Apple has officially confirmed that Google’s Gemini will serve as the backbone for its long-awaited, AI-powered Siri, ending months of speculation around the future of Apple’s virtual assistant. According to a statement obtained by CNBC, the deal marks a multi-year partnership in which Apple will rely on Google’s Gemini models and cloud infrastructure to support what it calls its “Apple Foundation Models.” The decision signals a major strategic shift for Apple, a company historically known for keeping as much technology in-house as possible, especially when it comes to core user experiences like Siri.
In its statement, Apple explained that the choice came after extensive evaluation of available AI technologies. The company said Google’s platform offered “the most capable foundation” for its next generation of AI features, adding that Gemini will help unlock new and more intelligent experiences for users across Apple devices. While Apple did not go into technical specifics, the wording strongly suggests that Gemini will handle large-scale reasoning, natural language understanding, and cloud-based AI tasks, while Apple continues to focus on privacy, on-device processing, and system-level integration.
The announcement also had an immediate impact on the market. Shares of both Apple and Google reportedly rose following the news, reflecting investor confidence in the partnership. For Google, landing Apple as a long-term AI partner is a major win in the increasingly competitive generative AI space. For Apple, aligning with a proven AI platform helps it catch up after repeated delays to its AI-powered Siri. Apple first acknowledged one such delay last March, promising that the revamped Siri would arrive “in the coming year,” a window that is now close to expiring.
Despite the confirmation of the Gemini partnership, Apple has still not shared an official rollout timeline for the new Siri. This leaves users and developers waiting for details on when the smarter, more conversational assistant will finally arrive and which devices will support it. What is clear, however, is that Apple is betting big on AI in its next platform cycle, and by choosing Google’s Gemini, it is prioritizing capability and scale to ensure Siri can compete in an era increasingly defined by advanced generative assistants.
