Apple Refuses to Integrate Meta's AI Chatbot into iPhone

Apple has rejected Meta’s offer to bring its AI chatbot to the iPhone, according to Bloomberg. The two briefly discussed a possible collaboration in March, but those talks never progressed and the company has no plans to integrate Meta’s large language model (LLM) into iOS.

Apple doesn't want to use Meta's AI chatbot for the iPhone.

These preliminary talks come around the time Apple began exploring deals to use OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Alphabet’s Gemini in its products. Earlier this month, the iPhone maker announced a partnership with OpenAI and plans to offer Gemini in the future.

According to the source, Apple has not entered into formal discussions with Meta in part because it feels that parent company Facebook’s privacy practices are not strict enough. Apple has been critical of Meta’s technology for years, so bringing Llama to the iPhone lineup would go against that.

In addition, “Apple” also sees ChatGPT chatbot as a more advanced option. Meanwhile, Google – which is the leading search partner on the Safari browser – should have a future agreement with Gemini based on the existing relationship.

Apple is also in talks with startup Anthropic to add another chatbot, according to Bloomberg. Apple Intelligence will also roll out later this year as part of iOS 18.

Apple is reportedly not paying to bring OpenAI’s ChatGPT to the iPhone, but will allow users to pay for a subscription as part of the iOS 18 update, generating revenue for the software maker. The iPhone maker will also receive an App Store commission.

At WWDC 2024, Apple's head of software engineering, Craig Federighi, said that Apple wants to give users a choice between different AI models, with plans to establish contracts with multiple vendors.