Apple is taking a major leap in the artificial intelligence race by exploring plans to launch a ChatGPT-like search experience, signaling a significant shift in how billions of users may access information on its devices.
After unveiling Apple Intelligence, the company has accelerated efforts to build proprietary conversational AI tools, aiming to reduce its reliance on traditional search partners and set new benchmarks in privacy and user experience.
According to multiple reports, Apple has formed a specialized Answers, Knowledge, and Information (AKI) team tasked with creating a next-generation AI-powered search platform. This initiative is being led by Robby Walker, a former Siri executive, and involves recruiting top talent in artificial intelligence, search algorithms, and cloud infrastructure.
Apple is considering both a standalone app and integration into existing services. The new system would allow users to search with plain language, receive synthesized answers, and benefit from smarter follow-up questions; marking a major evolution from Siri’s current, often rigid, rule-based responses.
The AI-powered platform could eventually power search within multiple Apple products, broadening its impact well beyond the voice assistant:
Siri: Smarter, context-aware conversations and web search.
Spotlight: Results that go beyond local files and apps to include real-time, AI-sourced web information.
Safari: Conversational search directly inside Apple’s default browser, offering alternatives to Google search.
With the creation of the AKI team and plans to integrate a conversational AI search engine, Apple intends to transform how its users find and interact with information.
Development is still at an early stage, with no launch date announced, but hundreds of AI-specific job openings and internal activity highlight Apple’s seriousness about the venture.