Apple has found a neat way to monetize its AI service Apple Intelligence

For now, analysts and investors are wondering how Apple’s free Intelligence service, which officially launched just a few weeks ago, will impact iPhone 16 sales. But the iOS 18.2 beta revealed a way to monetize the artificial intelligence service on Apple devices without requiring users to pay a fee.

Image Source: Apple

Over the past few years, Apple has been vocal about the importance of revenue from its services as hardware update cycles lengthen every year, impacting device sales. Services are the category of business that provides Apple with stable income. This has led to speculation that future Apple Intelligence features will also be included in the paid services segment. However, as 9to5Mac reports, the latest beta version of the iOS 18.2 operating system showed that the company has found a way to monetize Apple Intelligence without charging for it.

Image source: Apple, 9to5mac.com

A new option “Upgrade to ChatGPT Plus” has been discovered in the OC settings. Essentially, this suggests that Apple is advertising a paid subscription for its partner OpenAI, for which it will receive a percentage of sales. This will make it possible to use basic AI functions for free, but you will have to pay for more advanced options.

Image source: Google

In iOS 18.2, the “Extensions” section currently only features the service from ChatGPT, but other AI tools, such as Google Gemini, will appear in the future. Users will also be able to choose between a free basic version and a premium subscription of each AI variant. Thus, Apple will retain its image as a company providing free AI services, while its revenue from services will continue to grow.