What Is MathType? How to Use It With ChatGPT's Equations

Updated 08/29/2026

If someone has told you your submission “needs to use MathType, not Word's default Equation Editor” and you're not sure what the difference even is, this post explains what MathType is, why it's still so common in academia, and the fastest way to get an equation from ChatGPT into proper MathType format.

What is MathType?

MathType is a math equation editor made by Wiris, installed as an add-in for Word, PowerPoint, and a few other apps. It lets you build equations visually (drag-and-drop symbols, its own shorthand syntax), then inserts them into the document as an equation object you can double-click to edit at any time — similar to how Word's built-in Equation Editor works, but it's its own format, independent of Word.

How is MathType different from the default Word Equation Editor?

Word ships with its own equation editor, no installation needed — usually called Equation Editor, and it saves equations in OMML format. MathType is a separate add-in that uses its own equation format. Both are “editable by double-clicking” and look fairly similar at a glance, but they're two different kinds of objects — opening a Word Equation won't show the MathType interface, and vice versa.

Why so many places still require MathType

• MathType came first and was once the most widely used equation format in academic publishing, so many scientific journals, publishers, and some universities still require manuscripts submitted in MathType.
• Textbooks and question banks built up over years are mostly already in MathType — new content needs to stay consistent with what's already there, to avoid mixing Word Equation and MathType in the same document.
• MathType converts well to other formats (LaTeX, MathML) — useful when a document needs to be reused across different software.

How to get an equation from ChatGPT into MathType

ChatGPT returns equations as LaTeX text. Copy-pasting it straight into Word just gives you literal characters, not an equation. Typing it by hand into MathType gets the format right but takes time and is error-prone with long equations. Turning on Word's built-in LaTeX mode does rebuild the equation, but always as a Word Equation (OMML) — there's no setting in Word itself that forces the output to be MathType.

MathCopy fills exactly that gap: it reads the LaTeX equation from whatever you just copied on ChatGPT, Gemini, or any other AI site, and rebuilds it as a proper MathType object when you paste into Word. Just 3 steps:

1. Copy the equation (or a whole reply with text and equations mixed in) from ChatGPT.
2. Place your cursor where it should go in Word.
3. Press Ctrl + Alt + V — the equation appears instantly as MathType, ready to double-click and edit.

Everything runs locally on your machine — nothing is sent to any server, no account needed. See the full user guide, or download MathCopy for Windows to try it.