Apple is reportedly making strides in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), aiming to offer products similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard, according to a recent report by Bloomberg. This news has sent Apple’s shares soaring by as much as 2 per cent, reaching a record high.

The tech giant has built its own framework, dubbed “Ajax,” to develop large language models (LLMs), and is currently testing a chatbot internally referred to as “Apple GPT,” as per sources familiar with the matter. While Apple has yet to respond to media requests for comments on these developments, the company’s AI initiatives are gaining attention and interest from investors and tech enthusiasts alike.

Unlike some of its competitors, such as Alphabet and Microsoft, which have actively embraced AI and incorporated it into various products, Apple has taken a more cautious approach to the technology. Notably, the company refrained from making any major AI-related announcements during its developer conference in June. However, Apple has subtly integrated advanced AI features into certain products like Apple Photos, on-device texting, and the recently launched mixed-reality headset Vision Pro.

One of Apple’s primary AI offerings is its voice assistant, Siri, which, unfortunately, has faced stagnation over the years, lacking significant advancements. To tackle this, the company has assembled multiple teams dedicated to the latest AI effort, with leadership from John Giannandrea, the head of machine learning and AI at Apple, and Craig Federighi, the top software engineering executive.

The new virtual assistant being developed by Apple can summarise the text and answer questions based on the data it has been trained with. This tool, currently used internally for product prototyping, is comparable to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Google’s Bard, and Microsoft’s Bing AI. It functions as a web application and is seen as a promising step forward in Apple’s AI endeavours.

As of now, Apple has not outlined a concrete plan for these AI tools. Nevertheless, reports suggest that the company is aiming to make a significant AI-related announcement sometime next year.

The excitement around Apple’s foray into AI has already impacted the stock market, with shares of Microsoft, Nvidia, and Alphabet dropping by more than 1 per cent following the Bloomberg report.