Apple is exploring a potential partnership with Google to integrate Google’s Gemini AI technology into a long-awaited revamp of Siri, according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman—an insider known for his detailed coverage of Apple’s plans. The discussions signal a notable shift for Apple, which has historically prioritized building core technologies in-house but now faces mounting pressure to upgrade Siri amid stiff competition in the AI assistant space.
Siri, Apple’s virtual assistant launched in 2011, has fallen behind rivals like Google Assistant and Amazon’s Alexa in recent years, particularly in areas like conversational AI, contextual understanding, and real-time problem-solving. Consumer frustration has grown as competitors have rolled out more advanced features powered by large language models (LLMs), while Siri’s updates have remained incremental. This gap has pushed Apple to consider partnering with external AI leaders, rather than solely relying on its own development, to accelerate Siri’s transformation.
Gurman notes that Google has already taken a key step to accommodate Apple’s needs: the search giant has begun training a customized version of its Gemini LLM that could run on Apple’s own servers. This on-device or Apple-hosted approach aligns with Apple’s strict privacy standards, which prioritize keeping user data off third-party servers—a critical requirement for any technology integrated into Siri, given its access to sensitive user information like voice commands, calendar data, and location.
The talks with Google are not Apple’s first attempt to secure external AI support for Siri. Gurman reports the company previously held discussions with OpenAI (the creator of ChatGPT) and Anthropic (behind Claude) about licensing their LLMs for the assistant. Those conversations did not result in a partnership, though the exact reasons—whether related to privacy concerns, cost, or technical fit—remain unclear.
As of now, Apple has not set a timeline for a decision on the Google partnership. Sources suggest a call could come in the next several weeks, but the company may still opt to pursue an in-house solution if its internal AI team makes sufficient progress. Apple has been ramping up its AI investments in recent months, with CEO Tim Cook stating publicly that the company is “significantly growing” its AI resources and reallocating teams to focus on the technology.
A collaboration between Apple and Google on Siri would mark a rare alliance between two of the tech industry’s fiercest rivals, who compete head-to-head in smartphones (iPhone vs. Pixel), search (Siri Search vs. Google Search), and smart home devices (HomePod vs. Nest). For Google, the partnership would be a major win, giving Gemini access to hundreds of millions of iPhone users and strengthening its position in the consumer AI market. For Apple, it would offer a fast track to upgrading Siri without the time and resource constraints of building a top-tier LLM from scratch.
The outcome of these talks could reshape the future of voice assistants and consumer AI. If Apple moves forward with Google’s Gemini, Siri could see a dramatic upgrade as early as 2026, potentially reestablishing it as a leader in the space. If the partnership falls through, Apple will likely face continued pressure to deliver results from its internal AI efforts—or risk losing more users to competitors with more capable assistants.
Neither Apple nor Google has commented publicly on the reported talks.