OpenAI says Apple ChatGPT integration underperformed as AI partnership frays

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OpenAI-Apple ChatGPT deal strains

Highlights

OpenAI's court filing reveals Apple's ChatGPT integration on iPhones saw much lower engagement than forecasted after the 2024 Apple Intelligence launch, prompting a reduction in user projections within one month.
The partnership between OpenAI and Apple deteriorates as weak uptake, partly due to ChatGPT being off by default, leads to legal disputes including Apple's July trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI and ongoing litigation involving Elon Musk's xAI.
ChatGPT is overshadowed by Apple's new Google-powered Siri AI launched last week, while Apple delays the EU Siri rollout citing competition rules, leaving investors wary of the company's AI strategy execution.

Court filing details weak user uptake

As reported by Financial Times, citing OpenAI's court filing, the company says Apple's ChatGPT integration on iPhones delivers far less user engagement than expected after the 2024 launch of Apple Intelligence. OpenAI says it anticipated a halo effect from Apple's promotion and brand association, along with new subscriptions from Apple users, but within a month of launch it is already lowering forecasts for weekly active users.

By the summer of 2025, OpenAI says it is clear the integration is dramatically underperforming. The filing says one reason for the weak uptake is that the ChatGPT feature is switched off by default, forcing iPhone users to enable it through a multistep process.

The legal document also says OpenAI executives worry Apple may move faster to secure another AI partner, limiting OpenAI's chance to gain an early advantage with Apple's global user base. Parts of the exchanges between executives at both companies are redacted, but the filing portrays a partnership that steadily deteriorates as the commercial benefits fail to materialize.

Legal fallout and pressure on Apple's AI strategy

The poor performance of the integration contributes to the breakdown in relations between the two companies. The Financial Times reported in May that OpenAI is considering legal action against Apple over an alleged failure to deliver on the agreement's promise, and Apple filed a major trade secrets lawsuit against OpenAI in July alleging large-scale theft.

Wednesday's filing forms part of litigation brought by Elon Musk's xAI, now part of SpaceX, in August 2025 on antitrust grounds. Apple resolved that litigation with Musk last week, and OpenAI has filed motions seeking access to the terms of that settlement.

OpenAI argues the Apple tie-up does not unfairly strengthen its market position and instead coincides with a broader loss of share as rivals including Google, Anthropic, Meta and Grok gain traction. ChatGPT remains integrated into the iPhone software for Siri queries and writing assistance, but it is now overshadowed by Apple's Google-powered Siri AI, launched last week in English with a beta label.

Apple's uneven AI rollout remains a concern for investors, especially as the company still has no launch date for the new Siri AI on iPhones in the EU. Apple blames the delay on the bloc's competition rules, and Tim Cook meets European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen this week in the U.S., where the issue is discussed, according to people familiar with the talks.

In our earlier article on Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang’s stance on AI regulation, we explained why he opposes giving AI companies waivers from existing antitrust and product liability laws, even as he supports oversight tailored to specific AI-enabled products like self-driving cars. We also noted how this debate reflects a widening policy split in the AI sector over whether safety collaboration should be handled under current competition and liability frameworks or enabled through special legal exemptions.

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