The official ChatGPT app for Windows is now available for free users
OpenAI has released the official ChatGPT app for Windows for all users. The company had released the desktop app for macOS in June 2024, before following it up with a Windows version that was released about a month ago.
However, until today, ChatGPT for Windows was exclusively available for users with an active subscription for ChatGPT Plus, Team, Enterprise and also for Edu users.
Now, the ChatGPT app for Windows is available for free users too. To get started with it, download the ChatGPT app for Windows from the Microsoft Store, you can get the Mac app from the official website. The Windows app supports Windows 10 version 17763.0 or higher.
An overview of the ChatGPT app for Windows
You will need to log in to your OpenAI account to use the app. The sign-in process is handled via your default web browser. I'm not going to go into the details of using the app, it's very similar to the web version of the chatbot, you can use it to chat with the AI, access your chat history, use the app to generate text, code, images, etc. There is an option to use a Temporary Chat, which will restrict the app from accessing your history, use memories, or your data. However, it still stores the contents of the chat on the server for 30 days, for safety reasons.
You can open the ChatGPT desktop app with the keyboard shortcut Alt + Space, providing that the program is running in the background. Speaking of which, the app stays minimized on the system tray. The hotkey is customizable, you can change it by clicking on your profile name (bottom left corner) > Settings > App. This page also has options to switch between a light and dark theme for the interface.
One setting that you may want to check is under Personalization > Memory. This prevents the app from using your chat history for future chats, i.e. a tailored experience. The option is disabled by default, or it may have been so because I had turned it off in the web version. The actual setting to prevent ChatGPT from using your data to train its language model is found under Data Controls > Improve the model for everyone.
According to the app's description, the ChatGPT desktop app supports all models from the company including OpenAI o1-preview, also a premium tier feature. ChatGPT's Windows app is an Electron program. This is not surprising, even though the Mac version is called a native app, it is not written in Swift, it too was built using Electron.
On a side note, the ChatGPT app for Mac can now be used with third-party apps, but there are some limitations. It only supports VS Code, Xcode, Terminal, iTerm2 for now.
Is the ChatGPT desktop app worth using?
Why bother with the desktop app, instead of using it from a browser? Well, it depends on your usage. The keyboard shortcut is definitely useful to have, and could improve your workflow as you multitask across other apps. The desktop app supports voice chat, which is not free, but there is a difference. You can try the feature for free in the desktop app or the Android/iOS apps, this is not possible in the web version. FYI, Advanced Voice Mode is a premium feature that is available via ChatGPT Plus or Enterprise with GPT-4. You can access various GPTs created by third-party services from the app's menu, you will need ChatGPT Plus to create your own model.
Another advantage that the desktop app offers is support for plugins that can be used with third-party services. This is also not free, but you can use it if you have a premium subscription. Users who want the additional bells and whistles can upgrade to the premium subscription directly from the app, the price starts at $20 per month.
That said, even with the freemium model, ChatGPT's desktop version could provide some competition for Microsoft Copilot.
Do you like the ChatGPT app for Windows?
I subscribed yesterday for Gemini Advanced with 5 GB data storage at Google for the same price (Yearly). It’s a much better deal for the cost of AI. There is no app in the Microsoft store for it though. But there is an option for voice chat in the browser.
How long will this app last? OpenAI’s conditions and clauses change so much that it is very difficult to know the duration of the service or the validity of the application itself. Let’s remember the number of MS Store applications that have not been updated for years.
“Article Name The ChatGPT app for Windows is now available for everyone”
Linux users? BSD? Haiku?
“Everyone” is not using Windows. >:)
If you use Linux you don’t need crap like “AI”, which is a marketing term aimed at stupid people for an algorithm that can reproduce only whatever data its been fed previously.
I moved to Linux solely to get away from all the BS Windows stood for in the past 10 years and not being able to use my computer the way I wanted to, because whatever settings I made, Windows would reset later on upon an update or some other event.
Also not knowing what kind of bloatware and malware is built into Windows under the hood that steals your data and whatnot is not cool or fun.
I thought moving to Linux will be difficult and I wouldn’t last and would go back to Windows when I can’t get games X, Y, Z to run, I had concerns I wouldn’t even get my drivers to work, because of previous failed attempts.
Surprisingly, everything worked out, Linux runs smooth as a butter, 95% of the games run, the 5% that don’t I just let go and come to terms I will just not play and move on. I installed Linux in March 2023, It’s been about 8 months now, I almost don’t even notice I’m using Linux anymore, it’s become so natural, I don’t even mess with Terminals and command lines and whatnot, I did a little, but I set up most things through the GUI and now I just use it casually like a 70 year old would use Windows without being remotely tech-savvy and I’m loving it.
I got Steam, Epic Games Store, a few more launchers running through a Russian program called PortProton from linux-gaming.ru
I have all my favorite classic games from around 1999 running flawlessly and much more. I would not have imagined that moving to Linux would be such a miraculous and eye-opening experience.
At this point, I can’t even imagine ever going back to that outdated, ugly, malware POS Windows.
Bloatware for Windows has become officially available. The worst thing that has ever happened to Windows is Electron/webview based crap.
agreed, nothing but a resource hog.
I created a logon for ChatGPT many months ago but cannot login to it because of a weird email/password issue. I tried to get their support to delete my login so that I could create a new login from scratch but they would not cooperate, and I finally gave up trying.
Fine for pros I guess. Personally chatbots, ‘AI for the masses’ are not my cup of tea. Yet I happened to face the need for an answer I just couldn’t formulate the right way to have a search engine provide a pertinent result, at least no quickly. So I decided to give IA a try by contacting DuckDuckGo’s AI Chat (https://duck.ai/) for the answer to a javascript issue I was facing. OK, my question was basically basic I guess but the answer was immediate and correct.
DDG Ai Chat : free of course, but moreover no registration required, anonymous (as it says, as i hope), 4 chat models of which GPT-4o mini. Far sufficient for modest queries.
All these AI chatbots are a gimmick and that’s why they are why they are pusing it on every platform through varous ways although the value they provide is minimal.
I can’t see the benefits of using a chatbot.
The only exception is desktop wallpapers. It might make some interesting wallpapers but so can I and lots of other people sharing them online. The example image is too small to be useful. I need something that will generate 4K imagery.
You could write more useful and less boring comments with AI, probably your best benefit for sure.
— Invisible things are everywhere.