Sketchy iOS app “ChatGPT Chat GPT AI With GPT-3”, which is not affiliated with OpenAI, is selling subscriptions and has been a top paid App Store app for days
(See also: All the Wordle clones from awhile ago.) https://www.macrumors.com/... Tweets: Tae Kim / @firstadopter : App Store app testers on ChatGPT shams https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/... Shira Ovide / @shiraovide : Ah yes, ye olde “trusted platform” of the App Store: https://www.macrumors.com/... Sasha Kaletsky / @sashakaletsky : ChatGPT Pro (unofficial ChatGPT app) is currently #1 in the French iOS app store It's heavily paywalled: ~$200k revenue so far this week https://twitter.com/... Jeremy / @jeremyopendata : Fake apps, fake reviews, fake subscriptions. Real money. How is this possible @AppStore @tim_cook ? #ChatGPT #OpenAI https://twitter.com/... Rex / @12exyz : I've seen iOS app launch dates get delayed for days by the review process for the smallest copy revisions but there are currently 20+ apps on the App Store masquerading as official (paid) versions of ChatGPT — and some are surging the charts 🙃 https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/... Daniel Ek / @eldsjal : @benthompson ... 😂 sad but probably true Michael Love / @elkmovie : Thank goodness we have the diligent experts at App Review protecting us from the incredibly obvious scams that emerge every time there's a hot new tech thing. (I hope one of them adds a post-review external purchase link and gets instantly nuked, because that will be hilarious) https://twitter.com/... Austen Allred / @austen : Wonder how much money people are making wrapping free/open source software in a paid UX Ben Thompson / @benthompson : @patio11 @Austen Because it's using Apple's in-app purchase David Silver / @dcsilver : Said differently - how isn't this a fraud? https://twitter.com/... Sami Fathi / @samifathi_ : New Story: The 2nd most popular #AppStore “productivity” app is currently a sketchy #ChatGPT rip-off, charging users $7.99 *per week* to use a knock-off of the ultra-popular AI bot, somehow passing Apple's “review process.” https://www.macrumors.com/... https://twitter.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
The scam-lookalike problem on the App Store is not new: a developer documented lookalike apps flourishing on lax enforcement and fake reviews back in early 2021, and an analysis found nearly 2% of the 1,000 highest-grossing apps were scams costing users tens of millions. What changed is the fuel: ChatGPT's consumer explosion created enormous demand for a product that, at the time, had no official iOS app and no public API.
Into that vacuum stepped apps like 'ChatGPT Chat GPT AI With GPT-3' — unaffiliated with OpenAI, wrapping GPT-3-era tech in the ChatGPT name, and charging roughly $7.99 per week while sitting at the top of the paid charts. As related coverage notes, developers flooded both App Stores with 'ChatGPT'-branded apps within days, all passing Apple's review.
First-order effects
- Users are paying recurring subscription fees for what they believe is ChatGPT, funneling an estimated $200,000 in a single week to an unaffiliated developer while OpenAI captures nothing from its own brand's demand.
- Apple's App Review process takes direct reputational damage: multiple impersonators cleared review and climbed the charts, reviving the criticism from the 2021 scam-app era.
Second-order effects
- Every chart success invites copies — the flood of ChatGPT-listed apps on both Apple's and Google's stores intensifies, forcing App Review to choose between mass takedowns and tolerating brand-squatting it historically let slide.
- OpenAI faces pressure to close the gap itself: without an official app or public API, third parties monetize its name, which pushes toward shipping first-party clients and controlled developer channels like the later GPT Store.
Third-order effects
- If each major AI model launch triggers a wave of impersonation monetization before official channels exist, platform gatekeepers become the de facto arbiters of AI-brand authenticity — and enforcement quality becomes part of Apple's competitive position.
- OpenAI's eventual answer — first-party distribution plus revenue-sharing storefronts like the GPT Store and the MCP-based Apps SDK — points toward AI brands consolidating their ecosystems specifically to reclaim monetization from squatters.
The trend: Each breakout AI product now spawns an impersonation economy that thrives until the model owner ships official distribution channels, leaving app-store gatekeepers as the bottleneck deciding who profits from the brand.