Apple Quietly Integrates Google Gemini into Siri, Paying $1 Billion Annually to Close AI Gap
CUPERTINO, CA – November 10, 2025 – In a significant shift, Apple is reportedly leveraging Google’s Gemini AI technology to overhaul its struggling Siri voice assistant, a move that underscores the challenges Apple faces in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence landscape. The partnership, estimated to cost Apple roughly $1 billion per year, comes as the tech giant quietly attempts to downplay its reliance on a key competitor.
For years, Siri has lagged behind rivals in performance and capabilities, becoming a frequent target of criticism. Now, to deliver a competitive product, Apple is setting aside its long-held preference for in-house progress and turning to Google, a decision highlighted by the company’s efforts to conceal the origin of the new technology.
Internally, the Google-built model powering the revamped Siri is being referred to as “AFM v10,” short for the 10th version of Apple Foundation Models. This rebranding deliberately avoids any mention of Google or Gemini, according to a report by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.
the adoption of Gemini, a 1.2 trillion parameter model, represents a considerable leap forward for Apple’s AI capabilities and a tacit acknowledgment that its internal research has not kept pace with market demands. “This tech leap completely overshadows Apple’s current in-house efforts,” the Bloomberg report states.
Apple’s late entry into the modern AI race has left it playing catch-up to Google and other industry leaders. Google has been actively scaling its AI services, while Apple has recently experienced a loss of key AI researchers and model developers, many of whom have been recruited by Meta.
Despite the reliance on Google, Apple maintains an enterprising internal goal to develop its own trillion-parameter model, perhaps ready sometime next year. However, the immediate priority is delivering a substantially improved Siri experience. The revamped assistant, slated for release in the spring, will run on the Gemini infrastructure.
“Credit is due to Apple for being pragmatic,” the report notes, drawing a parallel to the company’s past decision to utilize Qualcomm modems despite legal disputes. “Apple is doing what is necessary to ensure thier iPhones deliver a worthy AI assistant experience.”
While the integration of Gemini presents risks, including dependence on a direct competitor, the move is expected to deliver a dramatic betterment to Siri’s functionality, potentially without users realizing the intelligence behind their iPhones now originates from Google.
