Apple brings ChatGPT to iPhones and Siri in AI overhaul

Apple will bolster its Siri voice assistant and operating systems with OpenAI’s ChatGPT as it seeks to catch up in the AI ​​race.

The iPhone maker announced the Siri makeover and a number of other new features at its annual developer show on Monday.

It’s part of a new personalized AI system – called “Apple Intelligence” – that aims to give users a way to navigate Apple devices more easily.

Updates to its iPhone and Mac operating systems will provide access to ChatGPT through a partnership with developer OpenAI.

ChatGPT can also be used to boost other tools, including text and content generation. The test version will be available in the fall.

Tim Cook, Apple’s chief executive, said the move would take his company’s products “to new heights” as he opened the Worldwide Developers Conference at the tech giant’s headquarters in Cupertino, California.

The announcement was not well received by all. Tesla and Twitter/X owner Elon Musk has threatened to ban iPhones from his companies over “data security” concerns.

“Apple has no idea what actually happens once they pass your data to OpenAI,” Mr. Musk said on X. “They sell you down the line.”

Apple has been under pressure to introduce new AI features into its products after the rapid rise of competitors that have adopted the technology.

Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, said that while Apple’s new personal AI system “should help calm nervous investors,” its ChatGPT integration could reveal and create deeper problems for the company .

“This arguably means Apple is admitting its limitations given that ChatGPT will come into effect at a time when Siri will no longer be able to help a user,” he told the BBC.

Apple has been largely absent from the avalanche of AI products released by tech companies in recent months.

Mr. Cook told investors in 2023 that the company would approach technology cautiously. On Monday, those plans were finally presented.

“Apple Intelligence” is not a product or application in its own right.

It will be part of every Apple app and product customers use – whether it’s a writing assistant refining your draft messages or your calendar that can show you the best route to your next appointment.

In that sense, it’s similar to Microsoft’s AI assistant Copilot – but you won’t have to pay extra to activate it.

Siri, the voice assistant acquired by Apple in 2010, has been refreshed with a new interface and a chattier approach to help users navigate their devices and apps more seamlessly.

Apple made a point of emphasizing the security of Apple Intelligence during Monday’s keynote.

Some processing will be done on the device itself, while larger actions requiring more power will be sent to the cloud – but no data will be stored there, it says.

This is vital for customers who pay premium prices for Apple’s privacy promises.

The system “puts powerful generative models at the heart of your iPhone, iPad and Mac,” said Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering.

“It draws on your personal context to provide you with the information most useful and relevant to you, and it protects your privacy every step of the way.”

Apple’s decision to integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology was widely expected, but it’s an unusual move for a company that guards its own products so closely.

Google and Microsoft have recently faced scrutiny over errors made by their AI products in recent months, with the search giant canceling a new feature in May after its faulty answers went viral .

For years, Apple also refused to allow its customers to download apps outside of the App Store on the grounds that they might not be secure, and would not allow any web browser other than its own Safari for the same reason.

This only changed when European legislation required it to do so.

Is this a sign of recognition that even Apple can’t compete with ChatGPT at the moment?

If so, that tells us a lot about the current power of AI supergiant OpenAI.

The company did indicate that it would integrate other products in the future, but did not name any.

Apple has announced that its mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro, will go on sale in the UK on July 12. It has been available in the United States since February.

Other new features announced Monday include: