Apple CEO says AI will stay in the background

In a Wired interview, John Ternus said Apple will use AI where it improves products, while resisting pressure to add features just to match rivals.

During a recent interview with Wired’s Steven Levy, Apple CEO John Ternus pushed back on the idea that Apple is simply behind in artificial intelligence. The company has faced criticism over the past couple of years for appearing to trail rivals in AI, especially after delaying a more advanced version of Siri, which finally arrived this summer. Ternus, who officially became CEO at the beginning of September after years as a senior Apple executive, said he knows “everyone has an opinion” on Apple’s position. But he also made clear that he is comfortable with where the company stands.

That matters beyond one interview. Apple remains one of the most closely watched tech companies, and its choices around AI can influence expectations for products used by millions of people. As IT-PUB News notes, Ternus was not arguing that AI does not matter — he was arguing that it should serve the product, not become the product.

Apple says AI should improve products, not define them

Ternus said Apple is “absolutely going to leverage AI” in its new products. At the same time, he stressed that the company does not want to add AI simply because it is fashionable.

“We don’t want to ship AI for AI’s sake,” he said.

That line sums up Apple’s broader message. The company wants AI in a product only if it improves the experience in a way users can actually notice. Ternus said that when Apple gets it right, people should not need to think about whether a feature is powered by AI or by more traditional software. For users, the result should simply be something they “really love.”

It is a familiar Apple position. Rather than treating AI as a standalone selling point, the company appears to want it folded into products in a way that feels natural — and largely invisible.

Siri delays kept pressure on Apple’s AI plans

Apple’s AI strategy has drawn extra attention because of the delayed release of a more powerful Siri. The delay became one of the clearest signs, for critics, that the company was not moving as quickly as some expected in the AI race.

The updated Siri eventually launched this summer, but the wait reinforced the idea that Apple was trailing in a field that has become central to the tech industry. For a company known for tightly managed product launches and polished user experiences, even a hint of hesitation around a major platform feature tends to draw scrutiny.

Ternus did not present the issue as a race. Instead, he suggested Apple is focused on building products that work well rather than chasing AI headlines. That distinction helps explain how Apple is trying to answer criticism without promising more than it is ready to deliver.

Ternus weighs in on AI agents and the role of apps

Levy also pressed Ternus on a broader question: could AI eventually reshape Apple’s ecosystem so deeply that apps become less important? The concern reflects a wider debate in tech, where AI agents are often described as tools that could carry out tasks directly for users.

Ternus did not dismiss that possibility. He said such a future “could make life really easy, I suppose.”

Still, he brought the conversation back to the human side of product creation. “The creation of products is a deeply human and personal thing, something that we love to do,” he said.

That answer suggests Apple is not eager to picture a world where software design and app creation are replaced by automated systems. Instead, Ternus emphasized product-making as a human craft, even as AI becomes part of the company’s toolkit.

Apple is trying to set its own AI pace

The exchange stands out because it shows Apple trying to define its place in the AI era on its own terms. The company is not denying AI’s importance, but it is also refusing to present AI as something that should drive every product decision.

That may reassure users who want useful features without extra complexity. It may also frustrate those who believe Apple should move faster or speak more aggressively about its AI plans. Either way, Ternus’s comments make the company’s position clearer: AI is a tool Apple plans to use, but not a message it wants to force into every product.