Apple-OpenAI Partnership Reportedly Strained Over ChatGPT Integration Across iPhone, Mac

Apple's partnership with OpenAI is said to be strained and facing growing tensions. According to a report, the ChatGPT maker is now weighing potential legal action against Apple over what it believes is a failure to adequately support and promote ChatGPT integration across iOS, iPadOS, and macOS.The partnership was first announced at WWDC 2024 and was initially believed to be a major step in bringing generative AI features to the iPhone ecosystem.

OpenAI Reportedly Considering Legal Action Against Apple

According to a report by Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, OpenAI lawyers are currently working with an external legal firm to evaluate several possible actions against Apple. These include sending a formal notice alleging breach of contract. However, the AI firm has reportedly not made a final decision yet and still hopes to resolve the matter privately without escalating it into a full lawsuit.

The disagreement is said to centre on OpenAI's dissatisfaction with how Apple implemented ChatGPT across its ecosystem. As per the report, OpenAI executives initially believed the partnership would significantly boost ChatGPT subscriptions and increase visibility for the platform through deeper integration into Siri and Apple apps. However, the integration remains relatively limited and difficult for many users to access.

The report claims that Apple's implementation often requires users to specifically mention “ChatGPT” while interacting with Siri to invoke OpenAI responses. Further, responses appear in a smaller interface window and offer fewer capabilities than the standalone ChatGPT app.

Gurman mentioned that OpenAI executives believe Apple has not promoted the integration aggressively enough across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. The report mentioned an anonymous OpenAI executive as stating that ChatGPT maker had done “everything from a product perspective,” while Apple “haven't even made an honest effort.”

Further straining the relationship is believed to be Apple's increasing partnership with rival AI firms. The Cupertino-based tech giant has long been rumoured to be preparing broader AI integrations within iOS 27. These would allow users to select third-party AI models directly inside Siri. Apple and Google, notably, already announced a multi-year collaboration earlier this year, which would see Gemini and Google's cloud technology power the next generation of Apple Foundation Models.

The report further notes that OpenAI's expanding ambitions in hardware have also created friction between the companies. The ChatGPT maker is working on an AI wearable, with former Apple Design chief Jony Ive spearheading the development.

Apple, meanwhile, reportedly also had privacy concerns about ChatGPT even during the original 2024 negotiations. However, the company are said to have proceeded with the partnership due to the iPhone maker's in-house AI features still being in development at the time.