Apple’s long-anticipated overhaul of Siri may soon rely on Google’s Gemini AI — a partnership that could reportedly cost Apple around $1 billion per year.
Users have been waiting for the upgraded Siri promised as part of Apple Intelligence, though the rollout has yet to happen. According to a Bloomberg report, Apple is nearing a deal with Google to use its Gemini model to enhance Siri’s capabilities starting in 2026.
Sources familiar with the matter claim negotiations are in their final stages. If completed, Apple would pay Google roughly $1 billion annually to license the technology.
Google’s Gemini is a massive model, boasting 1.2 trillion parameters, compared to Apple’s cloud-based model, which sits at around 150 billion. This partnership would give Siri access to far greater processing power and more advanced features than Apple’s current in-house systems can provide.
Limited integration for privacy
Despite the potential of this collaboration, its impact on users might be more modest than expected. The deal reportedly involves Gemini handling summarization and planning tasks within Siri — functions that help the assistant interpret data and manage complex actions.
Apple’s own AI models will still handle most user tasks to maintain privacy and control. Even with Gemini’s involvement, the data processing would occur on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute servers, ensuring that user data remains isolated from Google’s infrastructure.
This means Gemini won’t become a native part of iOS. Instead, it will operate behind the scenes as a cloud-based assistant, occasionally supporting Siri’s more demanding functions.
The agreement also doesn’t include chatbot integration — at least for now. However, earlier code references have hinted that Apple’s system could eventually support multiple third-party models, including Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, in future updates.
A billion-dollar partnership shift
If finalized, this collaboration would mark a reversal of the companies’ usual financial relationship. Historically, Google pays Apple around $20 billion per year to remain the default search engine in Safari — a deal recently upheld by U.S. courts despite antitrust scrutiny.
This time, however, Apple would be the one paying Google, investing heavily to bolster Siri and strengthen its position in the rapidly evolving AI market.
