It’s not too late for Apple to get AI right

OpenAI announced this week that apps can now run directly within ChatGPT, allowing users to book travel, create playlists, and edit designs without switching between different apps. Some immediately declared it the app platform of the future — and predicted a world powered by ChatGPT where Apple’s App Store becomes obsolete.

But while the OpenAI app platform represents an emerging threat, Apple’s vision for improving Siri — while still seriously lagging behind — could still play to its advantage.

After all, Apple already controls the hardware and operating system, and has roughly 1.5 billion iPhone users globally, compared to ChatGPT’s roughly 800 million weekly active users. If Apple’s bet succeeds, it could position the iPhone maker in a way that not only maintains its dominance of the app industry, but also modernizes how we use apps in the age of artificial intelligence.

Apple’s plan is to remove the app icon without killing the app itself. Its vision for AI-powered computing – which was presented at the Developers Conference last year – will see iPhone users interacting with a revamped version of Siri and a revamped system that changes the way you use apps on your phone. (Imagine less clicking and more talking.)

Apps are outdated, do apps last a long time?

It’s an idea whose time has come.

Organizing small, clickable icons on your iPhone’s home screen to make online information easier to access is an old metaphor for computing. Meant to resemble a miniature version of a computer desktop, apps are becoming a less popular way for users to interact with many of their favorite online services.

These days, consumers are just as likely to ask an AI assistant for a recommendation or insight as they are to conduct a Google search or launch a single-purpose app, like Yelp. They’ll speak out loud to their Bluetooth-connected smart speakers or AirPods to play their favorite songs; They’ll ask the chatbot for business information or a summary of reviews for a new movie or show.

AI, a large language model trained on data saved on the web and more, determines what the user wants to know and issues a response.

This is arguably easier than searching through Google search results for the correct link with the answer. (This is something Google itself realized more than a decade ago, when it began placing answers to user queries directly on the search results page.)

AI is also often easier than finding the right app on your now-cluttered iPhone, launching it, and then interacting with its user interface — which varies from app to app — to perform your task or get an answer to your question.

However, the ChatGPT application system, although it seems to be improving in this model, remains locked within the ChatGPT user experience. It requires consumers to engage in a chatbot-style interface to use their apps, which may require user education. To call up an app, you must name it as the first word in the prompt or mention the app by name to get a button that prompts you to “Use the app to answer.” Then you have to write an exact query. (If you get this wrong, early tests by Bloomberg suggest you might get stuck on a loading screen with no results!)

We have to ask: Is this the future of applications, or just the future when there is no other competitor? When another solution becomes available — one built into your iPhone — will consumers continue to use ChatGPT, or are they still willing to try Siri again? We don’t know, but we wouldn’t rule out Apple just yet, even though Siri has a pretty bad reputation and should be saved at this point.

Siri may be awkward as it is today, but Apple’s overall ecosystem has advantages. For starters, consumers You already have it Which apps they want to use on their phone or know how to find them in the App Store, if not. They have used many of these apps for years. Muscle memory goes a long way!

At the same time, there are some barriers to getting started with the ChatGPT application platform.

You must install the application in question, of course; Then you have to connect the app to ChatGPT by going through the warning-filled permissions screen. This process requires you to authenticate with the app using your existing username and password, and enter a two-factor authentication code, if applicable.

After this one-time setup, things should be easier. For example, after a Spotify playlist is created using AI, it can be played in the Spotify app with one click.

However, this experience will not differ much from Apple’s plans if Apple can make things work as promised. Apple says you’ll be able to talk or text Siri to control your apps.

There are other drawbacks to the OpenAI application model. You can only interact with one app at a time, rather than being able to switch back and forth between apps — something that can be useful when comparing prices or trying to decide between a hotel room and an Airbnb.

Using apps within ChatGPT also removes the branding, design, and identity that consumers associate with their favorite apps. (For those who hate how messy Spotify has become, this is probably a good thing. However, others will disagree.) In some cases, using the mobile app version to achieve your goals may still be easier than using the ChatGPT app version because of the flexibility the former offers.

Finally, forcing users to switch application platforms can be difficult when there is no clear advantage to using applications within ChatGPT – other than the fact that it is nice to do so.

Can Apple save Siri’s reputation with AI features?

In its demo at WWDC 2024 — which Apple swore was not a “beta program” — the company showed how apps would work under this new system and how they could use other AI features like proofreading.

More importantly, Apple told developers that they will be able to take advantage of some of its AI capabilities without having to do additional work — such as a note-taking app using proofreading or rewriting tools. Additionally, developers who have already integrated SiriKit into their apps will be able to do more in terms of getting users to take action in their apps. (SiriKit, a toolkit for making apps interoperable with Siri and Apple Shortcuts, is something developers have been using since iOS 10.)

These developers will see immediate improvements when the new Siri is rolled out.

Apple said it will focus on categories such as Notes, Media, Messaging, Payments, Restaurant Reservations, VoIP Calls and Workouts.

Apps in these categories will be able to allow their users to take actions via Siri. In practical terms, this means that Siri will be able to call up any item from the app’s menus. For example, you can ask Siri to see presenter notes in a slide deck, and the productivity app will respond accordingly.

Apps will also be able to access any text displayed on the page using Apple’s standard text systems. This can make app interactions feel more natural, without the user having to give specifically worded prompts or commands. For example, if you have a reminder to wish your grandpa a happy birthday, you can say “FaceTime him” to take that action.

Apple’s existing Intents framework is also being updated to access Apple Intelligence, covering more applications in categories like books, browsers, cameras, document readers, file management, magazines, mail, photos, presentations, spreadsheets, whiteboards, and word processors. Here, Apple creates new “intents” that are pre-defined, trained, tested, and made available to developers.

This means you can tell the Darkroom photo editing app to apply a cinematic filter to the image via Siri. Additionally, Siri will be able to suggest app actions, helping iPhone users discover what their apps can do and take those actions.

Developers are adopting the App Intents framework, introduced in iOS 16, because it provides other functionality to integrate their app’s actions and content with other platform features, including Spotlight, Siri, the iPhone action button, widgets, controls, and visual search features — and not just Apple intelligence.

Also, unlike ChatGPT, Apple runs its own operating system on its own devices and offers the App Store as a discovery mechanism, app infrastructure, developer tools, APIs, and frameworks — not just the AI-powered interface that will help you use your apps.

Although Apple may have to borrow some AI technology from others to finally do this, it has the data to personalize your app recommendations, and for privacy-conscious people, it has the controls that let you limit the amount of information the apps themselves can collect. (Where’s the “Do Not Track” option for the ChatGPT app system, we wonder?)

OpenAI doesn’t work out of the box with all your apps at launch. It requires developer approval and relies on the Model Context Protocol (MCP), a newer technology for connecting AI assistants to other systems. That’s why ChatGPT currently only works with a few apps, such as Booking.com, Expedia, Spotify, Figma, Coursera, Zillow, and Canva. Adoption of MCP is growing, but a delay in widespread adoption may give Apple the extra time it needs to catch up.

Moreover, there are rumors that Apple’s AI system is almost ready. The company is said to be already testing this internally, allowing users to take actions in apps using Siri voice commands. This smarter version of Siri works out of the box and works with many apps, including apps from major players like Uber, AllTrails, Threads, Temu, Amazon, YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp, Bloomberg reported. Apple confirmed to TechCrunch that the device is still on track to ship next year.

Apple has the iPhone, OpenAI has Jony Ive

It will also be difficult to disrupt the iPhone’s position as a platform for apps, even from a company as large and powerful as OpenAI.

The maker of ChatGPT understands this too, which is why OpenAI is exploring its own hardware with former Apple design chief Jony Ive. It wants its AI to become part of consumers’ daily lives and habits, which may require a device.

But until now, reports indicate that the company has struggled to think of a better computing model than a smartphone. At the same time, the general public has shown an aversion to always-on AI devices, which conflict with existing social norms and threaten privacy.

The AI ​​backlash has included AI device maker Friend’s NYC subway posters, leading Taylor Swift fans to attack their favorite star over his involvement with AI, and threatening the reputation of popular consumer brands and commercial companies alike. This leaves the future success of the OpenAI device in question.

Right now, this means that the OpenAI application model is one that essentially boils down to using its application to control other applications.

If Apple gets the Siri upgrade right, this middleman may not be necessary.