Apple partners with OpenAI to bring ChatGPT to iOS, iPadOS, and MacOS

After ostensibly languishing in the artificial intelligence (AI) race for the last two years, Apple has found a way to upgrade its AI profile — in part by teaming up with OpenAI. 

At Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on Monday, the company announced new ChatGPT integrations across iOS 18, iPadOS, and MacOS Sequoia. Powered by GPT-4o, the features are framed as an offshoot of Apple Intelligence, the cleverly named umbrella that refers primarily to the company’s in-house “personal intelligence” AI models. 

Also: Everything Apple announced at WWDC 2024, including iOS 18, Siri, AI, and more

Users will now be able to access ChatGPT’s image- and document-interpreting capabilities directly from their iPhone, iPad, or Mac without having to toggle between Apple and OpenAI tools. 

The partnership links Siri with ChatGPT to extend on-device support. With a user’s permission, Siri will be able to send ChatGPT a request for help. For example, if a user asks Siri for help with a task it believes ChatGPT could do better, the assistant will offer to forward the request to ChatGPT instead. Siri can also forward documents and photos to ChatGPT, and will then return ChatGPT’s output directly to the user. 

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OpenAI’s chatbot will also be available in Writing Tools, Apple’s system-wide content generation assistant. Through Compose, users can even leverage ChatGPT’s image generation feature — for example, to create a custom bedtime story complete with bespoke images.

The ChatGPT integrations will be free to access and will not require users to have an account. In keeping with Apple’s commitment to user privacy, the company will obscure users’ IP addresses and won’t let OpenAI store user request data. Siri will also always ask for permission before connecting to ChatGPT. 

However, ChatGPT’s data-use policies will apply to ChatGPT Plus users if they connect their subscriptions for access to more advanced features.

In addition to splashy generative AI features like image generation, Apple is also focusing its efforts on features that improve users’ daily lives. These features make the most of ChatGPT’s GPT-4o capabilities for on-device convenience. 

Last month, Microsoft programmed AI directly into its consumer products with the release of the Copilot+ PCs. With this release, Apple is following suit by bringing everyday AI to users’ fingertips via systems they’re accustomed to using already. By launching both Apple Intelligence and ChatGPT on-device, Apple is further normalizing generative AI in the mainstream — at least for iPhone users. 

Also: ChatGPT privacy tips: Two important ways to limit the data you share with OpenAI

Apple’s partnership with OpenAI has been rumored since at least last month. This news comes on the heels of the company reportedly also being in talks with Google Gemini about a potential agreement this spring. 

ChatGPT will be available in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and MacOS Sequoia later this year.