ChatGPT may soon support being a default assistant app on Android like Google Assistant

Ben Schoon | Jan 4 2024 - 4:10 pm PT

Google Assistant takes up the role of being your default assistant app across Android smartphones, but the platform has long supported using other apps for that functionality. Now, as LLMs take over, the ChatGPT app seems to be working on support for being an Android assistant app.

Third-party assistant apps on Android are nothing new. In the past, we’ve seen Microsoft offer this with Cortana, and Amazon still offers it with Alexa too. When an app is set at the default assistant app in Android, it is able to replace Google Assistant in the long-press gestures for the home or power button, as well as the swipe gesture when using Android’s gesture navigation. It doesn’t cut off access to Google Assistant, but you’d be required to use the shortcut available in the Play Store or access through other means.

Soon, it seems ChatGPT will be adopting that same functionality.

A new activity in the latest version of the ChatGPT app spotted by Android Authority, com.openai.voice.assistant.AssistantActivity, triggers the app to show an overlay that implies support for voice input. It’s very similar to Google Assistant, but the functionality currently isn’t enabled by default, and it’s not fully functional either.

Further bits of code in the app point to work on allowing ChatGPT to be a default assistant app, but it’s all unfinished. Some of those tidbits include an XML file titled “assistant_interaction_service” and a tag labeled “supportsAssist.” But, at this point, there’s still a lot of work missing to actually get this all up and running.

Notably, Microsoft actually removed support for Bing to be a default assist app when it launched its GPT-based LLM experience.

It’s unclear when this is all coming, or if it will be free. OpenAI enables additional features in ChatGPT with a Plus subscription, and further code in the app suggests support for a Quick Settings tile for ChatGPT which would apparently be locked to the Plus subscription. But it’s all a little too early to tell, so we’ll just have to wait and see.