According to "The Information", Apple is studying a new solution to better support the listing of applications containing AI agents and AI programming capabilities on the App Store while maintaining existing security and privacy standards. Specific implementation details have not yet been disclosed.
In March this year, Apple began blocking updates to some popular "ambience programming" apps on the grounds that these apps violated the terms of the App Store's current rules that "may not execute code that changes the functionality of itself or other apps." This type of vibe programming application allows users to build applications and websites with almost no programming experience using AI agents and natural language prompts. Therefore, it quickly became popular and exposed the problem that current rules cannot keep up with the evolution of software forms in a timely manner.
Applications containing AI agents also pose regulatory problems for Apple: AI agents can complete complex operations autonomously, and even use a variety of tools and capabilities to generate "small applications," but this type of behavior is not allowed under the traditional App Store framework. In order to comply with the needs of developers and users and keep up with software trends, Apple needs to make corresponding adjustments to the rules. It is reported that Apple’s goal is to officially introduce AI agents to the App Store while trying to avoid the concerns of the outside world about “out-of-control agents” deleting content or causing other problems.
While preparing for future AI applications, Apple is also accelerating the layout of its own AI capabilities. Siri in iOS 27 is expected to receive a major upgrade and become smarter to better compete with competing products such as Claude and ChatGPT. To this end, Apple has cooperated with Google to introduce a customized Gemini model to provide underlying support for the new generation of Siri.
"The Information" said that Apple has begun contacting application developers, hoping that they will integrate capabilities such as booking flights and sending calendar invitations into the new version of Siri and Apple Intelligence. However, some developers have reservations about deep integration with Apple, fearing that it will become an entry point for Apple to collect a new round of commissions. Apple has told some developers that it does not plan to charge commissions in the early stages of cooperation, but it does not rule out the possibility of introducing fees in the future. Apple has also been in contact with Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent about Siri integration in iOS 27, but the companies are also unwilling to incur additional costs for integration.
In the future, Apple also plans to allow users to freely choose multiple chatbots in Siri, instead of being limited to OpenAI’s ChatGPT. Models from Anthropic or Google are expected to be used in features such as Image Playground and Writing Tools, just like the current ChatGPT. It's unclear whether Apple will further open up more iOS capabilities to third-party chatbots, but OpenAI has reportedly become frustrated with the restrictions Apple has set.
In the existing integration mode, ChatGPT can generate images and text for users via iOS, but it cannot access user emails or other personal sensitive information. "The Information" pointed out that the actual frequency of use of this feature by consumers is not high, which also makes Apple face new considerations on how to deepen cooperation with external models.
According to the current time plan, the new version of Siri is expected to be officially unveiled at the WWDC keynote on June 8. By then, Apple is likely to simultaneously disclose its overall concept and technical path to support agent-based AI applications in the App Store.