- A report claims that Apple is working on allowing AI agents on its App Store
- This is a sudden departure from Apple’s recent moves on AI apps
- Apple has previously removed vibe-encoding AI apps from the App Store
Back in March, news broke that several vibe coding apps — which let you create an app by typing in a few natural language prompts — had been removed from the App Store. Although 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 bots that perform complex tasks on your behalf — given how sensitive Apple is about the security of its storefront.
But in a gut-wrenching 180-degree turn, it now appears that Apple is actively working on a plan to help bring AI agents onto its App Store in an official capacity. That’s according to a new report from The Information, at least, which claims that Apple is looking into 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 app categories much less relevant as AI takes over.
At the same time, Apple’s system would be designed to maintain the existing security and privacy standards of the App Store, claims The Information. It also wants to avoid the kind of “rogue agents” known to delete user data and perform other questionable tasks.
How exactly any of that would work, however, has yet to be clarified. The Intelligencer’s report does not go into the details of Apple’s plan, instead saying only that Apple is “designing a system that adheres to its privacy and security standards and prevents the more freewheeling behavior that some users of agent systems like OpenClaw have experienced, where agents can break in and delete all of a user’s emails.”
But even without exact details, it’s clear from reading the space that Apple knows something has to give.
Creation of ‘agent store’
Why all of a sudden? turned face from Apple? That much is not clear, but what is clear is that apps are increasingly incorporating AI capabilities, and it shows no signs of slowing down. It is likely that Apple feels it must adapt to the new status quo before it is left behind.
In addition, Apple itself is diving headfirst into the world of AI. Its Apple Intelligence system is expected to get a major update at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June, with AI-powered upgrades to Siri finally arriving in iOS 27 two years after they were first announced.
And Apple has added vibe coding powers to its own apps like Xcode, so it’s unlikely the company will be able to take 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 a deluge of vibe-coded apps, as leveraging machine learning bots to write code has dramatically reduced the time it takes to build, test and deploy an app. If Apple takes steps to support AI-enabled apps on its platforms, it remains to be seen how the review team will fare if the wave of new apps is here to stay.
The signs are that it is likely to continue. According to Sophia Velastegui, a developer who previously worked on AI at Microsoft and platform architecture at Apple, “there will be literally millions of agents.” While that could be overwhelming, Velastegui believes it’s a great opportunity for Apple’s App Store to become the “agent store.”
With WWDC just around the corner, we could soon get an explanation from Apple about what they plan to do with AI apps going forward, both those on their own list and those created by third-party developers. But all indications are that Apple knows it needs to adapt to the new normal — and allowing AI agent products in its App Store is just the latest sign of that.
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