- Report claims Apple is working to enable AI agents in its App Store
- This is a sudden departure from Apple’s most recent moves in artificial intelligence applications.
- Apple previously removed vibration encoding AI apps from the App Store
In March, word spread that several vibration coding apps, which allow you to create an app by entering a few natural language prompts, had been removed from the App Store. While Apple said it wasn’t specifically targeting this type of artificial intelligence (AI) app, the signs didn’t look good for anyone developing apps like this. And things looked even bleaker for apps that used AI agents (or AI robots that perform complex tasks on your behalf) given how sensitive Apple is to its store security.
But in a 180-degree turn, it now appears that Apple is actively working on a plan to help bring AI agents into its App Store officially. That’s at least according to a new report from The Information, which claims that Apple is looking for ways to better support apps that include AI agents. That, in turn, could lead to a radical reconfiguration of the App Store, which some analysts believe could make certain categories of apps much less relevant as AI takes over.
At the same time, Apple’s system would be designed to maintain existing security and privacy standards in the App Store, states The Information. You also want to avoid the types of “rogue agents” that are known to delete user data and perform other questionable tasks.
However, it’s still unclear how exactly all that would work. The Information report doesn’t go into the details of Apple’s plan and instead simply states that Apple is “designing a system to meet its privacy and security standards and avoid the freer behavior that some users of agent systems like OpenClaw have experienced, where agents can go crazy and delete all of a user’s emails.”
However, even without exact details, it’s clear from reading the room that Apple knows something has to give.
Creating the ‘agent store’
Why the sudden change of face from Apple? That’s not clear, but what is evident is that applications are incorporating more and more artificial intelligence capabilities and that shows no signs of slowing down. Apple likely feels like it has to adapt to the new status quo before it falls behind.
Additionally, Apple itself is diving headfirst into the world of AI. Its Apple Intelligence system is expected to receive a major update at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, and AI-powered updates for Siri are finally coming to iOS 27 two years after they were first announced.
And Apple has added vibration coding powers to its own apps like Xcode, so it’s unlikely the company will be able to maintain a skeptical view of similar products from other developers for long.
Recent reports have indicated that Apple’s App Store review team has been overwhelmed by an avalanche of shake-coded apps, as leveraging machine learning bots to write code has dramatically reduced the time needed to build, test, and deploy an app. If Apple is taking steps to support AI-enabled apps on its platforms, it remains to be seen how the review team will fare if the surge in new apps is here to stay.
Signs suggest this is likely to continue. According to Sophia Velastegui, a developer who previously worked on artificial intelligence at Microsoft and platform architecture at Apple, “there will be literally millions of agents.” While that might be overwhelming, Velastegui believes it’s a great opportunity for Apple’s App Store to become “the agent’s store.”
With WWDC right around the corner, we could soon get an explanation from Apple about what it plans to do with AI apps in the future, both those on its own slate and those created by third-party developers. But all indications are that Apple knows it has to adapt to the new normal, and allowing AI agent products in its App Store is just the latest sign that that’s the case.
Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to receive news, reviews and opinions from our experts in your feeds.
