OpenAI released the official ChatGPT app for iPhone only a few days ago, but only users in the US could download it. At the time, we speculated that the rollout will continue in other markets. OpenAI undoubtedly wants to be present everywhere in the world as the generative AI battle heats up. Only a week later, OpenAI rolled out ChatGPT for iPhone in more than 40 countries, which is tremendous progress. What’s also interesting is that the app is available in several European Union markets right now. That’s great news for the entire block.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman just advocated AI regulation in the US. But then he protested against the EU AI Act, deeming it as “over-regulating” the nascent industry. Altman went on to say that OpenAI could remove ChatGPT from Europe if the proposed legislation doesn’t see any changes.
OpenAI had already had a first “battle” with EU regulators earlier this year when Italy banned ChatGPT for a few weeks, citing privacy grounds. OpenAI then added a new setting to ChatGPT, allowing users to opt out of data collection.
But it’s unlikely that OpenAI will pull ChatGPT from Europe anytime soon. Or that it really wants to do it. The ChatGPT app for iPhone expanded release proves that’s hardly the case. Several EU markets are part of the expanded rollout, as seen in the list below:
Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Estonia, France, Germany, Ghana, India, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Qatar, Slovenia, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, and the United States.
That’s a clear signal that OpenAI wants to compete everywhere in the world. Even in regions with strong regulations like the European Union.
That contrasts GGoogle’sapproach, which is yet to make Bard and its new Search AI products available in the region. Unless you hop on a VPN service, you can’t load Google Bard on your computer, smartphone, or tablet in the EU.
TThat’slikely because Google is still working on ways to adapt its early AI products to the EU market. Reports this week said that Google would work with Europe on an AI Pact that will precede the local regulation that Altman feared.
That said, the arrival of official generative AI products for mobile devices is definitely great news, even if the rollouts are limited. OOpenAI’sstaggered release makes sense. The company has to ensure a smooth experience. And that means accommodating millions of iPhone and iPad users who might want to use ChatGPT on their devices.
IIt’slikely that ChatGPT for iPhone will release in additional countries in the near future. Once the OOpenAI’sresources permit it. On that note, it’s unclear when Android will get official access to ChatGPT.
I’ll also remind you to make sure to only use genuine generative AI products. Whether iit’sChatGPT from OpenAI, Bing Chat from Microsoft, or Google Bard from Google. There are plenty of scams out there, including malware apps and programs that will make you pay for access. If you want to use ChatGPT on iPhone and don’t have access to the official app, we have a few tips for you.
You can download the official ChatGPT app for iPhone at this link.
