SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) – Tech giant Apple on Wednesday rolled out major updates to its artificial intelligence offerings that integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its native applications, including Siri, on the iPhone.

In a notable shift for the privacy-focused company, Apple has partnered with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into its Writing Tools and Siri virtual assistant, allowing users of the latest iPhone or iPad to access the AI chatbot without leaving Apple’s ecosystem.

The move, first announced in June, marks Apple’s most significant push into generative artificial intelligence, as the company aims to compete with rivals Google and Samsung, who have already integrated similar AI features into their Android-operated devices.

Since OpenAI launched ChatGPT in 2022, Apple has been seeking to persuade doubters on its AI strategy, after Microsoft and Google rolled out products in rapid-fire succession.

The ChatGPT features fall under the iPhone maker’s “Apple Intelligence” system, which also includes an AI-powered image editing tool called Image Playground and an emoji generator dubbed Genmoji.

Apple is initially rolling out the new AI functions to six English-speaking countries including the United States, Australia, Canada, and Britain.

The company plans to add support for 11 more languages throughout the year, starting with an April software update.