Due to dissatisfaction with the integration of ChatGPT in iOS systems and Apple Intelligence, OpenAI is considering legal action against Apple, including issuing a formal notice of breach. According to Android Authority, OpenAI executives believe Apple has not made "sincere efforts" in product promotion, resulting in actual subscription conversion rates far below the expectations set when the agreement was reached in 2024.

iOS 17, WWDC23, Apple

The core dispute centers on the depth of functional integration and user reach. Internal research by OpenAI found that although ChatGPT has been integrated with Siri and system writing tools, Apple's interaction barriers are high, requiring users to go through complicated secondary commands to activate the functions. The richness of the interaction in the system-built version significantly lags behind the independent app version. This "marginalization" of integration strategy is seen by OpenAI as violating the original intent of the cooperation, making it difficult to reach Apple's vast user base.

At the same time, Apple is actively introducing multiple parties to hedge against technical risks. Currently, Apple has confirmed that it is collaborating with Google to introduce Gemini into Siri and exploring collaboration with Anthropic. Although non-exclusive agreements legally allow such competition, from OpenAI's perspective, Apple's diversification measures further dilute its market premium as the "first partner."

Previously, Apple had already paid $250 million in compensation for falsely advertising certain AI features. This shift in partners once again reveals the ecological pains in Apple's local AI implementation process. This dispute not only signals that the distribution of benefits between large model providers and channel distributors is entering a period of reshaping but may also force Apple to re-adjust the interaction logic of third-party AI in upcoming system updates.