Apple is working on its first chatbot – but only for support
So far, the iPhone manufacturer has refused to implement its own competitors for ChatGPT, Claude and Co. This could change for a partial application.
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Apple's head of software Craig Federighi likes to emphasize that Apple has no interest in developing its own chatbot. However, this only appears to be partly true: At least in the area of customer support, the iPhone company seems to be interested in the idea. In the depths of the iOS 26 code, there are references to improvements for the Apple Support app, in which there is talk of an AI-based "Support Assistant". This was reported by Macrumors, citing code leak expert Aaron Perris. Apparently, the plan is for Apple users to interact with the new assistant in chat form. It is already possible to contact Apple Support via chat, but you will then have to deal with real people via the Messages app.
"No substitute for professional advice"
The Support Assistant, on the other hand, is initially designed to help using AI. To achieve this, you type a problem into the Apple Support app and can then apparently refine it in dialog until you find a solution. According to Apple's code, the service uses "generative models" that provide answers that are "associated with specific Apple products and services". In fact, Apple Intelligence already can get generative help on Apple products. However, the system is not a chatbot but only provides individual answers and is incapable of dialog.
The Support Assistant, on the other hand, appears to be a classic chatbot that pops up before you can reach a human at Apple at – if necessary. There are also warnings in the code, as we know them from ChatGPT or Claude: Apple's generative models can therefore give "incorrect, misleading, incomplete, offensive or harmful" outputs. The Support Assistant is also "no substitute for professional advice".
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Did it come from Apple?
In the further course of the code, Perris also found indications that the Support Assistant works multimodally. It is apparently also capable of uploading PDFs, images and documents, for example. However, it is unclear whether the chatbot actually comes from Apple. Strings state that the company also cooperates "with partners".
In the case of Apple Intelligence, this is currently ChatGPT from OpenAI. Internally, Apple is already working with generative AI for its supporters – to help them find technical answers for customers more quickly as part of AppleCare. The system called "Ask" uses Apple's internal knowledge base.
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