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Earlier this week, Apple received good news<\/a> when a judge ruled that its lucrative search deal with Google could continue. And per CNBC<\/a>, the ruling offers Apple a simple, but winning path forward for the iPhone in AI centered around three words: \u201cpay to play.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018Pay to play\u2019 could be Apple\u2019s AI solution, modeled after Google search deal<\/p>\n With Apple\u2019s $20 billion search deal<\/a> with Google now seemingly safe, investors see AI as one of the company\u2019s other significant perceived threats.<\/p>\n But according to CNBC\u2019s Jim Cramer, the court decision reveals a very bright future for Apple in AI.<\/p>\n Cramer said after the Google ruling: \u201cYesterday, 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Julie Coleman writes at CNBC<\/a>:<\/p>\n 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\u2019s spotlight, he continued, as the company boasts more than 1 billion active iPhone users. [\u2026]<\/p>\n \u201cThere isn\u2019t a clear winner right now in the chatbot space, but if you can pay Apple a fortune to make yours the default, someone\u2019s going to write that check,\u201d Cramer said.<\/p>\n In other words, Apple doesn\u2019t need to worry about mastering its own AI technology. <\/p>\n Rather, it can make bank by striking a big deal with a leading AI company that wants access to Apple\u2019s massive user base.<\/p>\n 9to5Mac\u2019s Take<\/p>\n On one hand, I think Cramer makes a good point in highlighting the strength of Apple\u2019s loyal user base. It\u2019s hard for any other company to match the hardware-software-services ecosystem Apple has built.<\/p>\n And if AI chatbots do end up essentially replacing traditional search engines, maybe Apple getting paid to make ChatGPT or Gemini the iPhone\u2019s default is a natural path forward.<\/p>\n However, I\u2019m highly skeptical that Apple would be fine in the long run relying on third-party tech.<\/p>\n Apple\u2019s 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\u2019t yet seen. <\/p>\n Here\u2019s hoping next spring will bring<\/a> that long-awaited upgrade.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Best iPhone accessories<\/p>\n
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