Apple to use Google’s Gemini to power Siri

Apple is preparing to adopt Google’s “ultrapowerful” Gemini AI model to power an updated version of Siri, according to a report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

The two companies are said to be close to finalizing a deal under which Apple would pay Google around $1 billion per year for access to Gemini. The integration is expected to support Apple Intelligence features such as text summarization and planning tasks.

At present, Google’s Gemini model includes 1.2 trillion parameters, significantly exceeding the roughly 150 billion parameters used in the cloud version of Apple Intelligence.

Gurman notes that while the partnership is substantial, Apple is unlikely to emphasize it publicly. Instead, Google will be treated as a behind-the-scenes infrastructure provider, a contrast to the companies’ Safari agreement that positioned Google as the default search engine.

The decision comes after delays to Apple’s rollout of its revamped Siri experience. The company also explored alternatives, including OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude.

“Apple executives believe they can eventually reach a similar quality level to the customized Gemini offering,” Gurman writes. “But Google continues to advance Gemini, and catching up won’t be easy.”