APPLE’s partnership with OpenAI – in the works for months – was only briefly mentioned at a much-anticipated developer event on Monday (Jun 10), with the iPhone maker’s homegrown technology getting most of the focus.
Apple’s keynote presentation at its Worldwide Developers Conference lasted more than an hour and 45 minutes, but only about two minutes were devoted to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Apple is including the chatbot as part of a broad set of artificial intelligence (AI) tools that it’s calling Apple Intelligence.
Most of the event was devoted to Apple’s own software and features – including its new AI tools, which it presented as a friendlier, safer version of the technology. “This is AI for the rest of us,” Apple software chief Craig Federighi said.
ChatGPT was mentioned late in the keynote, with Federighi announcing that the chatbot would be supported through Apple’s Siri voice assistant. If you need menu ideas for a meal you are cooking, for example, Siri can determine if ChatGPT might be able to help, he said.
Users then get a prompt from Siri asking permission – “Do you want me to use ChatGPT to do that?” – before it proceeds to ChatGPT. It’s a sign that Apple plans to keep the technology separated from its own tools.
Users can also upload a photo to ChatGPT to ask for decorating advice, Federighi said. Again, Siri will ask for permission before doing so. Writing tools will be able to tap into the chatbot as well, he said. The service will be available for free, without requiring an account. The features are coming to iPhone, iPad and Mac software later this year.
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Federighi also said that other AI models will be coming in the future, confirming earlier Bloomberg reports. Apple has been in talks with Alphabet’s Google about adding that company’s Gemini chatbot, according to sources familiar with the discussions.
Apple is treading carefully with AI. Chatbots such as ChatGPT and Gemini have struggled at times to supply fully accurate information, and Apple is looking to focus more on less risky tasks – such as assembling photo collections or helping set up dinner reservations.
Though OpenAI chief executive officer Sam Altman attended the keynote, he did not appear in the presentation. After the announcement, he posted on X that he was “very happy” to be partnering with Apple. BLOOMBERG
