Codex Desktop Adds Quick Chat via Pets and Windows Appshots
CodexOpenAI's ChatGPT desktop app, which now hosts Codex, added Quick Chat to its floating Pets companion, letting users type a message straight into the Pets controls with @ for context and $ to pick a skill, without opening the main window. The same release brought Appshots to Windows for the first time, letting a user press both Alt keys to share the frontmost app window, including a screenshot and any available text, as context for a question. Early community feedback welcomes the direction but flags that Quick Chats do not inherit a Pet's custom personality and that Appshots creates a new chat instead of feeding into an existing conversation.
Key Takeaways
- Quick Chat lets users message ChatGPT directly through the floating Pets companion on macOS and Windows, without opening the main app window.
@adds context and$picks a skill inside a Quick Chat, mirroring shortcuts from the full ChatGPT composer.- Appshots arrives on Windows for the first time, after being macOS-only since its original launch, letting a user share the frontmost app window plus its visible and hidden text as context.
- Keyboard shortcuts control the whole feature: Option+Space on macOS or Windows+Alt+P on Windows brings up Pets controls and focuses Quick Chat.
- Community feedback flags two integration gaps: Quick Chats don't inherit a Pet's custom personality, and Appshots always start a new chat instead of feeding an existing conversation.
- The release also lets users open or download files directly from a conversation's Sources panel, a smaller but practical workflow improvement.
Sources & Mentions
3 external resources covering this update
Pets Gains a Quick Chat Mode
OpenAI's ChatGPT desktop app for macOS and Windows, released as version 26.908, expanded its floating Pets companion (first introduced in May 2026) with a new Quick Chat capability. Users can now type directly into a small input box beneath the floating character and press Enter to send, without switching away from whatever application they were using. Typing @ adds context to the message and $ lets a user pick a skill, mirroring shortcuts already available in the main ChatGPT composer. A bell icon on the floating controls surfaces progress across a user's active threads, and selecting one opens the full conversation.
The floating controls can be customized from Settings > Pets, where a user picks a companion character or switches to "Mini," a compact control panel without the animated pet. The keyboard shortcut to bring up the controls and focus Quick Chat is Option+Space on macOS or Windows+Alt+P on Windows; pressing it again keeps Quick Chat open. The shortcut itself can be remapped under Settings > Keyboard shortcuts, and the controls can be dismissed entirely through "Hide pet" in the command menu.
Appshots Comes to Windows
The same release brought Appshots to the Windows ChatGPT desktop app for the first time; the feature had previously been macOS-only. Pressing both Alt keys captures the frontmost application window and shares it with ChatGPT, bundling a screenshot together with any text the source app makes available, including text outside the visible scroll area. From there, a user can ask a question or describe what they want help with, using the shared window as context. The shortcut and the destination chat for an Appshot can both be customized in settings. On macOS, users can also route an Appshot directly to the floating Pets controls by setting the Appshot destination to "Automatic."
Other Changes
The release also lets users open files directly from a conversation's Sources panel, or download files that ChatGPT is unable to preview inline.
Early Feedback
The update has drawn a mix of enthusiasm and specific complaints in the OpenAI Developer Community. One thread, titled "Windows Pets, Quick Chats & Appshots: Great Ideas That Need Better Integration," reported that a Quick Chat started through a Pet does not carry over that Pet's configured personality, making it feel more generic than a normal conversation. The same thread's biggest complaint was that an Appshot always creates a brand-new Quick Chat rather than feeding into a conversation the user already has open, so there is no way to simply send what is on screen into an ongoing thread. The poster otherwise welcomed the direction of the features and suggested further personality touches for Pets, such as cursor-tracking and idle animations.