Apple is Reportedly Working on its Own ChatGPT-Like ChatBot

Apple is reportedly developing its own generative AI tools to catch up with OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Microsoft’s Bing AI, and other companies invested in this new AI race. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple has increased its investments in AI in recent months after being caught off guard by the surge of ChatGPT and other chatbots.

“The iPhone maker has built its own framework to create large language models — the AI-based systems at the heart of new offerings like ChatGPT and Google’s Bard — according to people with knowledge of the efforts. With that foundation, known as “Ajax,” Apple also has created a chatbot service that some engineers call ‘Apple GPT’,” Gurman wrote.

Even though pioneered AI assistants with the launch of Siri on iOS 5 back in 2011, AI technology has never really been one of Apple’s strengths. You just need to compare Siri with other AI assistants to see how Apple’s AI often falls back to Google searches when it doesn’t understand what you want it to do.

“Apple employees say the company’s tool essentially replicates Bard, ChatGPT and Bing AI, and doesn’t include any novel features or technology. The system is accessible as a web application and has a stripped-down design not meant for public consumption. As such, Apple has no current plans to release it to consumers, though it is actively working to improve its underlying models,” Gurman explained.

According to the report, the various teams at Apple working on generative AI technologies are also “trying to address potential privacy concerns related to the technology.” Apple often emphasizes how it develops new products with a privacy-first approach, and ChatGPT and other chatbots are indeed raising questions about how they handle sensitive information. Yesterday, Reuters reported that Google has recently advised some of its employees to not share any confidential materials with AI chatbots.

Still, with Microsoft building its own “Copilot” experiences across Windows and Microsoft 365 and Google doing the same with its Duet AI for Google Workspace, Apple can’t really afford to not join that new generative AI race. On Windows 11, the new Windows Copilot, which is currently available in preview on the Dev Channel, promises to be a much more capable version of Microsoft’s soon-to-be-discontinued Cortana assistant.

Gurman reports that Apple’s generative AI efforts are currently led by Craig Federighi, Apple’s SVP of Software Engineering, and John Giannandrea, SVP of Machine Learning and AI strategy. While Apple is said to be still figuring out use cases for its own generative AI technology, Gurman believes that Apple is currently planning to make a “significant” AI-related announcement in 2024.