Even though Microsoft is the first company to take the lead in integrating AI into Office applications, the first signs are starting to appear that Apple will integrate artificial intelligence into iWork in the future. At least that's what appears from Apple's latest web domain acquisitions.
Apple owns hundreds of web domains, but now it has added "iWork.ai" to its portfolio, which could indicate its intention to integrate artificial intelligence into its suite of iWork applications. Specifically, we are talking about the Pages, Numbers and Keynote applications, the counterparts of the Word, Excel and PowerPoint applications in the Microsoft 365 or Microsoft Office suite. The name "iWork" was used by Apple from the time when the three applications were sold as a package, in a similar way to iLife, which included the iMovie and GarageBand applications.
Now, according to BuyAIdomains.com, it seems that Apple wants to take a revolutionary and bold step, aiming to relaunch its AI-powered iWork suite. Thus, it could be a competitor to Microsoft Office and Google Docs.
Of course, buying the iWork.AI domain name is not a certainty that Apple will integrate artificial intelligence into iWork. It can buy the domain and only to prevent other companies or individuals from doing so. In fact, Apple owns hundreds of domains, including some that can be accessed due to typos. This is the case with the domain "zpple.com" which redirects users to apple.com.
Is it a certainty that Apple will integrate artificial intelligence into iWork?
As of 2011, DomainGang counted 543 different web domains owned by Apple. In years gone by, there could be hundreds more – and significantly, owning a domain name doesn't necessarily mean having a website there.
So it's possible that iWork.ai is a clear sign that Apple will integrate artificial intelligence into iWork. However, if that were the case, Apple might also acquire the Pages.ai, Numbers.ai, Keynote.ai, and perhaps iCloud.ai domains.
Because of the way websites are registered, it's often impossible to definitively determine which companies own a domain—much less in the case of Apple, which may be using intermediary firms. Currently, iCloud.ai and Keynote.ai are registered to companies in California, Pages.ai to one in Rockford, Illinois, and Numbers.ai to one in Reykjavik, Iceland.
HowTo: How to install Numbers, Pages, and Keynote on older macOS versions
Additionally, Numbers.ai is listed as being available for sale, something Apple is unlikely to do.
Most reports predicting that Apple will make significant AI adoption at WWDC 2024 expect the company to do so with its operating systems, particularly iOS, rather than apps like iWork.
