Apple Taps Google's Gemini to Power Siri, Sidelining OpenAI

Eighteen months after touting ChatGPT integration, Apple bets its voice assistant future on Google instead

Apple announced it will use Google's Gemini models as the foundation for its next-generation Siri, relegating OpenAI's ChatGPT to a supporting role.

The joint statement landed January 12 with corporate politeness that barely masked the seismic shift: "After careful evaluation, Apple determined that Google's AI technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models." Eighteen months after Apple stood on stage at WWDC 2024 touting ChatGPT integration, it's betting its voice assistant future on Google instead.

Apple is admitting its internal AI efforts couldn't keep pace with the foundation model arms race. The deal, estimated at $1 billion annually by CNBC analysts, mirrors the structure of Google's search default payments and pushed Alphabet's market cap past $4 trillion for the first time since 2019.

The timing tells the story. Apple publicly delayed its major Siri upgrade last March. Google launched Gemini 3 in November, which OpenAI internally described as a "code red" competitor. Two months later, Apple signs with Google.

"Relegates OpenAI to a more supporting role, with ChatGPT remaining positioned for complex, opt-in queries rather than the default intelligence layer," notes Parth Talsania, CEO of Equisights Research. The ChatGPT integration won't disappear. Apple insists "nothing's changing" with that arrangement. But it becomes a specialty tool rather than the core intelligence.

Privacy remains Apple's rhetorical north star. The company says Gemini will run on its Private Cloud Compute infrastructure, the same system it uses to process sensitive data without leaving Apple's servers. Technical specifics remain scarce. How exactly was Gemini 3 ported to Apple Silicon server racks? Neither company provided those details.

Gene Munster of Deepwater Asset Management sees this as a temporary arrangement. "I don't think Apple is giving up building its own foundation models," he told CNBC. "Once they have collected enough data via the new Gemini-powered Siri, switching to Apple's own models is always an option."

That may be optimistic. Apple's AI struggles aren't new. Siri launched in 2011 and has lagged competitors ever since. The company that prides itself on vertical integration now depends on Google for search, maps, and soon its voice assistant's brain.

OpenAI declined to comment, leaving unanswered questions about revenue impact and the future of its iOS integration. The silence speaks volumes about a company that went from Apple's AI savior to second string in under two years.

The deal also reshapes the competitive field. Microsoft bet $13 billion on OpenAI. Apple just handed Google leverage in the platform wars. Amazon's Alexa and Meta's Llama suddenly look like also-rans in the race for consumer AI dominance.

Siri queries will default to Gemini processing starting with iOS 19 this fall. ChatGPT remains available for image generation and complex queries but loses system-level integration. Apple gains access to Gemini's multimodal capabilities including video understanding. Privacy promises depend on unspecified modifications to run Gemini on Apple Silicon. Google secures distribution to 2 billion iOS devices worldwide.

Apple says the enhanced Siri will ship later this year, likely with the iPhone 17 launch. The company promises more natural conversations, better context retention, and deeper app integration. This time, it's Google's reputation on the line too.

The real test comes when users start talking. Will Gemini-powered Siri finally deliver the conversational AI Apple has promised since 2011? Or will this partnership become another footnote in Apple's struggle to catch up in AI?