Apple's AI-Powered Home Services Strategy Could Upend Yelp, Angi, Alphabet: Insider Says Trust, Data And UX Key In This $500 Billion Market

According to an insider, Apple Inc. AAPL is making a foray into the $500 billion home services market by leveraging its AI capabilities and deep user data to power in-app bookings via Siri and other interfaces.

What Happened: On Thursday, Alphasense, an expert network that connects investors and researchers with subject-matter experts, shared a transcript on X featuring a conversation between an anonymous Apple employee and a client.

The Apple employee, who is familiar with the company’s plans in this segment, described the opportunity as “immense,” citing the strategic potential of AI-powered personalization across service categories.

“Apple’s extensive user data positions it well to personalize and streamline service recommendations and transactions directly via user devices,” the post says, noting this as a response to emerging threats from platforms like OpenAI.

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The expert believes the move will have big implications for the incumbents in this space, such as Alphabet Inc. GOOG, GOOGL Yelp Inc. YELP, and Angi Inc. ANGI.

The initiative is still under development, but Apple is said to be placing strong emphasis on reliability, especially in a sector where urgency and trust are critical.

“We want something which is more accurate, more relevant,” they say, adding that “we cannot rely on data from six months back,” stressing the importance of verified listings, up-to-date credentials, and legitimate reviews.

The company will have to work with multiple data providers and partners to make this work, according to the expert. “Our platform would be an all-in-one solution, but underneath, we need to work with a lot of individual providers,” they say, emphasizing the need for partnering with third-party services for healthcare, events, local services, and likewise.

When discussing different potential partners for Apple, the expert backs Yelp as “the most trusted platform” due to its extensive and current listings, while also favoring HomeAdvisor ahead of Thumbtack for its reliability and transparency. “HomeAdvisor is actually a better pick,” they say.

The expert notes how lucrative this opportunity can be for the company. “It’s a high-margin business,” they say. “People stick to providers they trust and are willing to subscribe.”

They also highlight the strategic advantage that Apple holds over OpenAI and other software-only platforms, that is a direct relationship with hundreds of millions of users through iPhones, iOS, Safari, and Maps, plus the infrastructure for native payments.

“We are the consumer’s company,” they say. “This can be one of the additional services we try to integrate.”

Why It Matters: So far, Apple has lagged behind peers when it comes to AI, with Eddy Cue, a senior executive, having reportedly said that AI could do to Apple what the tech giant did to Nokia.

The company has since restructured its AI team, with Siri being handed over to Mike Rockwell, who previously headed the Vision Pro division. This comes amid the team’s underperformance and failure to deliver products promptly over the past couple of years.

Delays in AI rollouts have led to cuts in the company’s analyst price targets in recent months, as rivals such as Amazon.com Inc.’s AMZN take the lead.

Price Action: Apple shares were largely flat, down just 0.09% on Friday, ending at $211.26 per share. They are down 1.81% pre-market and 6.64% year-to-date.

Benzinga’s Edge Stock Rankings show an unfavorable price trend for Apple in the short, medium, and long terms. Let us check out deeper insights and metrics on the stock.

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