It’s official. Apple has chosen to work with Google, a longtime partner, to power AI features like Siri.
“After careful evaluation, we determined that Google’s technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and we’re excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for our users,” Apple and Google said in a statement.
The partnership confirms previous reporting on a deal with Google. Neither Apple nor Google have confirmed the price tag, but previous reports indicate Apple could be paying Google around$1 billion for access to its AI technology. The deal also comes after Apple spent some time testing the technology of competitorslike OpenAI and Anthropic.
The multi-year partnership will involve Apple using Google’s Gemini models and cloud technology for future Apple foundational models. The deal is not exclusive, per a source familiar with the matter. Apple has historically focused on vertical integration, relying on its own hardware and software.
The iPhone-maker has faced a fair amount of public chatter criticizing it after its AI efforts, particularly its assistant Siri, lagged behind competitors. That’s not to say Apple hasn’t been quietly building powerful foundational models. The company released the first versions of Apple Intelligence in 2024, which adds AI to existing OS functions like searching for photos and summarizing notifications. Apple has also focused on privacy with its AI rollout, with much of the processing happening on-device or through tightly controlled infrastructure. Apple says it will maintain those privacy standards throughout its partnership with Google.
The firm’s strategy has resulted in a subtle, sometimes invisible, occasionally resented form of AI – one that doesn’t have the same wow factor as ChatGPT or Gemini. It also stops short of delivering the kind of Siri overhaul many users have been waiting for.
Apple has delayed the rollout of its “more personalized Siri” voice assistant several times, but a spokesperson told TechCrunch an upgrade is coming this year. Previous reports indicate the overhauled Siri is expected to launch in the spring.
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Apple’s partnership with Google also comes as the search and adtech giant is in the midst of multiple antitrust lawsuits, including one that put its relationship with Apple front and center. In August 2024, a federal judge ruled that Google acted illegally to maintain a monopoly in online search by paying companies like Apple to present its search engine as the default on its devices and web browsers. Between 2021 and 2022, Google paid Apple about $38 billion to secure default search placements.
In December 2025, Judge Amit Mehta issued his final remedies on the case, which include banning Google from entering into exclusive, default agreements like the one it had with Apple “unless the agreement terminates no more than one year after the date it is entered.”
