Hey Siri, meet ChatGPT: Apple to integrate AI into devices
11 June 2024
The tech giant has announced plans to introduce generative AI into iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
Claiming to “set a new standard for privacy in AI”, Apple Intelligence understands personal context to deliver intelligence that is helpful and relevant.
Apple Intelligence is deeply integrated into iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. It harnesses the power of Apple silicon to understand and create language and images, take action across apps, and draw from personal context to simplify and accelerate everyday tasks.
With Private Cloud Compute, Apple aims to set a new standard for privacy in AI, with the ability to flex and scale computational capacity between on-device processing and larger, server-based models that run on dedicated Apple silicon servers.
“We’re thrilled to introduce a new chapter in Apple innovation. Apple Intelligence will transform what users can do with our products – and what our products can do for our users,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO.
“Our unique approach combines generative AI with a user’s personal context to deliver truly helpful intelligence – and it can access that information in a completely private and secure way to help users do the things that matter most to them. This is AI as only Apple can deliver it, and we can’t wait for users to experience what it can do.”
Siri enters a new era
Powered by Apple Intelligence, Siri becomes more deeply integrated into the system experience. With richer language-understanding capabilities, Siri is more natural, more contextually relevant, and more personal, with the ability to simplify and accelerate everyday tasks.
With Apple Intelligence, Siri will be able to take hundreds of new actions in and across Apple and third-party apps. For example, a user could say, “Bring up that article about cicadas from my Reading List”, or “Send the photos from the barbeque on Saturday to Malia,” and Siri will take care of it.
Siri will be able to deliver intelligence that’s tailored to the user and their on-device information. For example, a user can say, “Play that podcast that Jamie recommended”, and Siri will locate and play the episode, without the user having to remember whether it was mentioned in a text or an email.
ChatGPT gets integrated across Apple platforms
Apple is also integrating ChatGPT access into experiences within iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia, allowing users to access its expertise – as well as its image- and document-understanding capabilities – without needing to jump between tools.
Siri can tap into ChatGPT’s expertise when helpful. Users are asked before any questions are sent to ChatGPT, along with any documents or photos, and Siri then presents the answer directly.
Additionally, ChatGPT will be available in Apple’s system-wide Writing Tools, which help users generate content for anything about which they are writing. With Compose, users can also access ChatGPT image tools to generate images in a wide variety of styles to complement what they are writing.
Apple claims that privacy protections are built in for users who access ChatGPT – their IP addresses are obscured, and OpenAI won’t store requests. ChatGPT’s data-use policies apply to users who choose to connect their accounts.
ChatGPT will come to iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia later this year, powered by GPT-4o. Users can access it for free without creating an account, and ChatGPT subscribers can connect their accounts and access paid features right from these experiences.