Report: Apple Intelligence to let users choose third‑party AI models

Apple is reportedly planning to let users choose third-party artificial intelligence models inside Apple Intelligence, expanding beyond the ChatGPT handoff Apple introduced in 2024. Bloomberg’s reporting, summarized by 9to5Mac and MacRumors on May 5, said the feature is being developed for iOS 27, iPadOS 27 and macOS 27 and would appear under a new “Extensions” system. Apple has not announced the feature. The company has said WWDC26 begins June 8 and will include AI updates. ### Which Apple software is said to get the new AI model picker? 9to5Mac reported on May 5 that iOS 27 will let iPhone users choose among multiple third-party AI platforms for Apple Intelligence features, citing Bloomberg. MacRumors reported the same day that iOS 27, iPadOS 27 and macOS 27 would let users set third-party AI services as the default for features such as Writing Tools and Image Playground. WWDC26 is scheduled for June 8 through June 12, according to Apple’s developer site, and Apple said in a March announcement that the conference will spotlight AI advancements and new software tools. Apple has not published an agenda mentioning “Extensions” or third-party model selection. ### Which outside AI companies have been named? (9to5mac.com) Google, Anthropic and OpenAI are the companies named in the reports and follow-up coverage. 9to5Mac said users would be able to choose from models made by Google and Anthropic, while MacRumors said Apple plans to let users pick third-party AI services instead of relying only on ChatGPT for some Apple Intelligence functions. (developer.apple.com) March reporting also pointed in the same direction. MacRumors, again citing Bloomberg, said on March 26 that Apple planned to let third-party AI chatbots integrate with Siri in iOS 27, expanding beyond its existing OpenAI arrangement. A separate 9to5Mac report that day said Apple wanted Siri to work with more chatbot apps through an extension model. (9to5mac.com) ### How is that different from what Apple already offers with ChatGPT? OpenAI is already part of Apple Intelligence through the Siri handoff Apple announced with Apple Intelligence in 2024. The new reporting describes a broader setup in which users could choose another provider as a default service for more than one Apple feature, rather than only sending certain requests to ChatGPT. (macrumors.com) That characterization comes from MacRumors’ description of defaults for Writing Tools and Image Playground and 9to5Mac’s description of multiple integrated platforms. Apple has also spent the past year opening its own AI stack to developers. At WWDC25, Apple said developers would be able to access its on-device foundation model through a Foundation Models framework, and Apple later said the framework lets apps create features powered by Apple Intelligence on device. (macrumors.com) ### What do the reports say about privacy and control? Apple has not publicly described the notarization or data-handling rules mentioned in social posts circulating on May 18. The company’s published Apple Intelligence materials do, however, center on on-device processing and privacy protections, describing Apple Intelligence as a system that puts generative models “at the core” of devices. (apple.com) The reported restrictions on third-party models fit Apple’s existing approach, but that remains an inference until Apple documents the feature. The social posts referenced settings under “Extensions” and strict limits aimed at preventing user data from being exposed off device or to Apple cloud systems, but those details were not independently confirmed in Apple materials reviewed for this story. (developer.apple.com) ### Why is Apple building this now? January reporting tied Google more closely to Apple’s future AI plans. MacRumors said Apple and Google announced that Gemini would help power a more personalized Siri and future Apple Intelligence features, and June 2025 reporting said Apple had also explored outside large language models from Anthropic and OpenAI for Siri. (developer.apple.com) May 2025 reporting showed Apple moving in parallel on its own models. Bloomberg reported then that Apple planned to let third-party developers write software using Apple’s AI models, and Apple announced that framework at WWDC25. The new reports suggest Apple may now be extending that openness to user-facing model choice as well, though Apple has not said so publicly. (macrumors.com) ### When will Apple confirm any of this? June 8, 2026 is the next concrete date. Apple said WWDC26 opens that day, and MacRumors reported Apple plans to announce the new Siri and third-party integration option at the June 8 keynote. If Apple follows its usual pattern, developer betas would arrive after the keynote, with public betas later in July. (developer.apple.com) (bloomberg.com)