2 min read
Apple is quietly preparing to give Siri its most significant upgrade in years, and artificial intelligence is at the center of the plan. However, to make it work, the company may need to rely on Google.
According to the source, Apple is testing a Google-built Gemini model to power a new AI search feature for its voice assistant. Internally known as “World Knowledge Answers,” the tool is designed to extract information from the web and generate concise, AI-generated summaries.
Unlike Siri’s current responses, the new system will mix text, photos, videos, and points of interest, putting it in direct competition with the AI search features already rolling out from OpenAI and Perplexity.
This shift is part of a broader Siri overhaul that Apple has been working on for years. The refreshed assistant will go beyond answering factual questions, tapping into personal data on the device and responding to what’s happening on the screen.
A source reports that Siri’s upgrade will rely on a “planner” to interpret prompts, a search system to scan through user files or the internet, and a summarizer to deliver the results in a more useful format.
Apple and Google recently finalized an agreement that allows Apple to test Google’s AI model for Siri’s summaries. While Apple plans to rely on its in-house models for searching user data, the company is still weighing other options, including Anthropic’s Claude and different versions of Gemini, for planning functions.
The timing of the rollout won’t coincide with Apple’s next big hardware event. While the iPhone 17 is to debut next week, the AI-powered Siri is reportedly slated to arrive alongside iOS 26.4, which could land as early as March.
