Summary
- You can now set ChatGPT as the default assistant on Android, replacing Gemini.
- This will enable you to quickly invoke ChatGPT’s voice mode by long-pressing the power button or swiping up from the screen’s corner.
- Unlike Gemini, ChatGPT for Android cannot control system settings.
Google has been making steady improvements to Gemini, with the company recently bringing several features from its Advanced paid tier to the free version. But Gemini is not the only AI-powered chatbot that you can use on Android. At the beginning of this year, Perplexity released its Android app, allowing you to replace Gemini on your Android phone. Now, OpenAI’s ChatGPT is following suite, with its latest app update enabling you to replace Gemini with ChatGPT on your Android phone.
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First spotted by the folks at Android Authority, the latest beta release of ChatGPT (v1.2025.070 beta) allows you to set the app as the default assistant on your Android phone. After installing the newest beta, head to Settings > Apps > Default apps > Digital assistant app and select ChatGPT instead of Google to replace Gemini with OpenAI’s assistant on your phone.
After this, you can invoke ChatGPT by long pressing the power button or by swiping up from the corner of your phone’s screen. This will bring up ChatGPT’s voice mode, enabling you to have a natural conversation with the AI chatbot. As a heavy ChatGPT user, I would have instead preferred if the AI chatbot popped up on screen with a small text input window as well, like Gemini.
ChatGPT does not integrate as deeply with Android as Gemini
While ChatGPT may outperform Gemini in certain scenarios, it comes with some limitations on Android. Even if you set it as your default assistant, ChatGPT cannot control your Google Home devices, adjust system settings, or perform similar tasks. Likewise, you cannot use ChatGPT to control Spotify music playback, add calendar entries to your Google Calendar, etc.
Also note that even after replacing Gemini or Google Assistant, you cannot trigger ChatGPT with a hotword on your phone. Saying “Hey, Google” will still activate Gemini. Despite these limitations, if you prefer ChatGPT to Gemini, you can now set it as the default assistant on your phone for a better experience. Plus, since the feature just rolled out on the beta channel, there’s always a possibility that OpenAI will address many of the limitations in a future release.
If you are not part of the ChatGPT’s beta test channel, you can sideload the APK from APKMirror.
