How to Use ChatGPT on Windows

Two ways to use it

ChatGPT is fundamentally a cloud service, which means the model runs on OpenAI's servers and you reach it over the internet. What changes between the two options is only the window you use to talk to it:

• The web app runs in any browser — Edge, Chrome, Firefox — on any Windows PC. Nothing to install, nothing to update.
• The desktop app is a small program you install from the Microsoft Store. It behaves like a native Windows app, sits in your taskbar, and adds a global keyboard shortcut so you can summon it from anywhere.

If you are just trying ChatGPT for the first time, start with the web app. Install the desktop app later if you find yourself reaching for it often enough to want faster access.

The ChatGPT web app

The browser route is the simplest possible start:

1. Open your browser and go to the official ChatGPT website.
2. Sign in, or create an account. You can register with an email address, or sign in with an existing Google, Microsoft or Apple account. A free account is enough to begin.
3. Type a question or request in the message box at the bottom and press Enter. ChatGPT replies in the conversation, and you can keep going with follow-up messages that build on the same context.
4. Your conversations are saved to your account and listed in a sidebar, so you can return to an earlier chat, rename it, or start a fresh one.

A useful trick on Windows: because the web app is a proper progressive web app, Edge (and Chrome) can "install" it as a standalone window from the browser's menu — in Edge that is Settings and more → More tools → Apps → Install this site as an app, as Microsoft documents — giving you something close to the desktop app without visiting the Store. For most people, though, the official app below is the tidier option.

The official Windows desktop app

OpenAI ships an official ChatGPT app for Windows, and it is available to everyone — including free accounts. Installing it is straightforward:

1. Open the Microsoft Store on your PC and search for ChatGPT, or follow the download link from OpenAI's own site, which sends you to the Store listing. Install from the official OpenAI listing rather than any look-alike.
2. Launch the app after it installs and sign in with the same account you use on the web — email, Google, Microsoft or Apple. Your conversation history syncs with your account, so chats you started in the browser appear here too.
3. Start chatting in the app's window exactly as you would on the web.

The app needs a reasonably current Windows: it targets Windows 10 version 17763.0 or higher, which covers modern Windows 10 and all of Windows 11. The main reason to prefer it over the browser is convenience — it is always a click or a keystroke away, and it brings the shortcut and voice features described next.

The keyboard shortcut

The desktop app's signature feature is a global shortcut. Press Alt+Space anywhere in Windows and a compact companion window pops up over whatever you are doing. You can ask a quick question, paste in some text, get an answer, and dismiss it again without leaving your current app. It turns ChatGPT into something you glance at mid-task rather than a place you have to switch to.

If Alt+Space collides with another tool you already use for that combination, look in the app's settings for an option to change or turn off the shortcut. The Copilot assistant built into Windows 11 uses a different trigger (Windows+C or the Copilot key), so the two do not clash.

Voice and attachments

Two features make the app feel more capable than a plain chat box:

• Attachments. You can attach files and images to a message and ask ChatGPT to read, summarise or answer questions about them — for example pasting in a screenshot to ask what it shows, or uploading a document to have it summarised. What you can attach and how much depends partly on your plan.
• Voice. ChatGPT can be spoken to rather than typed at. A real-time, hands-free voice mode lets you hold a spoken conversation with the assistant while you work — useful for brainstorming aloud or asking questions without stopping to type. The most advanced, real-time voice experience is tied to a paid plan; check what your account includes.

The app also carries the other things you get on the web, such as image generation and web search built into answers, so in day-to-day use it is a superset of the browser experience with the shortcut and voice on top.

Free vs Plus

You do not have to pay to use ChatGPT on Windows. A free account works in both the browser and the app, and is genuinely useful for everyday questions, drafting and summarising — it just comes with usage limits and, at busy times, lower priority.

ChatGPT Plus is the main paid consumer subscription. Paying lifts the usage limits and adds extras — priority access to the newest and most capable models, the full real-time voice experience, and higher allowances for features like image generation and file uploads. The app itself is identical; a Plus subscription simply unlocks more within it. Because plan names, prices and exactly what sits in each tier change over time, check OpenAI's own pricing page for the current details rather than relying on a figure here.

Privacy notes

It is worth being clear-eyed about what using a cloud assistant means. Because ChatGPT runs on OpenAI's servers, your prompts leave your PC — they are sent to be processed and answered. That is fine for plenty of tasks, but it matters for anything confidential.

OpenAI gives you some control. In the settings you can turn off the option that lets your conversations be used to improve its models, and there is a temporary-chat mode for one-off conversations that are not saved to your history. Reviewing those data controls once, when you set the app up, is time well spent.

If you have material that must never leave your device — sensitive documents, client data, source code you cannot share — a cloud assistant is the wrong tool, and a local model is the right one. Running an open model on your own PC keeps every prompt on the machine. We cover exactly how to do that in our guides to running local LLMs on Windows and installing Ollama on Windows.

Alternatives on Windows

ChatGPT is not the only assistant on Windows, and the best choice depends on what you value.

• Microsoft Copilot is built right into Windows 11, reachable with the Copilot key or Windows+C — both listed on Microsoft's getting started with Copilot on Windows page — and integrated with Microsoft's apps. If you want an assistant that is already part of the operating system, it is the obvious starting point — see how it stacks up in our ChatGPT vs Copilot comparison.
• Other cloud assistants each have their own web apps and, in some cases, Windows apps, with their own strengths.
• Local models such as those run with Ollama or LM Studio keep everything on your device, trading some capability for full privacy and offline use. Our Ollama vs LM Studio guide helps you pick between the two.

For the wider picture of AI on the platform — the built-in features, Copilot, and Microsoft's on-device stack — see our overview of Windows AI. For most people, the honest summary is simple: use the ChatGPT web app to try it, install the desktop app if you like it enough to want the shortcut, and reach for a local model when privacy is the priority.