Apple is reportedly in early discussions with Google to potentially license Google’s Gemini artificial intelligence (AI) model to enhance its Siri voice assistant significantly. This represents a notable shift for Apple, which has been working to stay competitive in the fast-evolving AI landscape. According to sources familiar with the talks, Apple has approached Google to consider using a tailored version of the Gemini AI model for Siri.
The aim is to establish a stronger foundation for a new version of Siri, with a potential launch as soon as next year. Google is already training a model specifically designed to operate on Apple’s servers.
While Apple has been developing its own AI systems, the company is also considering collaborations to speed up its advancements. In the past, Apple has explored partnerships with other top AI companies, like Anthropic PBC and OpenAI, to see if their technologies—Claude or ChatGPT—might better serve as the “brain” for Siri.
As for the ongoing talks with Google, reports indicate that these discussions are still at a preliminary stage, with no final decisions made yet. Apple is believed to be a few weeks away from deciding whether to continue its internal development of AI or to pursue an external partnership. Even if a partnership is chosen, Apple has not yet selected which company it would work with.
The proposed upgrade for Siri was initially based on technology from Apple’s Foundation Models team, which is responsible for various AI functionalities on Apple devices, including text summarization and custom emoji creation.
Last year, Apple briefly collaborated with OpenAI to incorporate ChatGPT as an option for answering general knowledge questions, an area where Siri has traditionally faced challenges. Both Apple and Google have hinted at various integrations involving Google’s Gemini model.
Despite their rivalry in the smartphone and software markets, Apple and Google share a commercial relationship, particularly in search services. Google pays Apple billions to remain the default search engine on Apple devices. Google also has similar partnerships with other companies, like Samsung, for implementing its AI technology in smartphones.
As these discussions continue, the tech community is closely watching to see if a partnership will take shape and how it could impact the future of Siri.
