Apple CEO says the company doesn’t ‘want to ship AI for AI’s sake’

Key points

• Apple CEO John Ternus said the company is "absolutely going to leverage AI" in its new products.
• Ternus said Apple does not "want to ship AI for AI's sake" and wants users to focus on the product, not the AI.
• Ternus became Apple's official CEO at the beginning of September, according to the article.

Apple CEO John Ternus defended the company's position in the AI landscape during a recent interview with Wired's Steven Levy. Apple has often been described as behind on AI over the past couple years, especially after it delayed a more powerful version of Siri, which finally launched this summer.

Ternus, a longtime Apple executive who officially became CEO at the beginning of September, acknowledged that "everyone has an opinion" but said, "I really like where we're at."

What Ternus said about AI

Ternus said Apple is "absolutely going to leverage AI" in its new products. He added that the company does not "want to ship AI for AI's sake," and that when Apple does it right, people should not have to think about whether AI or more traditional software made something happen. He said what matters is whether Apple built something people really love.

We don't want to ship AI for AI's sake.

— John Ternus

On AI and apps

When Levy pressed him on whether AI might affect Apple and its ecosystem more dramatically, with agents potentially making things like apps unnecessary, Ternus replied that this "could make life really easy, I suppose." He also said the creation of products is "a deeply human and personal thing" that the company loves to do.