Apple and OpenAI have signed a deal to integrate ChatGPT with Siri as part of iOS 18 in 2024. However, according to a new report released today, OpenAI is unhappy with how the partnership has gone and is considering taking legal action against Apple.
According to BloombergOpenAI’s lawyers are working with an external legal firm “on a range of options that could be formally executed in the near future.” One possible outcome is that OpenAI sends Apple a notice “alleging breach of contract without necessarily initiating full legal action initially.”
The report says:
“OpenAI believed the companies’ partnership, which integrated ChatGPT into Apple’s software, would attract more users to subscribe to the chatbot. It also expected deeper integration into more Apple apps and a prominent placement within the Siri assistant.”
An anonymous OpenAI executivecited by Bloomberg, alleges that the company has “done everything from a product perspective,» while Apple did not hold up its end of the bargain.
“We did everything from a product perspective,” the executive said. “They didn’t, and worse, they didn’t even make an honest effort.”
One aspect of OpenAI’s integration into iOS is the ability to sign up for a paid ChatGPT subscription through the Settings app on iPhone. OpenAI reportedly believed this “could generate billions of dollars per year in subscriptions,” which apparently “is far from achievable.”
“When we heard about this opportunity, it seemed incredible to us: to be able to acquire a giant number of customers and have distribution in such a large mobile ecosystem,” said the OpenAI executive. At the time, however, Apple was unwilling to share exactly what the product would be, the person said.
“They basically said, ‘OpenAI needs to take a leap of faith and trust us,'” the executive said, adding that the deal ended in failure for the startup.
The OpenAI discontent comes ahead of WWDC, where Apple is expected to announce a next-generation version of Siri powered by Google Gemini. iOS 27 would also allow users to integrate other AI models, including Anthropic’s Claude.
Apple opening the iPhone to other AI models “does not motivate the company’s legal action since the partnership was not intended to be exclusive from the start,” according to the anonymous OpenAI executive.
OpenAI was not interested in working with Apple on the new models because it felt burned by the initial relationship, according to the sources. “Apple has so much market power that it can dictate terms,” the executive said. “We’ve taken this leap of faith with you before, and it didn’t work out well.”
Meanwhile, OpenAI is also developing its own hardware products and has recruited many Apple engineers to work on the devices. Additionally, this effort is led by former Apple design chief Jony Ive. Apple executives have been “fulminating for over a year” against OpenAI’s hiring tactics.
“No final decision has been made and OpenAI still hopes to resolve its issues with Apple outside of court,” the report said.
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