X and xAI have filed a lawsuit in US federal court alleging that Apple and OpenAI unlawfully joined forces to stifle competition by making OpenAI’s chatbot an exclusive integration within Apple’s smartphone operating systems. According to BBC News, the filing claims the 2024 arrangement hinders rival generative AI chatbots, tilts App Store rankings toward ChatGPT, and gives OpenAI access to the prompts and activity of millions of Apple customers.
Allegations of an anti-competitive partnership
The suit, brought by Elon Musk-backed X and xAI in Texas federal court, asserts there is “no valid business reason for the Apple-OpenAI deal to be exclusive.” It argues the integration has “foreclosed competition among generative AI chatbots, deprived competing generative AI chatbots of scale, and reduced quality and innovation,” ultimately helping Apple and OpenAI “maintain their monopolies.” The filing states OpenAI controls roughly 80% of the US generative AI chatbot market and Apple holds about 65% of the smartphone market.
The complaint also contends the Apple-OpenAI arrangement boosted the ChatGPT app’s visibility and downloads relative to other generative AI chatbots in the App Store. The suit follows Musk’s earlier public allegation that Apple favored OpenAI in rankings.
Responses and context
OpenAI called the filing “consistent with Mr Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment,” while Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment, BBC News reported. The dispute comes amid long-running tensions between Musk and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, who co-founded OpenAI with Musk in 2015 before becoming rivals as Musk launched xAI and Grok.
Broader competitive backdrop
The case arrives as app store practices and big-tech tie-ups continue to face legal scrutiny. The BBC notes that Apple has previously defended its App Store as “fair and free of bias,” and that various ChatGPT rivals, including DeepSeek and Perplexity, have topped the App Store charts at times since 2024. Apple has also been reported to be in talks with Google to use its Gemini chatbot to help power Siri.
In positioning, the lawsuit targets how exclusive integrations may affect scale, quality, and innovation among generative AI players. X and xAI claim the Apple-OpenAI deal has made it harder for alternatives to compete, both within the operating system and in App Store discovery. The filing advances Musk’s broader contention that OpenAI’s direction has diverged from its founding mission, even as competition intensifies across AI chatbots and smartphone ecosystems.
