Apple picks Google to make Siri smarter
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
Apple and Google announced a multiyear deal on Monday for Gemini models to power Siri and other Apple Intelligence features.
Why it matters: The move fills a clear need for Apple, the tech giant that has struggled the most to deliver on the AI promises it made back in 2024.
Driving the news: Apple and Google confirmed the deal in a statement provided to Axios.
- The next generation of Apple's foundation models will be based on Gemini models and cloud technology, the companies said.
- "These models will help power future Apple Intelligence features, including a more personalized Siri coming this year," per the statement.
Between the lines: The arrangement had been in the works since last year and follows months of delays for the improved Siri and hints that Apple might look outside its own labs for frontier models.
- Bloomberg said in November that Apple could end up paying on the order of $1 billion per year to use Google's models.
- "After careful evaluation, Apple determined that Google's Al technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models," Apple and Google said in its statement.
Zoom in: Apple says Google's models will run either on-device or from its own servers in order to preserve Apple's privacy standards.
- It's not yet clear what — if any — access Google will have to Apple customers' data.
The intrigue: The partnership follows years of antitrust scrutiny over a prior arrangement that has seen Google paying billions of dollars annually to Apple to be its default search engine provider.
- Google was found to hold an illegal monopoly in online search in 2024.
- The company was spared from the most dramatic possible remedies last fall when U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta ruled it must share its search data with rivals and put restrictions on its exclusive deals.
- Those restrictions include barring Google from entering any multiyear agreements with other companies, including for generative AI products.
The bottom line: It's not exactly clear how this deal squares with the recent ruling.
- The deal does not relate to Search or Gemini app distribution, which Mehta's order concerns, a source familiar with the matter told Axios.
- The deal is also not exclusive, the source said.
- Google and Apple did not respond to Axios' request for additional details.
Go deeper: Google, the sleeping AI giant, awakens
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details about the deal.
