Apple Maps out a plan to boost its Intelligence efforts with training of new AI models

Apple is pivoting to leverage its Maps service as a data source for training AI models, signaling a strategic shift to bolster its struggling Apple Intelligence initiative. While the company has traditionally entered tech segments later than competitors—often with distinctive approaches—its AI suite has faced adoption challenges, prompting Apple to seek additional data sources beyond its existing ChatGPT partnership. This repurposing of Apple Maps imagery represents a creative solution that balances the company’s privacy commitments with its need for substantial training data.

The big picture: Apple is repurposing its extensive Street View-like “Look Around” imagery database to train AI models while maintaining its privacy-first approach.

• The company quietly announced on its Maps Image Collection site that it will use blurred imagery collected from March 2025 onward to “develop and improve other Apple products and services.”
• Apple explicitly stated this data will be used for “training models powering Apple products and services, including models related to image recognition, creation, and enhancement.”

Why this matters: This move could help Apple overcome its AI disadvantage without compromising its privacy-focused brand identity.

• Apple Intelligence has struggled to gain traction, with the company relying heavily on OpenAI‘s ChatGPT to supplement its capabilities.
• Using pre-blurred Maps imagery provides Apple with a massive proprietary dataset while honoring its privacy commitments, potentially helping its AI efforts catch up to competitors.

Key details: Apple will implement privacy safeguards when using Maps imagery for AI training.

• All images used for AI training will be blurred to protect individual privacy, continuing Apple’s existing practice of obscuring faces and license plates in Look Around imagery.
• While Apple accepts requests to blur specific houses, this is not done by default for residential properties.

Reading between the lines: Apple’s solution carries a touch of irony given Maps’ own troubled history.

• Apple Maps initially launched with significant navigation issues and inaccuracies, but has since evolved into a respectable Google Maps alternative.
• There’s a fitting symmetry in Apple’s formerly troubled Maps service potentially helping to rescue its currently struggling AI initiative.