Best AI apps for Mac that I use

AI is changing the types of apps you can run on your Mac. From voice-first writing tools to meeting assistants to smarter file management, these new AI apps will save you time every week.

After months of testing, these are the AI ​​apps that have earned a permanent spot in my workflow.

The best AI apps for Mac that I use

AI has a lot more to offer than ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, and Apple Intelligence. New-age Mac apps use AI to deliver unique features that help you get more done in less time.

Unlike traditional productivity apps, many of these AI apps do more than just automate repetitive tasks. Instead, they actively assist you while you work. Don’t think of it as a chatbot wrapped in a desktop app. These are much more powerful than that and can change the way we work.

I was amazed at how quickly these apps became part of my daily workflow. Most of the time, I fell in love with these AI apps for Mac within the first few days.

Table of contents: The best AI apps for Mac that I use

1. Copyist

I switched to audio-first writing on my Mac using Wispr Flow. This speeded up the work, but also created new challenges. The voice input sometimes got in the way of my thoughts and slowed down my thinking.

I needed something that would allow me to type faster. That’s when I learned about Cotypist. Use AI to significantly improve your writing speed. Think of it as autosuggestion, but with the power of AI.

When you start writing, Cotypist analyzes what you’ve typed so far and suggests the next few words. Press Tab to accept the next word, or ~ to accept the entire suggestion. This makes a bigger difference than you might think.

Using Cotypist has significantly improved my writing speed. On average, it automatically predicts 400-500 words each day. Additionally, it can help you avoid mental fatigue and allow your thoughts to flow freely.

Copyist works completely offline. Load a small Al model onto your Mac and provide suggestions. (The app automatically chooses the best model based on your Mac’s age and hardware.)

The model runs locally, so there are no privacy or security risks. You also don’t have to worry about AI training on your writing style or data.

Additionally, you can provide custom instructions to Cotypist. So, for example, you can tell them to use American or British English, and you can tweak the writing style and tone. Auto-suggestions will reflect your instructions.

Cotypist is currently in beta and free to use. The developer’s website clearly states that it will switch to a paid model once the app is ready for public release.

→ Download

2. Super Whisper

As I mentioned earlier, Wispr Flow got me hooked on voice-first writing on my Mac. But this dictation app has a big problem. It sends the recorded audio to the cloud for processing. Therefore, you cannot use Wispr Flow for voice input unless you have access to the Internet. Additionally, there is a privacy risk that recorded audio data is used for AI training.

Superwisper completely solves this problem and makes it onto my list of best AI apps for Mac. Load the AI ​​model locally on your Mac to convert audio to text. The experience is almost the same when using Wispr Flow. You can add your own words to the dictionary, set predefined modes for different apps, and take advantage of multilingual support.

Choose from dozens of AI models. So if one model doesn’t work, try another. I found Nvidia’s Parakeet model to be suitable for my needs.

Superwisper is free to use if you want to use small, local AI models. More advanced features, such as unlimited access to online and local AI models, the ability to translate any language to English, and transcription of audio and video files, are limited to the $8.49/month Pro plan.

→ Download

3. Substage

Substage harnesses the power of AI to make it easier to manage files and folders on your Mac. The app acts as an AI-powered assistant for the Finder, allowing you to perform various tasks based on prompts.

For example, if you have a folder with hundreds of images that you want to rename or resize, you can tell Substage to do so. It uses AI, so you can use natural language to make your request and Substage will do the rest.

Substage is not limited to just renaming and resizing files. You can organize your files and folders, including moving all your screenshots to a specific folder. Additionally, you can also convert videos to lower resolution and convert JPG to PNG. You can also manage your Mac settings.

The app is also easy to use. A command bar appears at the bottom of the Finder window where you type the prompt. that’s it. Substage analyzes the contents of folders and performs tasks.

Substage uses an online model, but you can connect to a local model on your Mac through Ollama or LM Studio.

Substage is available as a two-week free trial. After that, you’ll pay $3.99 per month or $29.99 per year for full access to Substage’s features and access to AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and more.

For those who want to use their own API keys or local models, Substage offers a one-time license for $39.99.

→ Download

4. Granola

Granola works like an AI-powered meeting assistant. Unlike other similar AI notepads and meeting assistants, Granola runs locally on your Mac. Therefore, there are no virtual bots joining the call.

Instead, Granola uses your Mac’s audio to record and transcribe meetings. This is done locally, so you can have peace of mind knowing your data is safe.

What makes Granola special is how it uses AI to fill in the blanks in notes taken during meetings. When the call ends, Granola analyzes your notes and uses the transcribed audio of the meeting to fill in the gaps.

You can also ask Granola questions about the conference. These details are extracted from the meeting recording.

AI meeting assistant for Zoom, Google Meet, Slack, Teams, and more.

Granola works with all popular video conferencing apps including Zoom, Google Meet, Slack, and Teams.

If you attend multiple meetings every day, granola can save you a lot of effort and time. Instead of trying to understand everything, you can write down the main points and fill in the gaps later with granola.

However, not everything is perfect. Granola may suffer from poor transcription accuracy due to poor audio quality, strong accents, and voice duplication. It also doesn’t identify the speaker, which can be a problem, especially when joining a meeting with multiple participants. Additionally, Granola transcriptions cannot be edited. If the granola catches something wrong, it’s over.

The free version of Granola has limited access to meeting history. Otherwise, you can take advantage of AI meeting notes, shared folders, customized note templates, and multilingual support. The $14/month Business plan provides unlimited access to meeting notes and history, as well as access to advanced AI thinking models and integrations with Notion, Slack, HubSpot, and more.

→ Download

5. Codex, Claude, Gemini: 3 of the best AI apps for Mac

No list of the best AI apps for Mac would be complete without mentioning Codex, Claude, and Gemini. Native Mac apps for these AI models allow them to be deeply integrated into your workflow and do more than act as a chatbot.

For example, Claude Cowork can work in folders on your Mac, organizing files, summarizing their contents, and even creating reports and presentations. I use Claude Cowork to create monthly reports for my clients. I download the relevant data from the portal, dump it into a folder, and give Claude Cowork the necessary instructions to create the report.

Similarly, OpenAI’s Codex (think of it as a more advanced version of the Mac app ChatGPT) can be used for much more than just writing code. You can perform tasks, browse the web, write emails, and more on your Mac.

Gemini recently released a native Mac app that provides the AI ​​with additional context about what you’re working on, allowing it to provide more accurate responses. However, this is just the beginning, and Google promises more advanced features in the future.

To take full advantage of these Mac apps, you’ll need a paid Gemini, Codex/ChatGPT, or Claude account. Also, unlike the other apps on this list, these AI apps aren’t aimed at specific tasks. Your imagination is the only limit.

→ download: Codex | Claude | Gemini