OpenAI has just acquired Software Applications Incorporated, makers of the Sky app for the Mac, which integrates AI deeply into the Mac’s operating system.
The Sky app still hasn’t actually been released to the public, but you can see what it can do from its demonstration video. It’s like a super-charged version of Siri that can control apps, files and more using an AI chatbot-style interface:
Siri has been around for long enough that we’re all used to using it on the Mac, and over the years it has improved, but it’s still lacking in the AI department, especially in comparison to what the Sky app can offer.
At the moment you’re limited to asking Siri basic things like, “Show me my reminders”, or, “Set an alarm for 5 o’clock”, and with Apple Intelligence feature delays, we’re still w
It’s clear that with better AI integration Siri could be so much more, and it’s what Apple has promised for Spring next year with an “upgraded” Siri.
The full details of what the new Siri will do are being kept quiet for now, but I’m hoping for a much better experience on the Mac. However, if OpenAI can come up with a more powerful, integrated AI solution that sits right at the heart of everything you do on the Mac, without involving Siri at all, then I think that might just be the death knell for Apple’s much maligned digital assistant, even in its new upgraded form.
Why AI integration matters
Talking about the acquisition of the Sky app, Nick Turley, VP & Head of ChatGPT, said “We’re building a future where ChatGPT doesn’t just respond to your prompts, it helps you get things done. Sky’s deep integration with the Mac accelerates our vision of bringing AI directly into the tools people use every day.”
As OpenAI’s recently released Atlas browser shows, this company wants ChatGPT to be everywhere on your desktop and involved in everything. From phones to browsers to operating systems “AI everywhere” has become the new digital battlefield – Samsung is integrating AI deeply into its mobile phones with its One UI interface, and new Galaxy XR headset.
Meta is currently pouring AI into everything it does, from social media platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp to its new Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses.
Apple is doing its best to catch up with Apple Intelligence, but for once it feels like it is being left behind by Windows and Copilot. Apple has already taken the first steps of integrating ChatGPT with Siri, so it contacts ChatGPT when requests get too complicated, but the handoff is a little clunky and not as tightly integrated as it could be.
With the Sky app at its disposal, OpenAI finally has a way to get right to the heart of the Mac in the same way that Microsoft has Copilot at the heart of everything that happens with Windows 11.
A closer look at Sky
It’s worth watching that Sky app demo again and considering what it does show. What you see are context awareness, file control and system-level actions all effortlessly performed by an AI interface you interact with using conversational text.
If you let your imagination run free you can imagine a future Mac where Spotlight, Finder, Mail and Calendar can all be controlled by AI. This might be in stark contrast to Apple’s typical privacy-first and minimalist approach, but it might also be what people want.
Using ChatGPT and Sky together could radically change the way you use your Mac. Imagine opening your Mac, saying “show me everything I worked on this week,” and your desktop rearranges itself accordingly. Or, “I want to digitally sign this document” and it creates an app for you to sign it with.
Another question to consider is, would Apple allow it? Remember, the Sky app still hasn’t been released. Would Apple’s privacy policies even allow this level of deep integration by a third-party app? Whatever battles are about to be fought between privacy-loving Apple and the ‘move fast and break things’ mentality of AI companies, I think the future belongs to an AI-based operating system. It’s almost inevitable that AI is going to dominate our desktops for years to come.
We could be looking at the end of the era of apps, and the dawn of the era of intent. Instead of using apps to complete tasks, your operating system will consider your intent first, and maybe it will build the app it needs to create whatever outcome you want.
Instead of colorful icons, you could be looking at an interface for your desktop that is simply a glowing ChatGPT-like orb, that can do anything you want it to.
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