Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET
ZDNET's key takeaways
Apple reportedly has an AI search in the works.
The AI search experience could have a standalone app and power Siri.
Timely and strategic release with broader success of AI search engines.
With the launch of Apple Intelligence, Apple sought to enter the AI space after a somewhat late entry. However, several delays of its most sought-after feature, including Siri 2.0, have made it difficult to keep up with more established competitors. A new report details an AI product in the works that may help bolster Apple's position.
On Sunday, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported in the Power On newsletter that Apple's recently-assembled Answers, Knowledge, and Information (AKI) team is working on a ChatGPT rival that will give users easier access to the breadth of information available on traditional search.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
What is the product?
The report said that the product is meant to function as an "answer engine" that can provide responses to general knowledge questions, leveraging the web. This is a major pivot from the current approach, as Apple never developed its own search engine, even in the pre-AI era. Once it came to incorporating generative AI, it relied on OpenAI's ChatGPT to feed users responses that Siri can't access.
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