Apple is planning a major shift for Siri in iOS 27, opening the voice assistant up to multiple third-party AI services, not just ChatGPT, according to a report published Thursday.
If true, this means iPhone users will be able to route Siri requests to different AI models, such as Google’s Gemini or Anthropic’s Claude, depending on their preference.
Apple plans to open Siri to competing AI assistants
Apple has struggled to develop its in-house AI, even as rivals like Google and OpenAI surge ahead. But now the company seems to be turning a limitation into an advantage. Instead of restricting users of the Siri voice assistant to one AI, they’ll get a choice.
Siri can currently send user requests to OpenAI’s ChatGPT when Apple’s own tech can’t answer a question. When iOS 27 launches this fall, the request can go to a range of options, according to information leaked to Bloomberg.
“Apple is planning to open up Siri to run any AI service via their App Store apps as part of iOS 27, dropping ChatGPT as the exclusive outside partner in Apple Intelligence and Siri,” said reporter Mark Gurman.
Apple is working on tools that would let third-party AI apps integrate directly with Siri and its broader Apple Intelligence system, meaning Siri could effectively act as a hub that hands off tasks to whichever AI the user chooses, according to Bloomberg.
Buy an iPhone, then choose the AI
This unconfirmed report indicates Apple is taking a very different AI strategy than its rivals. Rather than trying to build one dominant in-house AI, Apple could be positioning the iPhone as a platform for multiple competing AI assistants, similar to how the App Store works for software.
In other words, users could choose an iPhone and then connect their preferred AI system with Siri. So customers wouldn’t forgo buying an iOS device because it’s locked to ChatGPT when they prefer Perplexity, for example.
“Apple’s move makes its hardware a bigger AI platform play, an idea it’s been pushing in light of its first-party AI struggles,” noted Gurman.
And because users would likely need subscriptions for their preferred AI system, Apple could take a cut of the fees, as it does now with OpenAI and ChatGPT.
The features are expected to be unveiled in June at WWDC 2026 alongside iOS 27, though plans could still change before launch.
Not an iPhone AI requirement
To be clear, users shouldn’t expect to be required to connect Siri to an outside AI (and then pay extra for it). Apple apparently still plans to have AI features built into the voice assistant, most of which will run locally — and privately — on the iPhone.
That said, Google’s Gemini will provide the large language models that Siri uses. But that’s different from giving users the option to have Siri consult an outside AI. The Gemini LLMs will be built into Siri, and there’s no charge to users for accessing them. They are taking the place of the in-house LLMs that Apple has yet to be able to develop.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh SE/30 (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer.
That’s because he’s a “tablet first” type of guy. Rather than use a Macbook, he connects a keyboard case to the iPad. And instead of a desktop Mac, he connects his tablet to a 27-inch display and full-size keyboard. (So don’t try to tell him that everyone has to use a Mac to be productive.)
Before coming to Cult of Mac, Ed wrote for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
