ChatGPT adds iCloud Mail and Calendar plugins, connected through Apple app-specific passwords

OpenAI has added two plugins that connect ChatGPT to Apple's iCloud Mail and iCloud Calendar. The company announced them on October 27 through ChatGPT's official account on X, and Engadget, MacRumors and other outlets reported the details the same day. The move gives Apple users something close to what ChatGPT already offered for Gmail and Google Calendar.

What the plugins can do

According to MacRumors, the Mail plugin lets ChatGPT search and read messages in an iCloud inbox, handle messages and drafts, send email and look up iCloud contacts. The Calendar plugin can display upcoming events, create new ones and modify existing entries, including events created in third-party apps that sync through iCloud. Everything is driven by ordinary chat requests, such as asking for a specific email or for the week's schedule.

The plugins are offered on all ChatGPT plans, free accounts included, on the web, the desktop apps and iOS. Engadget adds that on the Pro plan, OpenAI's Dots agent can also use them. iThinkDifferent notes that the two are connected separately in ChatGPT's settings, so someone who only wants to share a calendar does not have to expose their inbox.

Setup relies on an app-specific password

ChatGPT does not sign in with a user's main Apple Account password. Instead, users generate an app-specific password from their Apple Account's security settings, which requires two-factor authentication to be switched on. The Mail plugin needs an address on the icloud.com, me.com or mac.com domains, while the Calendar plugin uses the primary Apple Account email, which may differ. iThinkDifferent points out that resetting the main Apple password revokes all app-specific passwords, which would cut ChatGPT off until a new one is created.

Limits and context

The integration only covers iCloud. Accounts from Gmail, Outlook or other providers that appear inside Apple's Mail app cannot be reached through these plugins, and no Contacts or Reminders plugin was part of the launch. None of the reports specify which countries are covered; iPhoneSoft says availability in France remained to be confirmed.

Engadget places the launch against a tense backdrop: Apple chose Google to power its revamped AI models and sued OpenAI in July over alleged trade secret theft. As with any assistant that can send email on a user's behalf, the main question is how much access people are willing to grant, and both ChatGPT's settings and Apple's account page let them revoke it.