OpenAI says ChatGPT integration with Apple Intelligence underperformed

By Splitfeed EditorialLast updated Sep 26, 2026, 20:18 UTC

In late September 2026, OpenAI publicly stated that its ChatGPT integration within Apple Intelligence and Siri had dramatically underperformed relative to the company's expectations. The Financial Times reported on September 23 that OpenAI characterized the Siri extension arrangement specifically as a dramatic underperformance, and 9to5Mac followed the next day noting that Apple Intelligence users had shown little interest in the ChatGPT feature. OpenAI described the broader iPhone integration as falling far short of what had been anticipated when the partnership was formed.

The disclosure matters because the Apple-OpenAI arrangement had been framed, at least implicitly, as a landmark deal: putting ChatGPT inside one of the world's most widely used devices was supposed to expose the technology to a vast mainstream audience. If OpenAI's own account is accurate, that audience largely did not engage with the feature, which raises questions about whether consumer appetite for AI assistants embedded in operating systems is as large as the industry has assumed. It also signals friction between the two companies, with OpenAI's public characterization of the results suggesting the partners do not share the same read on how the collaboration has gone.

None of the three camps, Pro-AI, Anti-AI, or Middle Ground, had published reactions at the time of this report. Pro-AI voices would typically argue that low early adoption reflects a rollout or discoverability problem rather than a fundamental lack of interest, and that usage figures would improve with better integration over time. Anti-AI observers would likely treat the underperformance as evidence that consumer enthusiasm for AI assistants has been overstated by the industry, and that embedding AI deeper into devices does not automatically translate into genuine demand. Middle Ground commentators would probably focus on the competitive dynamics, noting that the result puts pressure on both companies to renegotiate terms or seek alternative partners.

The argument would sharpen considerably if either Apple or OpenAI releases usage figures, revises the terms of the partnership, or announces a change in the integration arrangement. Any public statement from Apple, which has so far not offered its own account of the collaboration's performance, would also shift the debate significantly.