OpenAI launches Computer History, an opt-in feature that turns day-to-day computer activity on macOS into memories and a timeline that ChatGPT and Codex can use
OpenAI's opt-in Computer History captures a local timeline of Mac activity so ChatGPT Work can recover context across selected apps and sites.
The change matters because OpenAI is moving from remembered conversations and app-specific code access toward a user-controlled record of selected desktop work that its assistants can retrieve.
First-order effects
Mac users who opt in can give ChatGPT Work a local activity timeline across selected apps and sites, reducing the need to manually reconstruct recent work context.
ChatGPT and Codex gain access to the same Computer History context, tying general work assistance and coding assistance to a common record of activity.
Second-order effects
OpenAI's unified desktop app becomes more valuable as Chat, Codex, and Work can draw on one context layer rather than operate as separate sessions.
The feature makes user controls central to adoption: access depends on opt-in selection of apps and sites, alongside saved-memory and chat-history settings for related recap features.
Third-order effects
If OpenAI continues to connect opt-in activity records across its desktop modes, the assistant is shifting from a conversation endpoint toward a persistent work surface organized around portable context.
The emphasis on selected sources and opt-in collection points toward a governed AI corpus model, where the quality and permissions of retained work context become product differentiators.
The trend: Desktop AI is evolving from chat-based memory into permissioned, cross-application context that follows work between assistant modes.
ChatGPT can now remember your activity across the apps and websites on your computer. With Computer History in the desktop app, future interactions feel more personalized and require less explanation. [video]
To use Computer History, opt in under Settings → Integrations in the ChatGPT desktop app on Mac. Rolling out globally now to Pro, Business, and Enterprise users, with access in the EEA, UK, and Switzerland to follow in the coming weeks.
Codex and ChatGPT can now understand the context of your recent work. Opt into Computer History to give ChatGPT richer context, so it can pick up where you left off, understand patterns in your work, and suggest skills or scheduled tasks for work you repeat. [video]
this is so so useful! Computer History helps you pick up where you left off across apps and websites what was I working on before lunch? which doc was I looking at? where did I stop? what do I repeat enough to turn into a skill or automation? makes codex much more high agency
Rolling out globally in the ChatGPT desktop app on Mac for Pro, Business, and Enterprise. Access in the EEA, the UK, and Switzerland will follow in the coming weeks. If you're on a Business or Enterprise team, your admin will need to turn it on first. https://learn.chatgpt.com/..…
browser history is a thing of the past. introducing Computer History. forgot what you were doing 3 tabs ago? the @chatgpt desktop app remembers how you work, where you left off, and suggests relevant skills. go check it out. you might forget something important. codex won't.
A few reasons I love using Computer History: - Get a recap of your work patterns, writing style, favorite shortcuts etc. - Ask Codex what you worked on, where a document or thread went - Turn repeated work into a skill directly from recent timeline entries - Find product
Computer History is wildly good. The timeline view with the suggested skills has been great. It's also so much faster and more efficient making Voice mode even more natural.
Computer History builds on the Chronicle research preview with reduced token usage and more privacy controls. A new timeline view gives you the ability to look back on your work and build skills from your frequent tasks. From there or the menu bar, you can: - Clear all or
computer history feels built for the moment when u accidentally have 37 tabs open, forget why, and need chat to tell you what you were actually trying to accomplish
Today we're releasing Computer History in ChatGPT. It lets ChatGPT learn from everything you do on your computer, so it can better understand how you work, finish tasks that you're in the middle of, and suggest skills and automations based on how you use your computer. [video]
This is the kind of surveillance “A.i.” pushers want to inflict on kids in school. — We need an A.I. moratorium for NYC public schools NOW, @mayor.nyc.gov @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social. None of this tech is safe for kids or protects their privacy. [embedded post]
Frontier labs argue distillation threatens R&D and US national security. Open-weights proponents counter that diffusion is essential to competition and innovation. Both believe theirs is the only safe path. Luckily, the economics is loyal to neither. https://x.com/...