Apple is in advanced talks with OpenAI about using their AI technologies in iOS 18. A partnership is reportedly imminent. Discussions with Google are ongoing.
According to Bloomberg, Apple is close to an agreement with OpenAI to use ChatGPT capabilities on the iPhone. The company plans to integrate the AI-based technology into iOS 18, the next iPhone operating system. Apple reportedly intensified talks with OpenAI in April.
Apple and OpenAI are negotiating terms that would allow Apple to include OpenAI technology in new AI features set to be announced at WWDC next month. However, Bloomberg reports that there's no guarantee a deal will be announced anytime soon.
Apple is also still talking to Google's parent company Alphabet about licensing its Gemini chatbot, but those talks have not yet resulted in an agreement. In China, Apple is said to be in talks with Baidu. Offering a choice of chatbots is likely to comply with EU legislation under the Digital Markets Act.
Apple's dual AI strategy
In addition to external partnerships, Apple is pursuing its own AI strategy focused on privacy, efficiency, and control. This includes internal AI research and the release of open-source language models, such as OpenELM, that outperform similar models with less training data and computing power.
OpenELM could be part of Apple's plan to primarily provide generative AI on-device. The company could then partner with Google, OpenAI, or others for advanced cloud AI applications. More details on Apple's approach are expected at the WWDC event this summer.
Reports suggest Apple's long-term goal is to deploy its own AI inference chip in company data centers.
