Apple in Talks with Google for Siri AI Upgrade

Apple is in early discussions with Google about using Gemini AI to enhance the Siri voice assistant, marking a potential shift towards outsourcing more artificial intelligence technology as the company struggles to catch up in generative AI development.

The iPhone maker recently approached Alphabet’s Google to explore building a custom AI model that would serve as the foundation for a new Siri launching next year, according to people familiar with the discussions. Google has begun training a model that could operate on Apple’s servers, though the talks remain exploratory with no formal commercial negotiations underway.

The collaboration discussions follow significant delays to Siri’s long-promised upgrade, which was originally scheduled for spring 2025 but was postponed by a year due to engineering setbacks. The enhanced Siri would fulfill commands by accessing personal data and allow users to navigate devices entirely through voice commands.

Apple has sidelined AI chief John Giannandrea from Siri development following the delays. The project is now overseen by software executive Craig Federighi and Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell, who are evaluating external partnerships as potential solutions.

The company is conducting an internal competition between two Siri versions, “Linwood” powered by Apple’s own models and “Glenwood” using external technology. Apple has also held discussions with Anthropic and OpenAI about potential partnerships, initially viewing Anthropic as the leading candidate before financial terms led to a broader search.

Both Apple and Google shares rose following news of the discussions, with Google climbing 2.9% to $313 and Apple increasing 1.4% to $348 during Friday trading.