ChatGPT could become your new assistant on Android phones
Now, ChatGPT can be set as the default assistant on Android phones. In the beta version of the app, it appears as one of the options for the device's digital assistant. You can activate ChatGPT by long-pressing the home button or using gestures similar to how you would access Google Assistant.
Unlike Google Assistant, you cannot activate ChatGPT with a voice command or hot word. While Google is exploring replacing Assistant with Gemini, ChatGPT seems to be on a similar mission. The latest beta version of the app (v1.2025.070) on Android, as reported by Android Authority, allows users to set ChatGPT as the default assistant on their devices.
To set ChatGPT as your default assistant, navigate to your device's settings and manually select ChatGPT under the "Default Digital Assistant App" option. Once this is done, you can launch ChatGPT by long-pressing the home button or swiping from the bottom corner of the screen (if using gesture navigation).
However, there are limitations to having ChatGPT as your default assistant. Unlike saying "Hey Google" to activate Google Assistant, ChatGPT requires a long press of the home button due to restrictions on privileged APIs available only to trusted, preinstalled apps.
After activating ChatGPT, a circular globe-like animation appears at the center of the screen. Users can then interact with ChatGPT as they normally would.
ChatGPT's new AI tools
Last month, ChatGPT introduced new AI tools that can significantly reduce research time for users. These tools mimic human analysts by combing through online sources to provide detailed reports based on user prompts. However, this feature is exclusive to Pro users.
Comparatively, Gemini's Deep Research feature is freely available for a few prompts following a recent app update.
