Look, I know another AI chatbot announcement sounds about as exciting as watching paint dry (we’ve had roughly 847 of them this year), but this one’s different. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple has been quietly testing its next-generation Siri through an internal ChatGPT-style chatbot called “Veritas” — and honestly, it sounds kind of amazing. Here’s what makes this interesting: Instead of the usual corporate approach of endless closed-door testing, Apple built what’s essentially their own version of ChatGPT for employees to actually use. We’re talking back-and-forth conversations, the ability to dig deeper into topics, and crucially — the kind of functionality that Siri desperately needs. Employees can search through personal data and perform in-app actions like photo editing, which sounds suspiciously like what we were promised when Apple Intelligence was first announced. The thing is, Apple’s AI struggles aren’t exactly a secret at this point. The company has delayed the next-gen Siri multiple times, and Apple Intelligence launched to what can generously be called “tepid” reception. Meanwhile, every other tech company is shipping AI assistants that can actually hold a conversation without making you want to throw your phone out the window. But here’s where it gets frustrating: Gurman reports that Apple has no plans to release Veritas to consumers. Instead, they’re likely going to lean on Google’s Gemini for AI-powered search. Which feels backwards, right? You’ve built this internal tool that apparently works well enough for your employees to test new Siri features with, but regular users get… nothing? Think about the framework here: Apple has created a testing environment that lets them rapidly develop and collect feedback on AI features. That’s exactly the kind of iterative approach that made ChatGPT and other conversational AI successful. The difference is OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google let millions of users participate in that feedback loop. Apple is keeping it locked to their own employees. This feels like a missed opportunity on multiple levels. First, Apple could actually compete in the AI assistant space instead of just licensing someone else’s technology. Second, they’d get the kind of real-world usage data that makes these systems better. And third (this might be the most important part), it would give Apple Intelligence some actual credibility instead of the current situation where Siri still can’t reliably set multiple timers. The irony here is that Apple traditionally excels at taking complex technology and making it accessible to regular people. But with AI, they’re taking the opposite approach — building sophisticated tools for internal use while consumers get a watered-down experience that relies on external partnerships. Maybe Apple will surprise us and eventually release some version of Veritas publicly. But given their track record with AI announcements (remember when we were supposed to get the “new” Siri by now?), I’m not holding my breath. In the meantime, the rest of us will keep using ChatGPT while Apple employees get to play with what sounds like a genuinely useful AI assistant. Sources: The Verge Want more than just the daily AI chaos roundup? I write deeper dives and hot takes on my Substack (because apparently I have Thoughts about where this is all heading): https://substack.com/@limitededitionjonathan