How to Use ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini in One Mac App in 2026

You can use ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and other AI models from one app on a Mac in five practical ways: a launcher with a model picker (Raycast AI, from $10 a month), a search assistant that lets you choose the model (Perplexity Pro), a Mac chat app that runs on your own API keys (BoltAI), one OpenRouter key for models from many companies, or local models through Ollama. Pick by how you want to pay.

Three AI subscriptions and three icons in the menu bar is where a lot of Mac users end up, and it gets expensive and fiddly fast. Each company's own app only shows that company's models, so comparing answers means copying a prompt between windows. This guide covers which single app fits which kind of user, how to set each one up on macOS, what it costs, and the keyboard shortcut clash you'll probably hit along the way.

Which app gives you the most AI models in one place?

The right "one app" depends on whether you want a subscription that covers the models for you, or you'd rather bring your own keys and pay each AI company by usage. The table sums up the options covered below; prices are from each vendor's own pricing page.

These aren't exclusive. Raycast can use an OpenRouter key and Ollama models, so one setup can cover three rows of that table.

How to switch AI models in Raycast on Mac

Raycast AI lets you choose the model for each conversation from a picker, and set a different default for quick questions and longer chats. Raycast's AI sits behind a subscription. Free leaves it out entirely, Pro ($10 a month or $96 a year) includes fast models with 500 AI credits a month, and the top-tier models need Plus or Max, according to Raycast's pricing page.

Set your default models

1. Open Raycast and go to Settings → AI → Models & Providers (or run the Manage Models command), as Raycast's Quick AI guide describes.
2. Under Default Models, pick a model for the Quick AI row.
3. Pick a model for the AI Chat row and, if you use them, for custom AI Commands.
4. If you leave a row on Auto, choose a Model Preference: Lightweight, Balanced or Flagship.

Change the model mid-conversation

1. In Root Search, type a question and press Tab to send it to Quick AI.
2. Press ⌘K to open the Action Panel and choose Change Model.
3. To keep going in a bigger window, press ⌘J to move the conversation to AI Chat.
4. In AI Chat, click the model picker in the title bar, or type / in the message box and choose a model, per Raycast's AI Chat guide.

When I'm drafting an awkward client email, I send the same prompt to two models and keep whichever sounds less like a press release. Raycast makes that a ⌘K away instead of a copy-paste between apps. If you're weighing Raycast against Alfred or Spotlight for everything else it does, our Raycast alternatives page covers that side.

How to use your own API keys in one Mac app

Bringing your own API key means the app sends your prompts to OpenAI, Anthropic or Google with your key, and the provider bills you per use instead of the app charging a subscription for the models. You pay for what you actually send, which can come in under a subscription in a quiet month and over it in a busy one. The catch is that nobody stops a runaway bill but you.

Add a key in Raycast

Raycast's Bring Your Own Key feature is part of Pro and accepts Anthropic, Google, OpenAI and OpenRouter keys, one per provider, according to Raycast's BYOK guide.

1. Create an API key in the provider's console (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google or OpenRouter).
2. In Raycast, open Settings → AI → Models & Providers.
3. In the API Keys section, add a key and pick the provider from the dropdown.
4. Paste the key into API Key, click Verify, then Save.

Chats on your key are billed by that provider at its standard rates. Image generation and some other tools still use Raycast's own models and count against your Raycast credits, the same guide notes.

Use a native Mac app built for keys

BoltAI is a native Mac app that works with OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Mistral, xAI, Perplexity and others on your own keys, and with local models through Ollama and LM Studio. You can switch models at any point in a chat, compare models side by side, and open it over any app with a global shortcut. It's sold as a one-time license rather than a subscription: BoltAI's pricing page lists Pro at $99 and Lifetime at $399 before any discount, each with a 30-day money-back guarantee, and Pro includes one year of updates.

One key for many models: OpenRouter

OpenRouter gives you one API key and one bill for models from many companies. You buy credits, each request is charged at that model's price, and OpenRouter says it adds no markup on inference, though it takes a fee when you buy credits. In Raycast, an OpenRouter key unlocks OpenRouter's full model catalog, per Raycast's BYOK guide, while keys from the other providers only offer the models Raycast already lists.

How to compare answers from several models at once

Comparing models side by side means sending one prompt to two or more models and reading the answers next to each other. BoltAI lists side-by-side multi-model chats on its site. In Raycast you switch models within the same chat instead, so the answers arrive one after another rather than in columns.

Side by side is worth it for writing where tone matters, a summary you're about to forward to your manager, or a fact you can't afford to get wrong. For a quick "what's the shortcut for…" question, it's a waste of credits: any current model will do.

How to run AI models locally on your Mac

Running a model locally means it works on your Mac's own chip, so your prompts never leave the machine and there's no per-message bill. Ollama is the usual way to do it on macOS, and its pricing page says running models on your own hardware is unlimited at no cost; only Ollama's cloud models need credits or a plan.

1. Download Ollama for Mac from ollama.com and open it.
2. In Raycast, go to Settings → AI → Models & Providers and scroll to Local Models, per Raycast's local models guide.
3. Type a model name in Install Ollama Model and click Install, or click Model Library to browse.
4. When the download finishes, choose it from the Local section of the model picker in Quick AI or AI Chat.

Raycast's local models feature is also a Pro feature, and some tools (image generation among them) still go to Raycast's cloud models. Speed depends on your Mac: Ollama says as much on its download page. Anything with a salary, a contract figure or a health detail in it goes to a local model for me, even if the answer is a little plainer.

What about the ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini apps themselves?

Each AI company's own app shows only its own models, so the official apps don't solve the "one app" problem. They're still worth keeping if you only ever use one company's models, since you get its features without a layer in between. Our ChatGPT vs. Gemini comparison goes through what each one includes.

Apple Intelligence adds one more route. In macOS you can turn on the ChatGPT extension in System Settings → Siri, click ChatGPT, then Set Up, and a ChatGPT account is optional, according to Apple's guide. Apple's page covers ChatGPT only, so it adds one model, not a choice of several.

How to fix the ⌥Space shortcut clash

Several AI apps on a Mac want the same keyboard shortcut, and only one app can own a shortcut at a time. The ChatGPT app's chat bar opens with ⌥Space by default, per OpenAI's help page. The Claude app's Quick Entry defaults to double-tapping Option, with Option + Space offered as an alternative, per Anthropic's help page. Merlin, our Mac app, also opens its Companion panel with ⌥Space by default.

When I added the ChatGPT app next to my launcher, both wanted ⌥Space and only one ever opened. The fix is to give each app its own key, then stick with them:

• ChatGPT: change the chat bar shortcut in the ChatGPT app's settings (the chat bar only works while ChatGPT is running, OpenAI notes).
• Claude: go to Settings → Desktop app and pick a different Quick access shortcut, per Anthropic.
• Raycast: set Quick AI options under Settings → AI → Commands → Quick AI, which includes the Tab Shortcut, per Raycast's guide.
• Merlin: click the gear icon, then All settings → Companion, and choose ⌃Space, ⌘⇧Space, ⌥⇧Space or ⌘⇧M instead.

Better still, pick one app as the one that gets the easy shortcut and let the others live in the Dock. Muscle memory only has room for one.

Which setup should you choose?

The best single app for using several AI models on a Mac comes down to how often you use AI and how you want to be billed. A rough guide:

• You want one subscription and a keyboard launcher: Raycast Pro, moving to Plus only if you keep reaching for the top-tier models (pricing).
• You mostly ask research questions: Perplexity Pro, which lets you choose the model for each search (model list). Our Perplexity alternatives page covers the trade-offs.
• You hate subscriptions: BoltAI on your own keys, or an OpenRouter key inside an app you already use.
• Privacy matters most: Ollama with a local model, and a cloud model only when the task needs one.
• You only use one model anyway: keep that company's app and skip the extra layer.

My own setup is close to the last two together: one cloud assistant for most things, a local model for sensitive drafts, and a second opinion only when the wording really matters.