In a move bound to raise eyebrows, Apple and Meta Platforms reportedly discussed integrating Meta’s generative AI model into Apple Intelligence. Besides Meta, AI startups Perplexity and Anthropic also reportedly talked with Apple about integrating their offerings into Apple Intelligence.
Update: The initial report of a possible partnership to bring Meta’s Llama large language model to Apple Intelligence made it sound like talks were ongoing. However, a new story published Monday said Apple rejected Meta’s LLM “months ago.”
Apple and Meta share a long, troubled history
In recent months, industry observers and Wall Street investors viewed Apple as lagging on AI as other companies cashed in. But when revealing Apple Intelligence during the WWDC24 keynote, Apple laid out a clear and compelling case for incorporating AI advances into iPhones, Macs and iPads.
Apple focused on fun, useful and — most importantly — user-friendly ways to integrate AI into its operating systems. That included giving users the option to utilize OpenAI’s ChatGPT for certain tasks. And the company said it likely would work with other AI partners in the future.
For OpenAI, Meta and other AI companies, a foothold in the Apple ecosystem means widespread exposure and a potentially lucrative influx of paying customers. Meta apparently wanted in on that action, but such a partnership would make for strange bedfellows.
Apple and Meta clashed multiple times over the years, publicly calling out each other in some cases. In January 2021, Facebook (now Meta) CEO Mark Zuckerberg publicly said, “We increasingly see Apple as one of our biggest competitors.” He made the comment over Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature in iOS 17.4. Another report from early 2020 detailed how Apple plunged Facebook into chaos when it broke its internal apps.
Meta wants in on Apple Intelligence … but Apple isn’t having it
Despite the troubled history, a Sunday report in The Wall Street Journal indicated the two companies have been discussing a possible Apple Intelligence integration. But on Monday, Bloomberg, also citing anonymous sources, reported that Apple spurned Meta’s bid for a coveted spot in Apple Intelligence.
“The two companies aren’t in discussions about using Meta’s Llama chatbot in an AI partnership and only held brief talks in March, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the situation is private,” Bloomberg wrote. “The dialogue about a partnership didn’t reach any formal stage, and Apple has no active plans to integrate Llama.”
Apple showed off Apple Intelligence, with an upgraded Siri and a ChatGPT integration, during its WWDC24 keynote on June 10. The company also said it remains open to integrating other large language models, giving users flexibility in what AI services they want to use. While Apple Intelligence will process most user queries, it can pass off complex questions to a third-party AI model.
Apple won’t pay any company for integrating their AI into Apple Intelligence
Before WWDC24, multiple reports claimed Apple was also talking to Google about integrating Gemini in iOS 18. However, the AI model was missing from iOS 18’s official unveiling, suggesting talks between the two companies are ongoing.
It’s unclear if Apple will charge third-party companies for integrating their AI models into Apple Intelligence. Despite its popularity, OpenAI is not paying Apple any money, nor is the latter paying for ChatGPT access. Instead, a report indicates OpenAI is getting paid in exposure for ChatGPT’s iOS 18 integration.
However, Apple could take a cut from the subscription fees AI companies make from integrating their AI models into Apple Intelligence.
We originally published this news story on a potential AI partnership between Apple and Meta Platforms on June 23, 2024. We added information about Apple rejecting Meta’s advances.
