Apple has finalized an agreement to integrate Google’s Gemini AI, reflecting the intensifying competition in artificial intelligence. Gemini will enhance Apple Intelligence features and underpin a more advanced, personalized Siri launching later this year.
It’s a surprisingly practical move from a company that usually keeps everything in-house. Even after investing heavily in AI, Apple seems to have decided its own generative models aren’t yet on par with the leaders. That conclusion lines up with reports, starting in 2025, that Apple and Google were discussing a tailored Gemini model for a future Siri.
“After careful evaluation, Google’s AI technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models, and we are excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for Apple users,” Apple stated.
Apple was quick to point out that Apple Intelligence, which mixes on-device and cloud-based AI, will stay limited to its own devices. It’s also tightly integrated with Private Cloud Computing, a setup the company says is key to maintaining its privacy standards.
The deal comes as Apple continues to manage a complex AI rollout. After announcing new AI-powered Siri capabilities in June 2025 with Apple Intelligence, the company later delayed the assistant’s full release to 2026. Siri currently uses OpenAI’s ChatGPT, and Apple has said it doesn’t intend to change that arrangement. As a result, Apple is set to rely on AI technologies from two competing companies simultaneously, with Gemini-based foundation models potentially operating in parallel with OpenAI-powered features.
For years, the money flowed one way, with Google paying Apple billions to stay the default search engine on the iPhone. In the age of large language models, that dynamic has quietly flipped, with Apple now turning to Google for essential AI infrastructure.
The partnership highlights the increasingly complex dynamic between the two companies, with Google serving as both a critical partner and a direct competitor. That tension is growing as Alphabet, Google’s parent company, continues to benefit from surging investor enthusiasm around AI. Alphabet’s shares jumped 65% last year, pushing its market capitalization past $4 trillion this week, a feat achieved by only three other companies. Along the way, Alphabet surpassed Apple in market value for the first time in about seven years, underscoring the high-stakes AI race Apple is now navigating with technology from a rival-turned-partner.
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