Apple, Google, OpenAI and Elon Musk’s xAI are racing to lock users into their own ecosystems through partnerships, proprietary models and increasingly closed platforms.
Regulators are also paying close attention. In January 2025, the Federal Trade Commission warned that some artificial intelligence partnerships could increase switching costs, restrict access to essential resources and weaken competition.
The outcome of this fight could determine which AI assistant comes preloaded on your next phone, which apps work best with your device, how much developers pay to reach customers and, eventually, what consumers pay for AI-powered services.
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Every company wants to be your default AI
Google is moving mobile users from Google Assistant to Gemini. In announcing the change, the company said Gemini would interact with the apps and services people already use. Google has also described Gemini as the new assistant experience on mobile devices.
Apple has taken a different approach. It is developing Apple Intelligence while allowing Siri and Writing Tools to send certain requests to ChatGPT.
Musk’s xAI offers Grok through X, its own website and mobile apps. OpenAI, meanwhile, is trying to keep ChatGPT at the center of the market as other companies place competing assistants directly inside the devices and software people already use.
An assistant built into a phone or an operating system has a powerful advantage. Over time, that could make it harder for competing services to attract users, leaving consumers with fewer practical choices and giving the dominant provider more room to charge for premium features.
Convenience could make switching harder
An AI assistant becomes more useful as it gains access to your email, calendar, documents, photos and favorite apps. That also makes it harder to leave.
Switching to another service could mean giving up saved conversations, personalized settings or connections to other products. A rival assistant may also work less smoothly with your phone or computer.
The FTC’s report on major AI partnerships found that some agreements included exclusivity provisions and other restrictions that could make it harder for AI developers to switch cloud providers or use multiple providers simultaneously.
The report focused on relationships between AI developers and cloud computing companies rather than on the assistants on consumers’ phones. But the concern is similar: A company with control over essential technology or distribution can make it more difficult for rivals to compete.
Fewer choices could mean higher prices
Competition generally gives companies a reason to improve products, keep prices down and offer free versions. That pressure weakens when customers become tied to one platform.
ChatGPT, Gemini and Grok already combine free access with paid plans that provide higher limits or more advanced features. OpenAI, for example, offers several paid ChatGPT plans, while Google sells expanded access to Gemini through its Google AI plans.
Consumers may eventually find that basic AI functions come with a phone or operating system while the most useful features require another monthly payment.
A company does not have to raise the listed price of a device to make AI more expensive. It can place more features behind a subscription, lower the limits on a free plan or bundle AI with a broader package that costs more.
Those charges could accumulate quickly for households already paying for cloud storage, streaming services, productivity software and other digital subscriptions.
App makers may pass along their costs
Consumers could also pay indirectly through the apps and services they use. Developers may need to pay for access to AI models, cloud computing and the platforms that distribute their apps. If a few companies control those resources, developers may have little bargaining power.
Some businesses will absorb the expense. Others may raise subscription prices, add more advertising or limit what free users can do.
Platform owners may also give their own AI products better access to device features than outside competitors receive. An app built around a rival assistant could work less smoothly or require extra steps.
That could influence which apps survive and which services consumers can use without changing devices.
The legal battle of the titans
Musk has pursued a long-running legal fight against OpenAI over its structure, leadership and relationship with Microsoft. OpenAI disputes his claims and has published its own account of the dispute.
The case will not directly decide the price of an AI subscription. But it shows how much control of the technology, financing and distribution is worth to the companies involved.
Lawsuits and regulatory action could affect which partnerships survive, how much freedom AI companies have to work with competing platforms and whether one company can use its position in phones, operating systems or cloud computing to favor its own products.
What consumers should watch
Before paying for an AI service or buying a device because of its AI features, ask a few practical questions.
- Are the advertised AI features included, or do they require a separate subscription?
- Can you use another AI assistant easily?
- Will the service work on devices from competing companies?
- Can you move your conversations, files or other data if you switch?
- Are you already paying for another service that does much the same thing?
The current competition may deliver better assistants and more capable devices. The risk comes after consumers have stored years of information in one service, bought compatible products and built their routines around it. At that point, companies may find it easier to charge more because leaving has become inconvenient.
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