Apple is reportedly working on an in-house search engine powered by artificial intelligence (AI), marking a significant shift in its technological strategy. According to sources, the company has established a new team dedicated to developing an answer engine similar to ChatGPT. This development comes after Apple previously downplayed the relevance of chatbots within its ecosystem, indicating it would not produce such a product. However, this initiative may also signify Apple’s preparation for a future independent of its current agreement with Google for search engine services.
Apple Forms New Team Focused on Answers and Information
In a recent edition of the Power-On newsletter, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported the formation of a new team at Apple, dubbed Answers, Knowledge, and Information (AKI). The team is charged with creating an in-house search experience that mimics the capabilities of ChatGPT, according to unnamed sources familiar with the project.
The term “answer engine” may be unfamiliar to some, though it was popularized by the AI start-up Perplexity, which describes its AI-driven web search platform in this manner. An answer engine typically employs a dual methodology: first, it retrieves relevant URLs and information from the web in response to search queries, much like a conventional search engine. Second, it synthesizes this data to deliver answers in a conversational style, using a large language model (LLM).
Gurman identified Robby Walker as the leader of the AKI team, who serves as a senior director at Apple and reports to John Giannandrea, the senior vice president of Machine Learning and AI Strategy. Walker began leading this new team in April, according to his LinkedIn profile, and it comprises several individuals with previous experience working on Siri.
The anticipated answer engine is expected to provide responses to general knowledge inquiries and may be integrated into various Apple services such as Siri, Spotlight, and Safari. The company is currently assessing whether to launch the technology in a standalone application.
Interestingly, in June, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi, stated in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that the company was not pursuing the development of a “bolt-on chatbot,” as such an approach did not align with its overarching vision for AI technology.
This new answer engine could prove advantageous for Apple, particularly in light of Google facing an antitrust lawsuit from the US Department of Justice. A critical aspect of this case is the financial arrangement under which Google pays Apple approximately $20 billion (roughly Rs. 1.7 lakh crore) annually to remain the default search engine on Apple devices.
