OpenAI is exploring legal options against Apple as its two-year-old partnership with the iPhone maker becomes increasingly strained, adding to the AI giant’s legal hurdles as it faces mounting pressure from partners, rivals and courts.
A report by Bloomberg News on Thursday says that OpenAI believes the partnership with the technology giant has failed to deliver the expected benefits, pushing the company to work with an outside legal firm on several possible steps, including a notice alleging breach of contract before any full lawsuit is filed.
Apple-OpenAI partnership turns sour
Apple announced the partnership in 2024 as part of its Apple Intelligence rollout, bringing ChatGPT to Siri and other parts of its software. The arrangement allows users to access ChatGPT responses through Siri, while iPhone users can also sign up for ChatGPT memberships directly from the iOS settings menu.
OpenAI had expected the agreement to boost ChatGPT subscriptions and lead to deeper integration across Apple’s apps. Instead, the agreement has fallen short of OpenAI’s hopes, with its renegotiation efforts reportedly stalled.
Rival AI models raise stakes
The tension rose to the surface as Apple prepares to broaden its AI options, with the company planning to let users choose from third-party AI models while testing integrations with Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini.
Apple’s ChatGPT integration is separate from its broader Gemini-backed push to rebuild Siri, which is expected to arrive later this year.
An OpenAI executive said Apple’s move to work with other AI providers did not push OpenAI to review legal options, as the original partnership was never meant to be exclusive.
Legal challenges pile up for ChatGPT maker
The Apple dispute adds to a widening list of legal challenges facing OpenAI.
Earlier in May, the company was hit with a proposed class action lawsuit in the U.S. accusing it of secretly sharing sensitive user data with Meta and Google.
The case, filed in a California federal court by plaintiff Amargo Couture, claims OpenAI embedded tracking tools such as Facebook Pixel and Google Analytics into ChatGPT’s interface, allowing user activity to be collected without proper consent.
The lawsuit says users often share personal, medical, financial and professional concerns with AI chatbots, making the alleged disclosures especially sensitive.
The lawsuit says users often share personal, medical, financial and professional concerns with AI chatbots, making the alleged disclosures especially sensitive. Couture claims her ChatGPT activity was connected to her Facebook and Google accounts after she used the same browser while logged in.
OpenAI is also fighting a separate legal battle involving Elon Musk, one of its co-founders and now one of its most vocal critics.
In court testimony, OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman accused Musk of damaging the company’s culture during its early years by pushing a hard-edged management style that placed heavy pressure on researchers, as the case examines Musk’s claims that OpenAI abandoned its founding nonprofit mission and misled him into funding the startup.