is limited to the Apple Silicon Mac app and to Codex and ChatGPT Work chats. It asks for approval before each send unless a user has chosen otherwise for a chat, and that choice can be removed from the Computer use setting described above. For a security review or an internal policy note, the exact wording of the documentation page is the thing to record.