Apple to Power Siri with Google’s Gemini AI in $1 Billion Annual Deal

Apple and Google – Longtime Rivals Turn AI Partners

Apple Inc., the Cupertino-based tech giant known for its iPhones, Macs, and groundbreaking innovations, is back in the news, but this time it's for a strategic partnership with a well-known rival. Apple is reportedly going to use a custom version of Google's Gemini AI model to make Siri, its virtual voice assistant, better. This is part of a deal worth about $1 billion a year.

The partnership shows that Apple is putting more emphasis on artificial intelligence as it tries to add smarter, more useful features to its ecosystem under the name Apple Intelligence.

Why Apple is Turning to Google’s Gemini

Apple is finally making big moves to catch up with AI leaders like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic after years of falling behind. Reports say that Apple's deal with Google is meant to give Siri more advanced AI features, like the ability to summarize, plan, and reason in context.

• Apple's Private Cloud Compute servers will run the custom Gemini model that powers Siri. This will keep user data safe and private.

• Reports say it will use 1.2 trillion parameters, which makes it much more powerful and complicated than Apple's current 150 billion-parameter in-house model, which is used for some cloud-based Apple Intelligence tasks.

This huge increase in model size shows that Apple is serious about bringing next-generation AI to users, but it will do so through a partnership that fills the gap until its own systems are ready.

The Road to the Gemini Deal

Apple's path to this partnership hasn't been easy. Earlier this year, there were reports that Apple was looking into working with OpenAI and Anthropic to make Siri's new features possible. But after a lot of thought, the company is said to have picked Google's Gemini because it has better scale, stability, and integration features.

This deal is different from earlier talks about adding Gemini's chatbot features directly to Siri, like how Apple added ChatGPT for conversational responses to Apple Intelligence. Instead, this deal is about using Gemini's powerful backend AI model to do tasks and make Siri smarter, without adding Google's AI search or chatbot features directly to iOS or macOS systems.

Inside the $1 Billion Partnership

Bloomberg says that Apple will pay Google about $1 billion a year to use Gemini's technology. The deal is only temporary; it gives Apple time to improve its own AI models before it stops using Gemini.

• Apple's implementation won't combine Google Search or the Gemini chatbot with iOS. Instead, it will make Siri better at reasoning, summarizing, and automating tasks, which will help it handle complicated user requests better.

• The deal is one of Apple's biggest partnerships with a third-party tech company, showing how important it is to catch up in the fast-moving AI race.

Both companies have not said anything official about the deal, but it will have a big impact on the industry.

Why Siri Needs an AI Overhaul

Siri has had a hard time keeping up with its competitors, like Amazon's Alexa and Google Assistant, in terms of sophistication and understanding of context since it came out in 2011. Siri has been criticized for being too limited in scope and accuracy, even though competitors have added large language models (LLMs) and advanced generative AI features.

Gemini's integration should change that. Siri could finally learn how to understand requests that are multi-step and based on context if she had access to a model of this size.

• Make summaries, replies, and suggestions in real time.

• Use third-party apps and services in a more natural way.

This would be the biggest change to Siri since it was first released, turning it from a voice tool that responds to commands into an AI assistant that takes the initiative.

Apple’s Broader AI Strategy

Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, recently said that a big update for Siri is coming in the spring of 2026. The Apple Intelligence platform will also continue to support third-party AI integrations. The Gemini deal is a big step for Apple, but it doesn't mean that the company is giving up on its own AI plans.

According to reports, Apple is still working on its own large-scale AI models with the goal of eventually replacing Gemini with a system that is completely built by Apple. The company's long-term goal is to tightly integrate AI into all of its devices, from iPhones and iPads to Macs and Vision Pro. It will do this while still putting privacy and user control first.

This year's restructuring of Apple's AI, which put Mike Rockwell in charge of Siri after concerns about slow progress, shows how important it is for the company to deliver.

The Competitive Landscape

The AI assistant field is changing quickly. In 2024, Google added its Gemini model to Google Assistant, making it more conversational and able to think.

• Earlier this year, Amazon gave Alexa a new look with a generative AI update.

• Microsoft, on the other hand, is still pushing its Copilot ecosystem in Windows and Office.

With these changes, Apple's move shows that it doesn't want to be a latecomer to the AI revolution anymore. Apple is making sure that Siri stays useful and competitive as voice-based AI becomes more important to the user experience by teaming up with Google, even if it's only for a short time.

A Strategic Alliance in the AI Race

Apple's choice to work with Google to give Siri Gemini AI is a new chapter in the tech industry, where competitors work together to make technology smarter and more like people.

The $1 billion-a-year deal isn't just about making Siri better; it's also about Apple showing that it will be a part of the AI-driven future. Next year, Apple will release a new version of Siri that uses a 1.2 trillion-parameter Gemini model. This version will be more capable, contextual, and conversational than ever before.

Even though the partnership may not last long, it's a bold move that could change the way digital assistants compete around the world and set the stage for the next phase of Apple's AI journey.