According to The Verge, the macOS ChatGPT app now includes Computer History, an opt-in tool that records your activity to build a timeline of how you work. OpenAI says the feature helps ChatGPT suggest automations, reference past actions, and resume incomplete tasks. Users can exclude specific apps or sites and delete entries at any time.

OpenAI made this opt-in, not default, and excludes private or incognito tabs. That's the right call. But the core issue remains: once your workflow becomes training material, the settings menu matters almost as much as the feature itself. Data retention policies and deletion timelines will determine whether this stays a convenience tool or becomes a liability.

OpenAI is betting the next useful AI product is less chatbot, more junior chief of staff with memory. That may work for solo developers and power users first, but it normalizes a new baseline: software that watches your work to understand your work. Microsoft tried this with Recall and learned how ugly that pitch can sound. OpenAI is attempting the same idea with fewer screenshots and better product taste. The fundamental shift is identical. You're not just using the tool anymore. The tool is using you.