Apple is quietly building a framework that would let AI agent apps live inside the App Store without breaking the company's strict privacy, security, and commerce rules, according to a report from The Information picked up across Apple-focused outlets on May 14. The work points to a possible reveal at next month's Worldwide Developers Conference, though Apple has not formally confirmed any plans.
A new category the App Store wasn't built for
AI agents — software that takes multi-step actions on a user's behalf, from drafting emails to booking travel — sit uncomfortably inside the App Store's tightly controlled model. The Information reports that some agents can spin up smaller apps on the fly to complete tasks, which would let behavior slip past Apple's standard review of the parent app. That has implications for Apple's malware screening, its commission structure, and its rules against apps that change materially after approval.
Apple staffers are reportedly designing guardrails so agentic apps can offer their full capabilities while still adhering to the company's privacy and security standards. The report frames the goal as preventing the kind of "freewheeling" failures users have seen elsewhere in the agent ecosystem.
Cleaning up after Siri
The move arrives as Apple tries to recover ground after a difficult stretch for its in-house assistant. Earlier reporting in May indicated Apple plans to let users choose rival AI models for parts of Apple Intelligence in iOS 27, and to expand Siri's ability to chain commands through third-party apps. Putting third-party agents directly on the store would be a further step away from a single, Apple-built assistant and toward a marketplace model where outside developers handle more of the heavy lifting.
That shift also reframes the App Store itself. Coverage at TechRadar and PYMNTS characterized the plan as Apple preparing to turn the App Store into something closer to an "agent store," with the iPhone acting as a host for third-party automation rather than a fixed set of pre-installed capabilities.
What's still unclear
The Information's account leaves several open questions: how Apple will price or take a cut on agent actions, how it will police agents that generate UI dynamically, and which developers, if any, are already building against the proposed rules. Apple did not comment publicly on the report.
Implications
If Apple does formalize an agent track at WWDC, it would mark the first major change to how App Store apps can behave since the platform shifted to allow alternative payment systems and sideloading in regulated markets. For developers building agentic products, the change would offer distribution at iPhone scale — paired with a review process that no major agent platform has yet had to fully clear.
