Apple is reportedly nearing an agreement with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT features into the upcoming iOS 18 update as part of Apple's broader push to bring artificial intelligence capabilities to its devices.

Sources familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg said that the two companies have been finalising the terms of their partnership. It had previously been reported that Apple has been in talks with Google about licensing the tech giant's Gemini chatbot, although these discussions have not yet resulted in an agreement.

If the deal with OpenAI is finalised, it would allow Apple to offer a popular chatbot as part of a range of new AI features planned for unveiling at the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference next month. However, despite the advanced negotiations, there is no guarantee that an agreement will be announced imminently, the report noted.

Apple's AI ambitions extend beyond simply integrating third-party chatbots. The company plans to run some of its upcoming AI features through its own data centres equipped with custom-built processors, per previous reports. This move aligns with Apple chief exec Tim Cook's previous comments acknowledging the potential of AI while emphasising the need for a "thoughtful" approach to address various issues.

During Apple's recent earnings call, Cook emphasised the company's belief in the "transformative power and promise of AI," citing Apple's unique combination of hardware, software, and services integration as a competitive advantage in the emerging AI era.

The reported talks between Apple and Google to integrate Gemini into iOS shed light on Apple's efforts to leverage external AI capabilities – and indicate that the iPhone maker’s development of its own large language model (LLM) application, codenamed Ajax, may not be as advanced as initially assumed, prompting the company to seek partnerships to "do the heavy lifting of generative AI."

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