Apple is set to use Google’s Gemini AI for its revamped Siri, strengthening Alphabet’s role in the AI assistant market.
Apple will use Google’s Gemini models for its revamped Siri later this year under a multi-year deal, deepening the tech giants’ alliance in the artificial intelligence era and boosting Alphabet’s position in the competition against OpenAI.
The deal, announced Monday, represents a major vote of confidence in Google. Its technology already powers much of Samsung’s “Galaxy AI,” but the Siri integration opens access to Apple’s installed base of more than two billion active devices.
“After careful evaluation, Apple determined Google’s AI technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models,” Google said, adding that its models will also power other future Apple Intelligence features.
Alphabet has been competing with OpenAI for the Apple deal, though financial terms were not disclosed.
In late 2024, Apple had integrated ChatGPT into its devices, allowing Siri to leverage the chatbot’s capabilities to answer complex questions. Apple said no major changes were made to the ChatGPT integration at the time, while OpenAI did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
“This seems like an unreasonable concentration of power for Google, given that (they) also have Android and Chrome,” Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on social media platform X.
Musk, founder of AI firm xAI, has been trying to compete with major players by building foundational models and investing billions in infrastructure.
Monday’s tie-up could affect OpenAI’s partnership with Apple. “Apple’s decision to use Google’s Gemini models for Siri shifts OpenAI into a more supporting role, with ChatGPT remaining positioned for complex, opt-in queries rather than the default intelligence layer,” said Parth Talsania, CEO of Equisights Research.
Google has accelerated development of frontier models, including image and video generation, to counter OpenAI’s early lead.
Apple, late to the AI race, has faced setbacks including delays in Siri’s upgrade, executive changes, and lukewarm reception to early generative AI tools.
The agreement builds on Apple and Google’s long-standing partnership, which makes Google the default search engine on Apple devices—a lucrative arrangement driving traffic for Google and generating tens of billions annually for Apple.
News of the deal helped push Alphabet’s market valuation above $4 trillion on Monday. Its stock jumped 65% last year amid investor optimism over AI initiatives.
“Apple Intelligence will continue to run on Apple devices and Private Cloud Compute, while maintaining Apple’s industry-leading privacy standards,” Google said, addressing privacy concerns.