Apple has quietly established a new internal division called "Answers" to create its own competitor to ChatGPT, representing a dramatic reversal from the company's previous position against developing homegrown chatbot technology, Bloomberg reported.
The initiative comes as the tech giant faces potential disruption of its lucrative search partnership with Google, which generates approximately $20 billion annually for Apple through default search placement on its devices. Bloomberg detailed how the company's new direction contradicts recent public statements from top software and marketing executives who dismissed consumer interest in chatbot technology.
According to Bloomberg, when Apple introduced its artificial intelligence platform, it explicitly stated there would be no internally developed chatbot. The company instead partnered with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into the Siri voice assistant, allowing users to access what Apple termed "world knowledge" without creating an in-house product.
Apple's senior software and marketing leaders have consistently argued that consumer interest in chatbots remains limited, Bloomberg noted. These executives have also rejected suggestions that the absence of such technology demonstrates Apple falling behind in artificial intelligence development. Some leaders within the company's AI division have expressed skepticism about ChatGPT-style tools entirely.
However, products like ChatGPT serve hundreds of millions of users globally, with many relying on these tools for mathematical calculations, spreadsheet work, and brainstorming sessions, Bloomberg reported. Others utilize the technology for simpler functions like search capabilities.
Apple Intelligence currently lacks search functionality, focusing instead on notification summaries, text rewriting, Genmoji image generation, and photo cleanup features, according to Bloomberg. The system will soon include message and call translation capabilities but lacks the conversational, AI-powered search experiences available through ChatGPT or Google's Gemini.
Meanwhile, Siri continues to demonstrate inconsistent performance when answering questions, Bloomberg found. While it handles basic queries adequately, it frequently transfers other requests to ChatGPT through a limited interface. Often, it directs users to generic Google web searches, which proves particularly frustrating when using screen-less devices like the HomePod.
This situation places Apple in a precarious position, as the company has never developed its own search engine, Bloomberg reported. This stems partly from Google search's superior performance, but also because Alphabet pays Apple roughly $20 billion annually to maintain default status on Apple devices.
The arrangement faces potential disruption as the US Justice Department is widely expected to force changes to the search agreement, potentially costing Apple billions in annual revenue, Bloomberg noted. During recent earnings calls, Apple's finance chief indicated that the company's services growth closely connects to the Google partnership.
Simultaneously, the search landscape undergoes rapid transformation due to generative AI, making the market more democratized, Bloomberg reported. Users increasingly turn to tools like ChatGPT for purposes extending far beyond traditional search queries. Apple's services head Eddy Cue testified in court that AI-based search represents the future, confirming that Apple explores partnerships, including with startup Perplexity, to advance toward more modern search experiences.
Despite philosophical reservations among certain Apple leaders, the company clearly moves in that direction, according to Bloomberg. Earlier this year, Apple quietly established a new team called Answers, Knowledge and Information, or AKI. This group explores various in-house AI services aimed at creating a new ChatGPT-like search experience.
The AKI team operates under Robby Walker, a senior director reporting to AI chief John Giannandrea, Bloomberg reported. Walker previously managed Siri but lost control following engineering delays. After that reorganization, he received assignment to the new Answers initiative and brought several key team members from his Siri tenure.
While still in developmental stages, the team constructs what it calls an "answer engine" – a system capable of web crawling to respond to general knowledge questions, Bloomberg found. A standalone application remains under exploration, alongside new backend infrastructure designed to power search capabilities in future versions of Siri, Spotlight, and Safari.
Apple recently began advertising job openings for the team on its careers website, stating according to Bloomberg: "Our work fuels intuitive information experiences across some of Apple's most iconic products, including Siri, Spotlight, Safari, Messages, Lookup, and more. Join us in shaping the future of how the world connects with information!"
Several job listings specifically mention experience with search algorithms and engine development, Bloomberg reported. While a finished product may remain distant, the direction appears unmistakable - something resembling a streamlined, Apple-built approach to ChatGPT-like search functionality is in development.
