AI on the Go: How to Use ChatGPT From Your Mobile Device

You can interact with ChatGPT through the OpenAI website on your computer, but what if you’re on a mobile device? If you’re an iPhone user, OpenAI now offers an official ChatGPT iOS app. But for iPad, Android, and Apple Watch owners, there are other ways to access the AI tool on a phone, tablet, or smartwatch.

Instead of simply opening the ChatGPT site in your mobile web browser, you can add it to your phone’s home screen, turn to a Siri Shortcut, and even use a third-party app. Here’s how to set up the popular AI chatbot on your mobile device.

Use OpenAI’s ChatGPT App on Your iPhone

ChatGPT maker OpenAI now has a mobile app for the iPhone. The app works similarly to the website in that you enter your requests or queries and then receive an AI-generated response in return. But the app also uses voice recognition to lets you speak your request rather than type it and provides a chat history so you’re able to return to any previous conversation.

Download the OpenAI ChatGPT app from Apple’s App Store. After launching the app the first time, you’ll be prompted to sign in with your OpenAI account. If you don’t have one, tap the Sign up button to create a free account.

At the chat screen, enter your query in the Message field by typing it or tap the audio icon in the Message field, tap the button for Start new recording, and then speak your request. Tap the button to stop the recording. Your spoken words appear in the Message field. Tap the up arrow to submit your prompt.

At the chat screen, tap the ellipsis icon in the upper right. From the menu, you can rename or delete your current chat, access a history of your chats across your computer and mobile device, start a new chat, or view and tweak the different settings for the app.

Add the Website to Your Home Screen

Android or iPad users can turn the ChatGPT website into an app that sits on the home screen. First, head to the ChatGPT website and log in or sign up for an account.

Once signed in, iPad users can tap the Share icon and select Add to Home Screen. Type a name for the icon and tap Add. It’ll then appear on your home screen.

On an Android device, tap the three-dot icon in the upper right. Select Add to Home screen from the menu, type a name for the icon, and tap Add. The ChatGPT site icon is then added to your home screen.

On either device, tap the icon to access ChatGPT like you would from a web browser. You can then enter your queries to the AI chatbot and get responses, the same way it works on desktop.

For Apple Devices: Set Up a ChatGPT Siri Shortcut

Another option for accessing ChatGPT on iPhone is through the Shortcuts app or Siri. You can use the app to create a shortcut, but there are pre-built ones available online, including SiriGPT, ChatGPT Siri, and Siri Pro. We’ll use SiriGPT as an example here.

Before you can add one of these shortcuts to an Apple device, you need to download special API keys from OpenAI’s platform page and sign in to ChatGPT. Tap the hamburger menu at the top, scroll to the bottom of the Settings menu, select your profile, and tap View API keys.

At the API keys page, select the Create new secret key button. Copy the code that appears (you may also want to save it to the Notes app for safe keeping). Open the SiriGPT shortcut page on your device and Get Shortcut.

In the Shortcuts app, find the SiriGPT shortcut and tap its three-dot icon. In the Text field, delete the words ADD API KEY HERE and paste in the API key that you previously copied, then tap Done. Tap the SiriGPT shortcut, then allow access for Speech Recognition and api.openai.com to make the shortcut ready to use.

You can now use the shortcut if you tap the SiriGPT entry in the app. A window pops up allowing you to speak your query, which will then be answered by ChatGPT after a momentary delay. The response will both show up on the screen and be spoken by Siri. Tap Done to close out the query. Tap Ask Again to ask another question or tap Done to close out the shortcut.

Try ChatGPT Through These Mobile Apps

Prior to the release of the iOS ChatGPT app, a number of developers cooked up their own third-party apps powered by ChatGPT 3.5 or GPT-4, or attempted to replicate the features on their own. Be wary of unscrupulous developers pumping out malware-laden ChatGPT apps to capitalize on its popularity, but there are several worth checking out.

AI Chat

Designed for iOS/iPadOS and powered by GPT 3.5, AI Chat comes in two flavors. A free version limits the number of chats and length of the responses. For $19.99 a month, a Plus version offers unlimited conversations and longer responses. The app allows you to type or speak your request.

Alissu

Made for Android, Alissu is a free app that saddles you with ads and limits the length of each response. However, you can reduce the number of ads and enjoy longer answers by entering a special key from Open AI, a process that is explained in the app. The app allows you to type or speak your request.

Ask AI

Compatible with both iOS and Android, Ask AI offers a three-day trial before making you shell out $4.99 a week or $39.99 for a lifetime license. The app allows you to type your request and copy and paste the response or share it with other people or apps. Ask AI keeps a history of your chats and will also suggest topics and questions that it can address.

Chatster

Chatster is an iOS/iPadOS app that comes in both free and paid editions. The free version limits the number of questions and answers and the number of words per chat. Selling for $9.99 a week or $69.99 a year, the paid flavor offers an unlimited number of questions and answers and word counts. You can type your query, then copy the reply and paste it elsewhere.

Get Genie

Made for iOS and Android, Get Genie is powered by the more advanced GPT-4. Following a three-day trial, you have to pay $6.99 a week or $69.99 a year, which gives you an unlimited number of questions, a high word limit, and an advanced ChatGPT model. Type your question in the text field and Genie responds with an answer displayed on the screen and spoken aloud. You can then regenerate or copy the response and share it with another app or another person.

Nova

Nova is a paid Android app with a free three-day trial, after which you pay $7.99 a week or $59.99 a year. After paying for Nova, type or speak your query and the response is displayed on your screen and spoken aloud. You can share the response using the Android Share tool.

Perplexity AI

Perplexity AI is a free iOS app that will accept a question, keyword, topic, or name. At the main screen, type or speak your request. The response appears on the screen. Tap the Share icon to share the response via another app or with another person.

Use ChatGPT From an Apple Watch

Apple Watch owners also have the ability to use AI-powered apps on their smartwatch. Here are two apps worth checking out:

Ask AI

With a price tag of $4.48, Ask AI invites you to pose your request by speaking to your watch or typing through your iPhone. The app displays its response on your watch screen. Swipe down to the bottom and you can tell it to speak the answer, share the response with someone else, or ask another question.

Petey

Petey costs $4.99 and has you ask a query through your phone or by voice. Petey then displays and speaks the answer. Swipe down to the bottom of the response and you’re able to share it, listen to it spoken again, and send a reply.