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

The US firm 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, said the sources, who declined to be named as the talks are not public.

ByteDance declined to comment, while Apple and Tencent did not respond immediately to requests for comment.

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