Apple has built ChatGPT access into Apple Intelligence in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15, but it won’t pay OpenAI for access.
Apple built ChatGPT support into Apple Intelligence, as expected. You’ll be able to access ChatGPT’s GPT-4o model in iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15 as long as your iPhone, iPad, and Mac can support Apple’s AI. But you’ll have to wait a few more months for the Apple Intelligence beta, as it’s not available in the first iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15 betas.
One thing you won’t have to worry about when using ChatGPT is paying for it. Access to GPT-4o comes free of charge, something that Apple confirmed during the WWDC keynote earlier this week. But it turns out that even Apple won’t pay OpenAI for integrating ChatGPT into iOS 18. Instead, the iPhone maker will “pay” OpenAI with something else: New potential customers.
Before WWDC, I said that Apple Intelligence has to be available for free on iPhone at this point in time. It’s too early for Apple to monetize it, though I do see a way for Apple to do it. Once Siri becomes a true AI assistant, Apple might very well charge for it.
Until then, most people will be paying for access to Apple AI by buying a new iPhone 16 this fall. Well, either that or an iPhone 15 Pro or 15 Pro Max.
At the time, I also speculated that Apple couldn’t charge for ChatGPT integration in iOS 18:
One thing Apple can’t offer this year is a chatbot of its own. That’s why it’s partnering with OpenAI to add ChatGPT to iOS 18 in some capacity. It’s unclear what the financial terms of such a contract will be.
