Apple Is Building Its Own AI Chatbot and “Answer Engine” to Rival ChatGPT and Google

Once hailed as the most valuable company in the world, Apple now finds itself playing catch-up in the AI space—a race dominated by the likes of OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic. The tech giant’s entry into artificial intelligence, labeled Apple Intelligence and unveiled at last year’s WWDC, arrived late and soon hit turbulence. Promised revamps for Siri have faced months of delays, while other AI features sparked controversy over accuracy and failed to best robust tools from Google and Samsung.

But anyone expecting Apple to back out of the AI battle is mistaken. CEO Tim Cook recently set the narrative straight, telling staff that he views AI as transformative as the internet itself—and that Apple intends to win.

The next chapter is already unfolding. According to Bloomberg reports, Apple is developing a streamlined version of ChatGPT, equipped with integrated search capabilities, a pivot from Apple’s earlier stance downplaying chatbots as a passing trend. Until now, Siri’s only hope for tackling tough queries was to lean on ChatGPT, and the company floated the idea of integrating with search upstarts like Perplexity. Now, the Cupertino giant is setting its sights on building an in-house chatbot custom-made for Apple’s universe.

Leading this effort is a newly minted team called Answers, Knowledge, and Information, or AKI. Spearheaded by senior director Robby Walker (formerly head of Siri, reassigned after setbacks), AKI unites key veterans from the Siri project with a mission: create a search experience powered by a proprietary “answer engine.”

The concept? An always-on system that can comb the web and return crisp, human-like answers to everyday knowledge questions. Apple is experimenting with both a standalone app for this new experience and the deep backend infrastructure to eventually supercharge Siri, Spotlight, Safari, and even Messages with next-level AI smarts.

Job postings for AKI spell it out: Apple wants engineers and dreamers to “shape the future of how the world connects with information.” Their focus is on turning iconic Apple products into intuitive gateways for answers—seamless, context-aware, and uniquely Apple.

After setbacks and a slow start, Apple’s AI reboot may finally be gaining momentum. The world’s attention is locked on AKI’s next move—and this time, the pressure to deliver is immense.