Apple Drops In-House Chatbot, Chooses OpenAI for iOS 18, Google as Plan B

Apple is reportedly abandoning its in-house chatbot efforts and will rely on OpenAI to integrate chatbot capabilities into iOS 18 while keeping Google as an alternative option.

OpenAI Partnership

Prior rumors suggested that Apple was developing an in-house chatbot called "Apple GPT." The tech behemoth was expected to unveil a sneak peek at this tech at its forthcoming WWDC 2024 keynote before incorporating it into iOS 18.

However, things have changed. According to Mark Gurman's newsletter for Bloomberg (via Wccftech), Apple and OpenAI have agreed that the AI research organization should provide chatbot capability in iOS's next major update.

Preliminary Feature Rollout

Additionally, he stated that the eagerly awaited AI capabilities might be unveiled under the designations "beta" or "preview." This further indicates that Apple was taken aback by the AI revolution, as the quality and dependability of the features it has developed for this iteration are not yet satisfactory enough to officially release without a beta label.

"There's also no Apple-designed chatbot, at least not yet. That means the company won't be competing in the highest-profile area of AI: a market that caught fire after OpenAI released ChatGPT in late 2022.

Though some of Apple's executives are philosophically opposed to the idea of an in-house chatbot, there's no getting around the need for one. And the version Apple has been developing is simply not up to snuff."

Google Partnership Potential

Furthermore, according to Android Authority, Apple is reportedly coordinating with Google as an "option." Considering Apple's apparent reluctance to place all its cloud AI eggs in one basket, we shouldn't anticipate any announcements regarding this next month.

To boot, the tech website counteracts, stating that Apple is not abandoning its plans to develop its own chatbot. Similar to its approach with Google Maps before unveiling Apple Maps, the company is likely working on its unique solution. The OpenAI collaboration should provide the necessary space and time for this endeavor.

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