ChatGPT Pets and Mini: A Practical Desktop Workflow Guide

What are ChatGPT Pets and Mini?

OpenAI describes Pets as optional animated companions for following work. In the ChatGPT desktop app on macOS and Windows, a pet can float above other windows. Controls underneath let you begin a chat by typing or speaking and follow activity while you work elsewhere.

Mini removes the character and keeps the compact controls and status updates. Choosing a pet changes appearance, not the way ChatGPT completes tasks, the model's capabilities, or the permissions granted to a chat.

That distinction matters in business adoption. A Pet is not a second agent or an automation engine. It is a control surface for chats, plugins, skills, browser tasks, or Computer Use workflows that already exist.

The four states that make work visible

Pets reduce window switching by surfacing the state of work. OpenAI documents four primary activity states that teams can map to their own operating rhythm.

Needs input and Blocked are especially useful in operational workflows: they distinguish a slow task from one waiting for a human decision or missing prerequisite.

• Running — the chat is processing or using a tool; no immediate action is required.
• Needs input — work is paused for information, a choice, or approval.
• Ready — the current turn is complete and the result is available for review.
• Blocked — the task cannot continue because of a constraint or unresolved condition.

How to show a Pet or Mini

Your selection and position persist when the app reopens. If controls are missing, update the desktop app and confirm that the workspace permits Pets.

The default global shortcut is Option+Space on macOS and Windows+Alt+P on Windows. It can be remapped in Settings > Keyboard shortcuts.

• Open the profile menu and select Pets, or go to Settings > Pets.
• Choose a built-in pet, a custom pet, or Mini. Select Create pet first if you need a custom one.
• Enter /pet or choose Show pet from the command menu.
• Drag the Pet to move it; use Settings > Pets > Customize to change size.
• Hide it with right-click > Hide, /pet again, or Hide pet in Settings.

Start a chat without returning to the main window

Hover over the controls under a Pet or Mini and select the pencil icon. You can type or use voice. This works well for capturing an idea, starting a scoped task, or asking about the app currently in front of you.

A faster launcher does not guarantee that a new chat contains the context from an existing customer, campaign, or project. Return to the original thread or project when history, approvals, files, or budget decisions matter.

• Good new-chat tasks: capture a brief, ask a one-off question, create a checklist, or start an independent draft.
• Keep the existing thread: multi-file analysis, customer work, approvals, regulated claims, or ongoing project decisions.

Appshots: send context from the app you are using

Appshots can send the foreground app window to ChatGPT, including a visible image and text the app makes available. Once attached, an Appshot behaves like another image or file in the chat.

On macOS, if Pet controls are visible and the main ChatGPT window is in the background, an Appshot with Automatic destination can go to the Pet and begin a new chat. On Windows, OpenAI says Appshots open in the main ChatGPT app.

• macOS default: press both Command keys.
• Windows default: press both Alt keys; a custom shortcut can also be configured.
• Review customer dashboards, email, credentials, health, and financial information before sharing.
• Some apps such as Google Docs, Gmail, Sheets, and Slides may provide only the visible screenshot, not all off-screen text.

How Computer Use differs from a Pet

A Pet is a status and chat control. Computer Use is the capability that can click, type, and navigate apps within a user-authorized task. On macOS, the Computer Use picture-in-picture window can attach to a Pet and move with it.

On Windows, Computer Use operates on the active desktop and takes over the foreground pointer and keyboard. A Pet does not change Computer Use permissions or safety prompts.

• Pet/Mini: start chats, expose controls, and follow activity.
• Computer Use: operate apps or browsers within task scope and permissions.
• Plugin/connector: read or change connected-service data under its granted scope.
• Scheduled task: begin work at a defined time and notify through supported channels.

Custom Pets, web Pets, and terminal Pets

Selecting Create pet installs the bundled hatch-pet skill, reloads skills, and opens a chat where you describe the character. Custom pets created in the desktop app are stored locally and do not automatically sync to ChatGPT web.

A custom character can reinforce team identity, but it should not imply that different characters have different system permissions or abilities. Projects, task names, and access controls remain the correct way to separate work.

• Reduced motion replaces animation with a still frame when the operating system setting is enabled.
• Web Pets appear inside supported ChatGPT Work chats but do not provide the desktop overlay, activity tray, or /pet command.
• Terminal Pets can report the current Codex CLI session in supported terminals but do not provide the desktop multi-chat activity tray.

Marketing and operations use cases

Pets do not replace production monitoring. Revenue, payments, lead routing, or ad-spend workflows still need server-side logs, alerts, retries, audit records, and a named owner. The Pet is a user interface, not the system of record.

• Follow chats analyzing ads, SEO, or several accounts and return when the work is Ready.
• Respond to Needs input when an agent awaits a budget, publishing, or campaign-owner decision.
• Use Mini for quick briefs, hooks, UTM plans, or QA checklists without disrupting the primary workspace.
• Send a redacted dashboard Appshot to investigate an anomaly.
• Observe a scoped Computer Use task and stop it if the path diverges from the brief.
• Use Ready and Blocked states in the team's daily rhythm instead of asking whether the AI has finished.

Pet vs. Mini vs. Activity vs. Notifications

Do not enable every surface by default. Start with Mini or Activity, then add notifications for high-priority work. Hide the Pet during presentations, screen sharing, or full-screen focus work when appropriate.

• Pet — visual presence and multi-chat awareness while working in other apps.
• Mini — compact controls with less animation and screen use.
• Activity view — a structured list of unread, running, or waiting chats in the sidebar.
• Desktop notifications — turn-completion alerts without a persistent overlay.
• Scheduled notifications — updates for time-triggered work through the channels supported by the account.

An organizational rollout plan

Measure reduced time-to-response, fewer tasks stalled for approval, and clearer handoffs—not the number of Pets created or employees who enable them.

• Decide whether the workspace permits Pets, Appshots, Computer Use, and custom skills.
• Create an Appshot policy that names prohibited data and redaction steps.
• Separate projects and customer threads; use task names that are clear in the activity tray.
• Assign an approval owner for Needs input and an incident owner for Blocked.
• Teach the difference between interface status and production logs, monitoring, and audit trails.
• Pilot two or three low-risk workflows before expanding data access or permissions.

Pre-launch checklist

• Update ChatGPT Desktop and verify feature availability for the account and workspace.
• Choose Pet or Mini and set a shortcut that does not conflict with other apps.
• Configure notifications to match the team's operating rhythm.
• Review Appshots and Computer Use permissions separately.
• Test Running, Needs input, Ready, and Blocked on a low-risk task.
• Define when to return to an existing thread and when to start Quick Chat.
• Never use a Pet as a substitute for an audit log, system alert, or business dashboard.