OpenAI Seeks Legal Action Against Apple Over Failed ChatGPT Integration

Frustration boils over as OpenAI reportedly explores legal action against Apple over a ChatGPT integration that failed to meet expectations.

OpenAI is reportedly preparing legal action against Apple, citing frustration over a failed ChatGPT integration that failed to deliver expected subscribers and prominence. According to Bloomberg, OpenAI has enlisted an outside law firm to work through its options, which could include sending Apple a formal breach-of-contract notice without necessarily escalating to a full lawsuit.

• The move highlights Apple's reputation for being a difficult partner for major software companies.
• Apple's control over the iPhone ecosystem can make it challenging for companies to achieve their growth expectations.
• Other companies, such as Google and Adobe, have also had strained relationships with Apple in the past.

The OpenAI partnership, announced at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2024, was expected to funnel billions of dollars in new subscriptions to OpenAI. However, Bloomberg reports that OpenAI has grown increasingly aggravated, complaining that the integration has been buried, its features hard to find, and that revenue from the tie-up is nowhere close to projections.

"They basically said, 'OpenAI needs to take a leap of faith and trust us,'" one OpenAI executive told Bloomberg. "It didn't work out well."

Apple has its own grievances, including concerns about OpenAI's privacy standards and irritation over OpenAI's push into hardware. The two companies' relationship is not the first to be strained by Apple's control over the iPhone ecosystem.

• Google Maps was a flagship feature of the original iPhone but was eventually replaced by Apple's own mapping product.
• Adobe's Flash technology was not supported on the iPhone and iPad, leading to a decline in its popularity.
• Spotify has argued that Apple leveraged its control over the App Store to disadvantage rival music streaming services.

Despite these past examples, Google is now Apple's AI infrastructure partner, having struck a multiyear deal to power the next generation of Apple Intelligence with Gemini models. Apple is paying Google roughly $1 billion a year.

OpenAI has had its own share of strained relationships lately, including a lawsuit from Elon Musk and reportedly navigating tensions with Microsoft, its biggest backer and infrastructure partner.