When ChatGPT launched nearly a year ago, the rest of Big Tech dove into what has since been dubbed the "AI arms race" in an attempt to develop and roll out artificially intelligent tech before any one firm dominates the market. Google (GOOGL) -), Meta (META) -) and Microsoft (MSFT) -) all raced to unveil generative AI assistants, while a litany of startups rushed to present a usable chatbot.
Apple (AAPL) -), meanwhile, the biggest tech firm of the lot, has remained quiet on AI. During its new tech reveals throughout the year, the firm very purposefully avoided even mentioning the term AI, instead highlighting the term "machine learning" in discussing its new technological approaches.
A July report, however, found that, behind closed doors, Apple was working frantically to develop its own ChatGPT competitor dubbed Ajax.
Related: Apple Wants to Crash ChatGPT's Party -- Here's Why It Might Succeed
The company is now on track to spend $1 billion annually on developing its generative AI products, according to a recent Bloomberg report.
Apple executives were reportedly caught off guard by the sudden industry tilt toward AI. The company has since been frantic in its behind-the-scenes efforts to catch up to the competition.
“There’s a lot of anxiety about this and it’s considered a pretty big miss internally,” a person with knowledge of the situation told Bloomberg.
The executives who are currently leading Apple's AI push are reportedly pushing to incorporate AI into as many Apple apps and products as possible. This includes an AI-led revamp of Siri, which could be ready by next year, as well as new features in Apple Music and development tools like Xcode.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Analysts think this could be a big deal
Despite Apple being a little late to the game, Deepwater's Gene Munster thinks that an integration of AI across Apple's suite of products could be hugely successful.
"Apple has the biggest opportunity among Big Tech to pioneer personalized AI because of their views on privacy and security," Munster wrote. "While personalized AI does not exist today, eventually you'll be able to ask an AI bot to help manage your life."
Related: Artificial Intelligence is a sustainability nightmare - but it doesn't have to be
An Apple chatbot, Munster said, could quickly eat up the market for personalized AI chatbots designed to help users with everything, including, for example, booking and budgeting a family vacation through integration across calendars.
"I hope within the next year Apple begins to use the language of 'personalized AI' with investors," he said.
Munster, noting that $1 billion equates to around 3% of the company's research and development budget, said that he wants to see Apple spend around five times more on developing personalized AI.
Apple will report earnings on Nov. 2 — a significant indication of Apple's AI urgency, according to Munster, would be visible if the company finally mentions the term "artificial intelligence" on the call.
Shares of Apple, up around 33% for the year, lifted slightly in pre-market trading.
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