diff --git a/apis/appcatalog/v1alpha1/appbinding_types.go b/apis/appcatalog/v1alpha1/appbinding_types.go
index 8a596b62..92a5d6fb 100644
--- a/apis/appcatalog/v1alpha1/appbinding_types.go
+++ b/apis/appcatalog/v1alpha1/appbinding_types.go
@@ -181,7 +181,8 @@ type TypedLocalObjectReference struct {
 	// If APIGroup is not specified, the specified Kind must be in the core API group.
 	// For any other third-party types, APIGroup is required.
 	// +optional
-	APIGroup *string `json:"apiGroup"`
+	// +kubebuilder:default=""
+	APIGroup string `json:"apiGroup"`
 	// Kind is the type of resource being referenced
 	// +kubebuilder:default="Secret"
 	Kind string `json:"kind"`
diff --git a/apis/appcatalog/v1alpha1/openapi_generated.go b/apis/appcatalog/v1alpha1/openapi_generated.go
index ba7fa3e0..535c3de3 100644
--- a/apis/appcatalog/v1alpha1/openapi_generated.go
+++ b/apis/appcatalog/v1alpha1/openapi_generated.go
@@ -19728,6 +19728,7 @@ func schema_custom_resources_apis_appcatalog_v1alpha1_TypedLocalObjectReference(
 					"apiGroup": {
 						SchemaProps: spec.SchemaProps{
 							Description: "APIGroup is the group for the resource being referenced. If APIGroup is not specified, the specified Kind must be in the core API group. For any other third-party types, APIGroup is required.",
+							Default:     "",
 							Type:        []string{"string"},
 							Format:      "",
 						},
diff --git a/apis/appcatalog/v1alpha1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go b/apis/appcatalog/v1alpha1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
index a3a6823d..c1181511 100644
--- a/apis/appcatalog/v1alpha1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
+++ b/apis/appcatalog/v1alpha1/zz_generated.deepcopy.go
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ func (in *AppBindingSpec) DeepCopyInto(out *AppBindingSpec) {
 	if in.Secret != nil {
 		in, out := &in.Secret, &out.Secret
 		*out = new(TypedLocalObjectReference)
-		(*in).DeepCopyInto(*out)
+		**out = **in
 	}
 	if in.SecretTransforms != nil {
 		in, out := &in.SecretTransforms, &out.SecretTransforms
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ func (in *AppBindingSpec) DeepCopyInto(out *AppBindingSpec) {
 	if in.TLSSecret != nil {
 		in, out := &in.TLSSecret, &out.TLSSecret
 		*out = new(TypedLocalObjectReference)
-		(*in).DeepCopyInto(*out)
+		**out = **in
 	}
 	return
 }
@@ -432,11 +432,6 @@ func (in *TaskRef) DeepCopy() *TaskRef {
 // DeepCopyInto is an autogenerated deepcopy function, copying the receiver, writing into out. in must be non-nil.
 func (in *TypedLocalObjectReference) DeepCopyInto(out *TypedLocalObjectReference) {
 	*out = *in
-	if in.APIGroup != nil {
-		in, out := &in.APIGroup, &out.APIGroup
-		*out = new(string)
-		**out = **in
-	}
 	return
 }
 
diff --git a/crds/appcatalog.appscode.com_appbindings.yaml b/crds/appcatalog.appscode.com_appbindings.yaml
index 6b4c6635..65a8212d 100644
--- a/crds/appcatalog.appscode.com_appbindings.yaml
+++ b/crds/appcatalog.appscode.com_appbindings.yaml
@@ -174,6 +174,7 @@ spec:
                   namespace that will hold the credentials associated with the AppBinding.
                 properties:
                   apiGroup:
+                    default: ""
                     description: |-
                       APIGroup is the group for the resource being referenced.
                       If APIGroup is not specified, the specified Kind must be in the core API group.
@@ -285,6 +286,7 @@ spec:
                   the client certificate and private key associated with the AppBinding.
                 properties:
                   apiGroup:
+                    default: ""
                     description: |-
                       APIGroup is the group for the resource being referenced.
                       If APIGroup is not specified, the specified Kind must be in the core API group.
diff --git a/openapi/swagger.json b/openapi/swagger.json
index 7ecb7896..d874313e 100644
--- a/openapi/swagger.json
+++ b/openapi/swagger.json
@@ -2604,7 +2604,8 @@
       "properties": {
         "apiGroup": {
           "description": "APIGroup is the group for the resource being referenced. If APIGroup is not specified, the specified Kind must be in the core API group. For any other third-party types, APIGroup is required.",
-          "type": "string"
+          "type": "string",
+          "default": ""
         },
         "kind": {
           "description": "Kind is the type of resource being referenced",