Use ChatGPT with Apple Intelligence on Mac
Oct 8, 2025
Use ChatGPT with Apple Intelligence on Mac
You want AI help on your Mac, and you care about privacy. This guide explains what ChatGPT with Apple Intelligence can do, what it cannot do, how to set it up, and when a private file search engine like Fenn is the right tool.
Availability varies by Mac model, language, and region. Update macOS and make sure Apple Intelligence is turned on.
What you can do with ChatGPT inside Apple Intelligence
Get deeper answers with Siri. Siri can tap ChatGPT for in depth responses, including insights about photos and documents when you allow it. You are asked to confirm before anything is sent. You can allow sending without confirmation in System Settings.
Compose with Writing Tools. Generate drafts or images from a short description. Rewrite or refine in place.
Use more styles in Image Playground. ChatGPT expands the set of visual styles when you create images.
Run a model in Shortcuts. Use ChatGPT inside Shortcuts for more complex requests.
Connect a ChatGPT account, optional. You can use ChatGPT without an account. If you connect a free or paid account, your Mac can use advanced capabilities more often. Requests can be saved to your ChatGPT history when you are signed in.
What it cannot do, and important caveats
Not universal or always on. Features depend on device, language, and region.
Data sharing when used. When you send a request to ChatGPT through Apple Intelligence, your request and any attachments are shared, along with limited context such as time zone, country, device type, language, and the feature being used.
Account behavior differs. Without a ChatGPT account, OpenAI must process your request only to fulfill it, not store it, and not use it to train models, unless required by law. When you are signed in, your ChatGPT account settings apply.
It does not replace a private file search engine. ChatGPT helps generate and summarize. It does not index your drives or jump you to a specific page, slide, or timestamp across your own files.
How to set up the ChatGPT extension on Mac
Open System Settings.
Click Apple Intelligence & Siri.
Under Extensions, click ChatGPT, then Set Up, then Next.
Choose Enable ChatGPT to use it without an account, or Use ChatGPT with an Account and sign in. You can switch later.
Send requests without confirmation, optional: System Settings, Apple Intelligence & Siri, ChatGPT, turn off Confirm ChatGPT Requests. You are still asked before any photos or files are sent.
Turn off ChatGPT later: System Settings, Apple Intelligence & Siri, ChatGPT, turn off Use ChatGPT.
Privacy, in plain English
You decide when ChatGPT is used, and you confirm before content is sent unless you turn that confirmation off.
Your request, attachments, and limited context are sent so ChatGPT can answer.
Without a ChatGPT account, OpenAI must only process the request to fulfill it, not store it, and not use it to train models, unless required by law.
When signed in, your ChatGPT account settings and OpenAI policies control how data is handled.
When to use Fenn
If your goal is to find something inside your own files with privacy, use Fenn.
Fenn is an AI powered file search engine for macOS that opens the exact moment inside your files, page, slide, frame, or timestamp.
On device by default for privacy. Optional cloud indexing for speed and scale if you choose it.
Runs on Apple Silicon.
Perfect when you remember the phrase or clause, not the filename, and need to land on the right spot in a 300 page PDF, a deck, a screenshot, or a long recording.
Five step walkthrough
Install Fenn on your Apple Silicon Mac.
Select sources to index, folders and apps that hold your work.
Let Fenn index on device. Enable optional cloud indexing later if you need faster indexing at scale.
Press the Fenn shortcut. Search in Semantic, Keyword, or Hybrid mode.
Open the result directly at the page, slide, frame, or timestamp, with contextual snippets.
Find the moment, not the file.
Practical examples
Summarize with Siri, then open the source with Fenn. Ask Siri to summarize a long report using ChatGPT, then use Fenn to jump straight to the clause in the original PDF.
Brainstorm in Writing Tools, retrieve evidence with Fenn. Draft a brief outline, then use Fenn to pull exact pages from filings, screenshots, and meeting recordings.
Troubleshooting tips
Do not see the ChatGPT extension under Apple Intelligence & Siri. Check your macOS version, language, and region, then try again.
Want to keep a history of requests. Sign in to your ChatGPT account, otherwise requests are not saved to your ChatGPT history.