The AI upgrade for Siri that we’ve been waiting 18 months for will now be powered by Google Gemini.
Google and Apple released a joint statement announcing the partnership. It read:
“Apple and Google have entered into a multi-year collaboration under which the next generation of Apple Foundation Models will be based on Google’s Gemini models and cloud technology.
“These models will help power future Apple Intelligence features, including a more personalized Siri coming this year.
After careful evaluation, Apple determined that Google’s Al technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and is excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for Apple users.
“Apple Intelligence will continue to run on Apple devices and Private Cloud Compute, while maintaining Apple’s industry-leading privacy standards.”
This announcement means Apple does not have an AI platform that can match Google’s Gemini.
Apple already had a deal in place with OpenAI – the company behind ChatGPT – where users had the option making off-device enquires securely and privately.
After this agreement with Google, Apple insists privacy for its customers will still be its top priority.
It is not known when Apple will pull the trigger on this Gemini integration with Siri.
Apple has been promising a smarter Siri that knows everything about you based on the information on your iPhone since the 2024 Worldwide Developers Conference 18 months ago.
At the 2025 WWDC, Apple admitted the personalised Siri features were still not ready with a delay until 2026.
At that time Apple senior vice president for software engineering Craig Federighi said more work was needed.
“As we’ve shared, we’re continuing our work to deliver the features that make Siri even more personal,” Federighi said in June 2025.
“This work needed more time to reach our high quality bar and we look forward to sharing more about it in the coming year.”
Does this mean Apple abandoned its own AI platform in favour of Google Gemini or was the plan to always partner with an established partner?
Apple and Google have had a working relationship for many years with the search giant paying up to $US20bn per year for it to remain the default browser on iPhones, iPads and Apple’s Safari browser.
This latest deal will cost Apple a rumoured $US1bn per year which is a drop in the bucket when you consider the size of the market and the growth potential of any AI-related feature on Apple’s devices.
We understand Gemini will be the intelligence behind an enhanced Siri which can answer multimodal questions for each user.
But, as is the case today with Apple’s partnership with ChatGPT – Siri will now lean on Gemini to get your answers if it needs to go off device while still respecting your privacy and data.
