Apple isn’t shelling out any cash for integrating ChatGPT-4o with Siri.
At WWDC, Apple revealed a new partnership with OpenAI to bring ChatGPT-4o into Siri. The updated virtual assistant, which will be part of iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, will start using ChatGPT for responses later this year. Interestingly, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports that no money is involved in this deal.
Sources close to the partnership say that Apple thinks promoting OpenAI’s brand and tech to its over 1 billion active devices is more valuable than a cash payment. The idea is that more Apple users trying out ChatGPT could boost sign-ups for the $20 per month ChatGPT Plus tier. Apple might also get a cut of those fees as the referring partner.
In his report, Mark Gurman mentioned that Apple isn’t paying OpenAI for the partnership. According to sources who preferred to stay anonymous, Apple thinks promoting OpenAI’s brand and tech to hundreds of millions of its devices is as valuable, if not more, than making a monetary payment.
Supporting ChatGPT for countless Siri requests could be expensive for OpenAI, but it opens up new ways to make money. Apple also plans to ask for a share of the revenue from partners like Google for AI-powered features, hoping to balance out the search ad dollars that currently go to Google.
Initially, the improved AI features will only be available in English, but more languages are expected to be added next year. Besides integrating ChatGPT with Siri, Apple is also planning to introduce other chatbots. There were rumors that Apple was in discussions with Google about the Gemini, but those talks were never confirmed.
Meanwhile, ChatGPT with GPT-4o voice capabilities will still be available as a standalone app for Apple devices. Just so you know, ChatGPT-4o, released last month, is accessible to everyone, including free users.