OpenAI's ChatGPT Can Now Draft and Send Apple Messages on Your Behalf

OpenAI has released an Apple Messages plugin that integrates ChatGPT directly with a user's messaging inbox, enabling the chatbot to perform a range of text-related tasks including composing, sending, and managing conversations without manual intervention.

What the plugin can do#

Users gain the ability to leverage ChatGPT for several message-handling functions:

• Drafting and sending messages on behalf of the user
• Sorting and analyzing message threads to surface patterns or key information
• Suggesting replies based on incoming texts
• Searching message history for specific information
• Deleting messages upon request

The plugin works across ChatGPT's consumer offering as well as Codex and ChatGPT Work, making it available for both personal and professional use. A promotional video demonstrated the feature by showing a user asking ChatGPT to recommend follow-up messages based on their previous day's conversations.

Privacy and security questions#

The shift toward AI-powered message automation has raised concerns about data handling and user privacy. OpenAI stated to Bloomberg that the plugin operates entirely on a user's device rather than transmitting data to its servers, and that it does not index all of a user's messages. However, the specifics of this architecture remain unclear, and the company has not yet fully detailed how message content flows through the system.

OpenAI has also emphasized caution when it comes to the sending functionality. The company warns against enabling persistent approval, which would allow ChatGPT to send messages without requiring the user to review each one beforehand. According to OpenAI's documentation, activating this mode "removes your final chance to review a message before ChatGPT sends it as you," leaving users vulnerable to unintended or out-of-character communications.