Apple’s winning AI strategy might come down to three simple words, per CNBC

Earlier this week, Apple received good news when a judge ruled that its lucrative search deal with Google could continue. And per CNBC, the ruling offers Apple a simple, but winning path forward for the iPhone in AI centered around three words: “pay to play.”

‘Pay to play’ could be Apple’s AI solution, modeled after Google search deal

With Apple’s $20 billion search deal with Google now seemingly safe, investors see AI as one of the company’s other significant perceived threats.

But according to CNBC’s Jim Cramer, the court decision reveals a very bright future for Apple in AI.

Cramer said after the Google ruling: “Yesterday, Apple had no cards. Today they have all of the cards. Turns out Apple always had an AI strategy: pay to play. You pay them, not they pay you.”

Julie Coleman writes at CNBC:

Apple no longer has to worry about making a deal worth billions with a hyperscaler or AI company like Perplexity, Cramer said. Instead, big chat bot names will now have to compete for Apple’s spotlight, he continued, as the company boasts more than 1 billion active iPhone users. […]

“There isn’t a clear winner right now in the chatbot space, but if you can pay Apple a fortune to make yours the default, someone’s going to write that check,” Cramer said.

In other words, Apple doesn’t need to worry about mastering its own AI technology.

Rather, it can make bank by striking a big deal with a leading AI company that wants access to Apple’s massive user base.

9to5Mac’s Take

On one hand, I think Cramer makes a good point in highlighting the strength of Apple’s loyal user base. It’s hard for any other company to match the hardware-software-services ecosystem Apple has built.

And if AI chatbots do end up essentially replacing traditional search engines, maybe Apple getting paid to make ChatGPT or Gemini the iPhone’s default is a natural path forward.

However, I’m highly skeptical that Apple would be fine in the long run relying on third-party tech.

Apple’s privacy stance would prevent third-party players from ever getting to tap into sensitive user data like Siri can and will. Thus, the best experience for users will require a level of Siri competence that we haven’t yet seen.

Here’s hoping next spring will bring that long-awaited upgrade.

Do you think Apple should pivot to letting users set a default AI chatbot on the iPhone? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments.

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