Apple is forming a new team called Answers to develop an internal counterpart to ChatGPT. The company intends to create its own artificial intelligence-based search engine that will allow users to get answers to queries without having to use third-party services.
Apple is forming a new team called Answers to develop an internal counterpart to ChatGPT. The company intends to create its own artificial intelligence-based search engine that will allow users to get answers to queries without having to use third-party services.
According to Bloomberg, Apple has already announced a recruitment of specialists for the Answers, Knowledge and Information (AKI) team. It is headed by Robbie Walker, the former Siri project manager, who works under the direction of the head of AI direction John Gianandrea. The team is already working on the creation of the so-called «answer engine». This is a system that will scan the Internet to generate accurate and fast answers to user queries.
Apple’s move signals a review of its internal strategy for generative AI. While the company has previously publicly stated that it has no need for a separate chatbot, the partnership with OpenAI and the integration of ChatGPT into Siri have fallen short of expectations. Siri still often fails to handle basic queries, which poses risks to Apple’s position, especially in the context of a possible review of its $20 billion search deal with Google.
At the same time, Apple is facing a major engineering exodus from its Foundation Models team, the unit responsible for developing large language models. In July, four top engineers left for Meta, which offered them significantly higher salaries and more opportunities for advancement. They include Ruomin Pan, the group’s founder, as well as engineers Tom Hunter, Mark Lee, and Bowen Zhang, who led multi-source integration.
Amid these changes, Apple is also making some senior management changes: Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams is set to retire, replaced by Sabih Khan. Some of his design, Apple Watch and healthcare responsibilities could be handed over to Craig Federighi.
Apple has been actively expanding its AI capabilities in recent years: in 2023–2024, the company invested over $1 billion in the development of its own AI infrastructure, but is currently forced to find a compromise between internal developments and external partnerships. The creation of Answers is an attempt to solve this dilemma from within.
We previously reported on how Apple launched a new AppleCare One subscription that allows you to protect multiple devices on one plan. The subscription costs $19.99 per month and covers up to three devices.
