Apple is reportedly in talks with Tencent and TikTok owner ByteDance about integrating their artificial intelligence models into iPhones sold in China, according to three Reuters sources familiar with the matter.

The U.S. company started the rollout of OpenAI's ChatGPT into its devices this month, part of the Apple Intelligence product that allows its Siri voice assistant to tap the chatbot's expertise including on user queries about photos and documents such as presentations.

ChatGPT is not available in China and the country's regulatory requirements mandate that generative AI services obtain government approval before public release, forcing Apple to seek local partners for its AI features at a time when its market share in the country is declining.

Apple's discussions with Tencent and ByteDance on using their AI models are at a very early stage, according to Reuters sources.

A successful partner for Apple's AI services in China could be a major winner in the country's increasingly crowded AI field where dozens of large language models have been launched by large tech firms as well as startups.

They include ByteDance's Doubao, Tencent's Hunyuan and search engine giant Baidu's Ernie.

Apple and Baidu have reportedly been in talks about using the latter's AI model in China, but The Information this month reported the discussions faced setbacks due to technical issues, including disputes over using iPhone user data to train AI models." This was covered in Patently Apple's December fourth report titled " Apple is reportedly facing a Hurdle adapting Baidu's AI Models in China with Baidu wanting to analyze user data against Apple's Privacy stance."