Apple may be preparing one of the most consequential shifts to its App Store rules in years. The company is reportedly reviewing whether third-party developers will be allowed to list AI agent apps, a category that has so far been kept on the sidelines because of the actions it can perform automatically.
That possible policy change matters because it would affect tools capable of deeper automation, including vibe coding, automatic code execution, and changes to an app’s state. Apple has not yet detailed how any new rules would work, but the direction suggests the company is trying to make its ecosystem fit the next wave of AI software without giving up its usual security and privacy standards.
A narrower App Store opening for AI agents
The clearest sign of change comes from Apple’s reported exploration of a new path for AI agent apps. According to The Information, Apple is considering whether developers should be able to submit these apps to the App Store at all.
At present, that category remains restricted because it can carry out more advanced automated actions. Any future approval would still sit inside Apple’s existing framework for security and privacy, which means the company does not appear ready to relax its standards broadly.
Even so, the exact rules remain unclear. There is no confirmed detail yet on how Apple would monitor these apps, what technical requirements would apply, or where the limits of acceptable behavior would be drawn.
Siri’s next version appears to be part of the push
The timing is not random. Apple is also working on a more agentic version of Siri, and that effort seems closely tied to the broader rethink of App Store policy.
Apple is said to be only a few months away from introducing a Siri powered by Gemini as it moves further into the chatbot AI race. Reports also suggest the new Siri may support multiple AI systems, pointing to a broader redesign than a simple language-model upgrade.
That matters because AI agents are becoming a bigger part of how users and developers think about software. Apple appears to be adjusting its rules so the App Store does not lag behind a market that is moving toward apps capable of completing tasks step by step on their own.
Developers are being pulled into the transition
Apple is also said to be approaching app developers ahead of the Siri overhaul in iOS 27. The company has reportedly asked for integrations that would let Siri and Apple Intelligence handle tasks such as booking flights and sending calendar invitations.
The response has not been fully welcoming. Some developers are said to have stepped back because they want to avoid any chance of paying Apple a commission.
Apple has reportedly made clear that there will be no commission model at the beginning. Still, it has also signaled that such a structure could arrive later, which helps explain why some partners remain cautious.
That hesitation is important because AI agent features depend heavily on third-party services. Without support from popular apps and platforms, AI systems will struggle to carry out the multi-step actions that make them useful.
Why Apple cannot leave the ecosystem unchanged
If Apple wants Siri to do more than answer questions, the surrounding ecosystem has to evolve with it. Booking tickets, managing schedules, and completing chains of actions automatically all require cooperation from outside services, not just a smarter assistant.
This is also where the App Store question becomes central. A stronger Siri will need more than model improvements, and Apple may need to loosen its own rules enough to let developers build the kind of AI tools that support that vision.
The challenge comes as Apple faces growing competition from OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, all of which are moving faster in AI development. The pressure does not stop there, either, because the report says Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent are still uncertain about partnering with Apple on Siri’s future direction.
For iPhone users, approval of AI agent apps could eventually change how the App Store feels in practice. Apps may move beyond suggestions and responses and start taking direct action, but any such shift will have to fit inside Apple’s long-standing focus on control, privacy, and security.
