Apple has responded to Elon Musk’s accusations that the company is giving preferential treatment to OpenAI and its ChatGPT app. Musk had claimed that Apple’s App Store charts were manipulated to promote OpenAI, suggesting that this could be an antitrust violation. 
While Musk threatened legal action through his company xAI, Apple swiftly denied any such claims, stating that its charts and app recommendations are based on objective criteria.
According to Apple’s official statement to Bloomberg, the company doesn’t engage in favoritism. “We feature thousands of apps through charts, algorithmic recommendations, and curated lists selected by experts using objective criteria,” Apple explained. The company emphasized that its goal is to provide users with safe discovery experiences while offering valuable opportunities for developers in an ever-evolving app ecosystem.
Apple and OpenAI also recently formed a partnership, integrating ChatGPT into Apple’s ecosystem, which led to greater visibility for the app. However, Apple has made it clear that it has no financial stake in OpenAI’s success, and ChatGPT’s appearance in the App Store is not due to preferential treatment. Apple’s plans to integrate AI from other companies, like Google and Anthropic, into its Apple Intelligence platform further demonstrate its commitment to providing diverse app offerings.
Interestingly, Musk’s comments ignored the fact that other AI apps, such as DeepSeek and Perplexity, have also reached the #1 spot on the App Store earlier this year, showcasing that App Store rankings are not exclusively controlled by OpenAI or any single entity.