Apple is reportedly in serious talks with AI heavyweights OpenAI and Anthropic to breathe new life into Siri, its long-criticized digital assistant.
With Siri often mocked for its rigid, outdated command structure and lack of contextual understanding, Apple is now racing to catch up with the modern AI revolution – even if it means borrowing brains from elsewhere.
While Apple has been developing its own large language model under the banner of ‘Apple Intelligence’, the results so far haven’t impressed. A promised rollout of smarter Siri features was delayed until 2026, prompting backlash from users. In response, Apple is accelerating its timeline and looking externally for help. According to Bloomberg, Apple has initiated discussions with OpenAI and Anthropic to integrate more capable LLMs into Siri – possibly as soon as iOS 26.
The report highlights that Apple is particularly interested in models that can operate on its Private Cloud Compute infrastructure, ensuring privacy and control. So far, Anthropic’s models are said to be leading the internal tests, offering the best fit for Siri’s transformation. However, there’s a catch – Anthropic reportedly wants a multi-billion dollar deal, which could push Apple to consider other options or even renegotiate with OpenAI.
At the heart of this move is Apple’s acknowledgment that Siri has fallen behind in areas like multi-step reasoning, fluid conversation, and dynamic query handling – domains where ChatGPT and Claude have excelled. A potential partnership with an external LLM provider would allow Apple to bridge that gap while continuing to refine its own AI technology in the background.
This shift marks a major strategic pivot for Apple, a company traditionally known for building its core technologies in-house. But faced with increasing pressure to deliver smarter, more capable AI experiences, the iPhone maker might finally be ready to admit it needs a little outside help – and users just might get the Siri upgrade they’ve been waiting years for.