Apple’s Next Siri Upgrade May Depend on Google’s Gemini AI
“World Knowledge Answers” could bring AI-powered search summaries to iPhones as early as 2026.
Apple is quietly preparing one of the most significant upgrades to Siri in over a decade — an AI-powered search and summarization tool known internally as World Knowledge Answers. But despite Apple’s push toward greater independence in artificial intelligence, the company may still rely on Google’s Gemini AI to power the feature.
According to reporting from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple has entered into a formal agreement with Google to test a custom version of Gemini, Google’s flagship generative AI model. This system would run on Apple’s servers and deliver web-sourced answers for Siri queries, putting Apple in direct competition with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and newer AI-driven search engines like Perplexity.
How “World Knowledge Answers” Could Work
Instead of Siri’s usual short replies or web links, the new system would generate summarized responses complete with text, images, videos, and relevant points of interest. For instance, asking Siri about a travel destination could return a compact, visually rich overview similar to what’s now common in AI-powered search apps.
This tool will reportedly form part of Apple’s three-part redesign of Siri:
- Planner – interprets user intent from text or voice.
- Search system – scans either local device data or the web.
- Summarizer – packages results into concise, human-like responses.
While Apple intends to use its own models for device-level searches (emails, messages, photos, etc.), it is still testing both Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini for the planner component.
Why Apple Needs Google (Again)
Apple has long tried to reduce its dependence on Google, yet the search giant remains deeply embedded in its ecosystem. In fact, Apple already earns an estimated $20 billion annually from making Google the default search engine in Safari. Partnering again with Google in AI could raise questions about whether Apple is truly building its own AI foundation — or simply integrating the best available options.
Analysts suggest that Apple’s move is partly pragmatic. Despite heavy investment in internal AI research, the company has fallen behind rivals like Microsoft (via OpenAI) and Google in large-scale generative models. Leveraging Gemini could allow Apple to deliver competitive AI features more quickly without waiting for its in-house technology to catch up.
Launch Timeline
Apple is expected to preview the iPhone 17 lineup next week, but Siri’s new AI features may not ship until iOS 26.4, which Bloomberg reports could roll out in March 2026.
If Apple succeeds, Siri could finally transform from a basic voice assistant into a true AI-powered knowledge engine — one capable of handling complex requests, summarizing real-time web data, and performing on-screen actions with context awareness.
Still, with Google in the loop, questions remain: Will Apple users trust Siri more if it leans on Gemini, or will they see it as another sign of Apple’s AI dependency?