OpenAI is rolling out Computer History, an opt-in macOS feature that lets ChatGPT Work and Codex use recent computer activity as context. Frederic Lardinois reports for The New Stack that the feature is available to Pro, Business and Enterprise customers, with access in the EEA, UK and Switzerland due in the coming weeks.
Computer History creates a searchable timeline of activity across apps and websites. Users can ask ChatGPT questions such as what they were debugging the previous day or where they stopped working on a pull request. OpenAI says the system can identify relevant files, documents and conversations from services including Google Docs, Slack and browser tabs.
The company says the feature does not continuously capture screenshots or audio. Instead, it records interaction events, including clicks, typing and switches between applications. OpenAI presents that approach as a more efficient way to build contextual memories while avoiding screen recording.
User controls and privacy
Computer History is disabled by default. Users can pause it through a new macOS menu bar control and choose which apps and websites it may access. The ChatGPT desktop app also includes settings for excluding individual apps and sites.
According to OpenAI, captured data remains on the user’s device. Users can review what the system has collected and delete items from the timeline. However, the feature still provides the AI model with summaries of activity, which may raise concerns for people handling confidential work or operating under employer data policies.
OpenAI says the context could also support more tailored automations, such as drafting a daily standup update or creating reusable skills from completed workflows. The company previously explored a similar concept in its Chronicle research experiment, which relied on screenshots and optical character recognition.
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