- A report claims Apple is working to allow AI agents on its App Store
- This is a sudden departure from Apple’s more recent moves on AI apps
- Apple has previously removed vibe-coding AI apps from the App Store
Back in March, word got around that several vibe coding apps — which let you create an app by entering a few natural language prompts — had been removed from the App Store. While 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 to the security of its storefront.
But in a neck-snapping 180-degree turn, it now looks like Apple is actively working on a plan to help get 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 seeking 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 might 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, The Information claims. It also wants to avoid the kinds of “rogue agents” known to delete user data and perform other questionable tasks.
How exactly any of that would work, though, hasn’t yet been made clear. The Information’s report doesn’t go into the specifics of Apple’s plan, and instead merely states that Apple is “designing a system to adhere to its standards of privacy and security and prevent the more freewheeling behavior some users of agentic systems such as OpenClaw have experienced, where agents can go haywire and delete all of a user’s emails.”
However, even without exact details, it’s clear from reading the room that Apple knows something has to give.
Creating the ‘agent store’
Why the sudden volte face from Apple? That much isn’t clear, but what is evident is that apps are increasingly incorporating AI capabilities, and that isn’t showing any signs of slowing down. It’s likely that Apple feels it has to adapt to the new status quo before it gets left behind.
Additionally, 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 for 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 would 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 harnessing machine-learning bots to write code has dramatically reduced the time required to build, test, and deploy an app. If Apple is taking steps to support AI-enabled apps on its platforms, it remains to be seen how the review team will cope if the surge of new apps is here to stay.
The signs suggest that it’s likely to continue. According to Sophia Velastegui, a developer who previously worked on AI at Microsoft and platform architecture at Apple, “There’s literally going to be 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 on what it plans to do with AI apps going forward, both those on its own roster and those created by third-party developers. But every indication is that Apple knows it’s got to adapt to the new normal — and allowing AI agent products on its App Store is just the latest sign that that’s the case.
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