Apple is seemingly paying OpenAI in exposure for Apple Intelligence

Apple recently announced a slew of new AI features for iOS at WWDC, and OpenAI’s ChatGPT powers many of them. It was a great move, consumers are looking forward to trying them out, and Apple’s share price surged, too. What’s really fascinating, though, is that no money has changed hands between Apple and OpenAI for this integration.

A report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman says that Apple believes the exposure that OpenAI will receive from being integrated with millions of Apple devices is “of equal or greater value than monetary payments.”

This deal isn’t exclusive to OpenAI, either, Apple is reportedly in talks with both Anthropic and Google to integrate their chatbots as alternate options. We’re also expecting an agreement with Google for integration of its Gemini chatbot later this year. We might even see it by the time of the iPhone 16 release, which we’re anticipating in early September.

In the long term, Apple plans to make a range of chatbots accessible in its software, and users will be able to pick their preferred service. It’s a bit like the way that you can choose your preferred search provider in Safari. According to the report, Apple plans to monetize this service via revenue share.

Users will be able to subscribe to their favorite chatbot to unlock new features, and Apple will take a cut of those subscription fees. This isn’t too dissimilar to the way the App Store works.

Currently, Apple Intelligence is only coming to iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, as well as future models, in American English, but the company plans to add additional languages next year. Bloomberg further reports that Apple is also considering deals with Baidu and Alibaba to offer chatbot integration for Chinese customers, who don’t have full access to ChatGPT.

It’s an exciting time for Apple fans, and we’re looking forward to seeing how the AI ecosystem looks once it has had time to develop. For now, though, check out our recap of WWDC for all the cool Apple features that you might have missed. Or, if you want to see what the Android brands are up to, see our guides to the best Samsung phones and the best Google Pixel phones.