ChatGPT just pulled ahead of Claude with this new Apple Messages feature

In a recent development, OpenAI's ChatGPT has surged ahead of Anthropic's Claude in a new Apple Messages feature for macOS. ChatGPT now has the ability to connect directly to Apple Messages on a Mac, enabling it to search conversations, draft replies, and even send messages on your behalf. This is a step beyond what other AI assistants can currently do, which is merely help users write text messages.

The new Apple Messages plugin was introduced as part of an update to the ChatGPT app for macOS, granting ChatGPT access to the Messages app on your Mac, including conversations synced through iMessage as well as SMS and RCS messages. This integration offers several advantages over Claude. Once permission is granted, users can ask ChatGPT to search for conversations or pull up messages from a specific person.

More importantly, ChatGPT can compose and send a new message without the user having to manually open Messages and do it themselves. For instance, a user could ask ChatGPT to find a recent conversation with a friend, summarize what was agreed upon, and then send a follow-up message. For these tasks, ChatGPT asks for user approval of the recipients and message contents before sending, ensuring a safeguard against unauthorized message sending.

This gives ChatGPT an edge over Claude, which currently does not have Apple Messages among its integrations or connectors. Despite Claude's growing capability to work with external services, the absence of Apple Messages integration puts ChatGPT in a clear position at the moment. While Claude can write compelling responses to texts, it still requires manual intervention to send the messages.

ChatGPT, on the other hand, has the potential to handle that final step, making it easier to send mundane but frequently required tasks like "I'm running 10 minutes late." However, it is essential to note that the integration is currently limited to the ChatGPT desktop app on Apple Silicon Macs. Users will have to grant ChatGPT permission to access Messages on their Mac before the assistant can search or act on their conversations.

In summary, AI assistants are increasingly taking on tasks that we can easily perform ourselves, potentially saving us a few seconds. The integration of ChatGPT with Apple Messages is a significant step forward, moving another everyday task inside the assistant. With frequent updates, the rivalry between ChatGPT and Claude remains competitive, and this development showcases one ChatGPT advantage that the author can envision using regularly.