Cue

Cue is a writing assistant that lives in the macOS menu bar and works inside whatever app you already have open. Instead of switching to a separate tool, you invoke it with a keyboard shortcut and it composes, edits, or refines text directly in the field you are typing into. It supports WhatsApp, Messages, Mail, Slack, and any other app that uses standard text inputs on macOS. The assistant reads the conversation context through the Accessibility API, understands who you are talking to and what has been said, and generates replies that fit the thread. You stay in your chat window or email client while the assistant handles the drafting in the background.

What sets Cue apart from other AI writing helpers is its persistent memory across conversations. Tell someone in one chat that you are busy tomorrow at eight, and when a different person asks what you are doing tomorrow evening, the assistant already knows. That context follows you across apps and windows without you repeating yourself. Memory accumulates over time, so the tool learns details about your contacts, your schedule, and your communication habits. For anyone juggling multiple threads in a day, this removes the usual friction of copying and pasting details between windows or re-explaining the same thing to every person who asks. The memory is not a chat log that you have to search through. It is a living context that the assistant draws from automatically when composing a reply.

The interface stays out of the way. One shortcut opens a small panel with built-in actions like Rephrase, Polish, Formal, Casual, Shorten, and Translate. Another shortcut writes directly into your text field without showing any UI at all. You can also define custom actions, each with their own shortcuts, prompts, and model settings, so the tool bends to the way you already work rather than forcing a new workflow. Real-time streaming shows text as it generates, and a context inspector called receipts reveals exactly what data the assistant read from your screen before composing a reply. That transparency matters when you want to understand why a suggestion came out the way it did. If the reply mentions a meeting you set up last week, the receipts show you where that detail came from.

Privacy sits at the core of the design. Memory files stay on your Mac, stored in the local Library folder and never synced to external servers. You bring your own API key from Anthropic, OpenAI, Google Gemini, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, so nothing routes through a third party you did not choose. If you prefer fully local processing, Cue works with Ollama as well, meaning the entire pipeline can run offline without any data leaving your machine. The app also refuses to operate over password fields, adding a guardrail against accidental exposure of credentials. There are no accounts, no analytics, and no tracking of what you type. The only external communication happens between your Mac and whatever AI provider you have configured, and you control which provider that is.

The technical requirements are macOS 13 or later, and the app runs natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel. It is a lightweight download of a few megabytes, signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so installation does not require disabling Gatekeeper or running unsigned code. Updates ship through a signed channel, and you can verify the authenticity of each release before installing. The app uses native macOS platform tools rather than wrapping a web view or bundling an Electron runtime, which keeps it fast and light on system resources.

Cue fits anyone who composes messages throughout the day and wants contextual suggestions without sacrificing control over where their data lives. Writers, support reps, founders answering a dozen threads at once, or anyone tired of explaining the same details in every conversation will find it useful. The ability to create custom actions means power users can build shortcuts for domain-specific tasks, like inserting boilerplate for support tickets or translating phrases for international clients, without waiting for the developer to add those features. You can assign each custom action its own model and parameters, so a quick rephrase might use a faster model while a formal translation uses a more capable one.

Access is offered through a free trial download and a paid license available on the developer site. The trial lets you test all features before committing, and the purchase unlocks ongoing updates. Pricing details are listed on the checkout page. If you are looking for a writing assistant that disappears into your workflow instead of demanding attention, and you care about keeping your data local rather than handing it to a cloud service you cannot audit, Cue is worth trying. It is a native Mac tool that respects the platform conventions and stays out of your way until you need it.