Apple has been lagging behind in the AI world. As the likes of OpenAI and Google barge on ahead, Apple is looking for new ways to keep up with the crowd, and with a new team brought in, they might have the answer.
According to Bloomberg, Apple is now working on an ‘AI answers’ tool. The details of this remain unclear, but a team has been brought in specifically to develop a stripped-down rival to ChatGPT.
Currently, Apple has stayed clear of delving into the world of chatbots. While they have their AI Apple Intelligence tool, they have never introduced a function similar to ChatGPT or Gemini.
In the past, the company insisted that this wasn’t necessary and instead focused on giving its users access to ChatGPT for that need.
Mark Gurman, the author of the Bloomberg article, highlights that the new team from Apple is called Answers, Knowledge, and Information. They are rumoured to be working on an “answers engine”.
In other words, a tool that can respond to questions using information from across the web. It is still unclear if this would be a standalone tool or integrated into one of Apple’s existing products.
Gurman also noted that Apple is currently advertising for new members of the team. The job adverts focus on experience with search algorithms and engine development.
Can Apple catch up with its competitors?
Apple has ended up surprisingly far behind in the AI mission. While it has launched Apple Intelligence, and brought out updates to the tool since its release, it is lagging far behind.
They have no chatbot (which has quickly become the public’s favourite AI tool), and, while it has experimented with generative AI, Apple has never quite got a grasp on this area either.
The company’s original plan seemed to be to piggyback off the OpenAI tools, offering these through Apple devices. However, now Apple seems to be trying to catch up in a fast moving world.
Unless it can move quickly, Apple is stuck in a tricky position. Even if it does launch a ChatGPT-like tool on its devices, it will be coming out years after its competitors.
By that point, the likes of OpenAI and Google will be working on AI browsers, video tools and other more advanced technologies.
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