ChatGPT Takes on Apple: OpenAI Could Be Gearing Up for a Major Challenge

Two years following the integration of ChatGPT into Apple Intelligence on iOS 18, OpenAI is reportedly disappointed with its partnership with Apple and is considering legal action, according to sources cited by Mark Gurman at Bloomberg. The company behind ChatGPT has recently sought legal advice to assess the situation. “This could include sending Apple a formal notice for breach of contract, though not necessarily moving to litigation immediately.” OpenAI is not inclined to initiate any legal procedures while its lawsuit against Elon Musk is still ongoing.

OpenAI has apparently “not realized the anticipated benefits” from its partnership with Apple, under an agreement that involved no financial transactions: ChatGPT access is provided free to Apple users, contingent on a certain level of integration with Apple Intelligence which was supposed to trigger a surge in paid subscriptions to ChatGPT, directly from the iOS settings. However, the integration by Apple has fallen short of OpenAI’s expectations and some features are considered too difficult to locate.

“From a product standpoint, we did everything we could,” stated an OpenAI executive who wished to remain anonymous. “They did not, and worse, they didn’t even make an effort.” The integration designed by Apple requires users to explicitly say “ChatGPT” during their queries to switch to OpenAI’s service, and the responses provided are then more limited, appearing in a small window with minimal information. Consequently, users greatly prefer the dedicated ChatGPT app.

OpenAI initially believed that this partnership would enable them to generate billions of dollars in annual revenue. The company now estimates that Apple’s implementation has damaged its brand image. “When we first heard about this opportunity, it seemed incredible: the chance to acquire a significant number of clients and be distributed across such a vast mobile ecosystem,” said an OpenAI executive. However, Apple has been very secretive: “Basically, they said, ‘OpenAI needs to trust us and let us handle it.’”

The relationship between the two companies has gradually worsened, with Apple executives disliking OpenAI’s approach to privacy protection and particularly resenting OpenAI’s intention to enter the smartphone market, drawing heavily from their personnel. This deterioration led OpenAI to reject Apple’s proposal to base its new version of Siri on ChatGPT — Apple ultimately opted for Google’s Gemini.

It is at the WWDC 2026, scheduled for June 8, that Apple is expected to unveil the outcomes of integrating Gemini into Apple Intelligence as part of the new features in iOS 27 and its other systems. Among the various updates, Apple plans to introduce a system of extensions allowing Siri to delegate tasks to any other AI. An OpenAI executive clarified to Mark Gurman that this move to incorporate other AI models would not be the cause of potential legal action, “since the partnership was never meant to be exclusive from the start.”