I’ve been working with international teams for years, and I spend half my day writing emails, documenting code, and drafting project updates. The constant context switching between writing and editing slows me down more than I’d like to admit. Last week I discovered TypoTab, an AI writing assistant that sits quietly in your menu bar and works across every app on your Mac.
The first thing that impressed me about TypoTab is how it actually works anywhere. Mail, Slack, Notes, even code editors. You don’t need to copy text into a separate app or open a browser tab. Select your text, trigger TypoTab with a keyboard shortcut, and choose what you want to do. Fix grammar, adjust tone, expand ideas, or run custom prompts you’ve created for your specific workflow.
The customization is where this app really shines. I created prompts for turning rough notes into proper documentation, converting technical jargon into plain language for stakeholders, and even drafting professional responses to bug reports. The app remembers these custom prompts, so they’re always one keystroke away. This beats copying and pasting into ChatGPT or Claude dozens of times a day.
What sets TypoTab apart from similar tools is the privacy approach. Rico Beran, the developer, built it so that no text or personal data gets stored. Everything processes through OpenAI’s API, but TypoTab itself doesn’t collect or log anything. For someone who writes sensitive technical documentation and internal communications all day, that matters.
After using TypoTab on my M2 MacBook Air for two weeks, the performance has been solid. The app uses roughly 100MB of memory and stays under 2% CPU unless actively processing text. Response times depend on your OpenAI API connection, but I typically see results in a few seconds.
The menu bar integration is clean and unobtrusive. One icon, click it to access your recent prompts and settings. The interface keeps out of your way until you need it. Users with already crowded menu bars won’t find this adding much visual clutter.
The pricing model is straightforward: £4 per month or a discounted yearly subscription, no usage caps or per-word charges. You need your own OpenAI API key, which means you pay OpenAI separately for API usage, but that’s typically far cheaper than subscribing to multiple AI writing tools. For reference, I’ve processed hundreds of requests over two weeks and spent less than $2 in API costs.
The app requires macOS 10.15 Catalina or newer, so it works on any Mac from the last several years. Setup takes about five minutes. Install the app, add your OpenAI API key, configure a keyboard shortcut, and start using it.
One limitation I’ve noticed is that extremely long text selections can take longer to process, and occasionally the app loses focus if you switch windows while it’s working. These are minor inconveniences rather than dealbreakers, and neither happens frequently enough to disrupt my workflow.
TypoTab represents a practical approach to AI-assisted writing. It doesn’t try to replace your thinking or automate everything. Instead, it speeds up the tedious parts of writing - fixing grammar, adjusting tone, reformatting text - so you can focus on the actual ideas. For anyone who writes frequently across multiple apps and wants AI assistance without the constant tab switching, this app deserves consideration.
