Meta launches dedicated Mac app for its chatbot

Meta announced on Wednesday that it is releasing a separate Mac application for Meta AI, a move intended to turn the chatbot into a genuine productivity assistant rather than just a browser-based conversation tool. The app lets users share an active window with the model so it can analyze what appears on the screen, offer suggestions, answer questions or generate content based on the context. It also supports system-wide voice dictation and connects directly to Google Workspace, giving the bot access to documents, spreadsheets and presentations without leaving the app.

The core feature is window sharing: the user selects which window to expose to the AI, which then operates on the displayed content. This differs from a browser-only approach where context is limited to text the user copies or types manually. System-wide dictation adds an accessibility layer that competes with similar features from Apple and Microsoft, while the Google Workspace integration enables seamless work with Google Docs, Sheets and Slides.

The launch arrives as Meta seeks to close a gap with competitors that already have desktop-based offerings. Google’s Gemini has a Mac app with a comparable window-sharing capability, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude have gone further, allowing the bot to take control of the computer and perform actions rather than merely analyzing passive content. Meta does not yet offer that level of control, which defines the current utility limits of its app.

Alongside the Mac app, Meta is expanding business capabilities across web, mobile and Mac platforms. The bot can now connect to Instagram and Facebook accounts, Meta advertising campaigns, and Google Workspace. According to the company, it can analyze reach, likes, shares and saves of posts to suggest future content, pull information from business accounts and the web to build presentations, documents and spreadsheets, and automate recurring tasks such as weekly performance reports.

Meta has not disclosed performance metrics, general availability beyond the announcement, or separate pricing for the new business layer. It is also unclear whether window sharing requires special macOS accessibility permissions or how Meta handles privacy for content exposed to the bot in real time. At this stage the app gives Meta a desktop presence, but without active computer control it remains an advisory assistant while competitors have already moved to the next step.