The brains behind the upcoming AI-enhanced version of Siri will reportedly be provided by Google, not Apple’s own tech. For a hefty price.
Google’s software will supposedly run on Apple servers, so user data isn’t being handed over to Google.
Apple forced to turn to Google for AI-enhanced Siri
In 2024, Apple promised “the start of a new era for Siri” thanks to a sizable infusion of artificial intelligence. The company laid out a glowing future for the voice assistant, but early this year was forced to admit that the technology wasn’t ready to launch on schedule.
Apple set a new deadline of spring 2026, but even after giving itself another year, it’s reportedly had no choice but to turn to its frenemy, Google. The development process supposedly isn’t going quickly enough to meet the self-imposed deadline to get the much-hyped new version of the Siri voice assistant to customers.
“Apple Inc. is planning to use a 1.2 trillion parameter artificial intelligence model developed by Alphabet Inc.’s Google to help power its long-promised overhaul of the Siri voice assistant,” Bloomberg reported Wednesday.
This is a possibility Apple has been investigating for months. With the spring 2026 deadline looming, a deal has now allegedly been signed.
Siri user data will be kept private, away from Google
Apple emphasizes that its implementation of artificial intelligence protects user privacy. That supposedly won’t change with the new Siri, even with an AI model developed by Google providing some of the underlying technology.
“The model will run on Apple’s own Private Cloud Compute servers, ensuring that user data remains walled off from Google’s infrastructure,” reports Bloomberg.
That’s important because Google’s business is gathering user data and selling it to advertisers. If Siri integrated with the standard version of Gemini, every Siri query could be used by Google to track users.
Likely because it’s not getting access to user data, Google is charging a hefty price for its tech: about $1 billion a year. Of course, that can simply be subtracted from the approximately $20 billion Google pays each year to stay Safari’s default search engine.
A temporary arrangement
Apple reportedly has not given up on developing its own artificial intelligence technology.
“Apple still doesn’t want to use Gemini as a long-term solution,” said Bloomberg. “Despite the company bleeding AI talent — including the head of its models team — management intends to keep developing new AI technology and hopes to eventually replace Gemini with an in-house solution.”
Even in the mean time, some Siri functions will be handled by Apple’s own AI.
But Google’s is supposedly well ahead in artificial intelligence. Compare the 1.2 trillion parameter AI model it’s licensing to Apple to the 150 billion parameter model currently used by Apple Intelligence.
The new AI-empowered Siri will allegedly launch as part of iOS 26.4. For reference, Apple is currently beta testing iOS 26.2.
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 Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
