Apple Tests ChatGPT-Like Generative AI Chatbot

According to a new Bloomberg report, Apple is reportedly working on generative AI tools. The report reveals that Apple has created its own framework, codenamed Ajax, intended to act as a foundation for developing large language models (LLMs).

Ajax is based on Google JAX, the tech giant’s proprietary machine learning framework, and runs on Google Cloud. Apple is already leveraging Ajax to develop AI tools similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and Microsoft’s Bing AI.

One of those tools is a chatbot, internally known as Apple GPT. The tool reportedly doesn’t have any new features other than those already offered by competitors’ products. It can answer questions and summarize text based on its training data.

Apple’s ChatGPT look-alike has already been released to select employees for internal use. The company has been rolling it out conservatively due to security concerns associated with generative AI. Although more employees are allowed to get their hands on the tool, it still requires special access. For now, they can use it in product prototyping but aren’t allowed to use it for customer-related matters.

Tech giants like Meta, Google, and Microsoft have been in a rush to make their AI-powered products available to the public. On the contrary, Apple has been pretty quiet regarding its AI projects despite the AI frenzy caused by ChatGPT’s release in late 2022. Apple has been using AI across its products for years now but has somewhat avoided speaking on the subject, even at its developer conference in June.

Apple’s career page tells a different story. The company has posted multiple job listings for generative AI experts and is on the lookout for engineers with experience in large language models and generative AI. In 2018, Apple hired former Google AI head John Giannandrea to direct its machine learning projects, another indicator that it isn’t sleeping on the new AI technologies.

Apple has also been quietly introducing advanced AI into some of its products such as Apple Photos and the mixed-reality headset Vision Pro. However, experts from the AI field say it’s lagging behind its tech peers in AI adoption.

According to Apple CEO Tim Cook, there are “a number of issues that need to be sorted,” and AI will be incorporated into Apple’s products on a “thoughtful basis.” Insider sources told Bloomberg that Apple has a significant AI announcement to make next year.