Google and Apple Seal Major AI Partnership: Gemini to Power Next-Gen Siri and Apple Intelligence

Ronni Holmvig Strøm · 2026-01-13

Apple and Google reveals a multi-year collaboration

In a blockbuster development announced on January 12, 2026, Apple and Google revealed a multi-year collaboration that will see Google's advanced Gemini AI models serve as the foundation for the next generation of Apple Foundation Models.

This partnership will supercharge future Apple Intelligence features, most notably delivering a long-awaited, more personalized and capable overhaul of Siri later this year. The joint statement emphasized that after rigorous evaluation, Apple selected Google's technology as the "most capable foundation" to unlock innovative user experiences, while maintaining Apple's strict on-device processing and Private Cloud Compute standards for privacy.

The deal builds on the longstanding (and highly lucrative) arrangement where Google pays Apple tens of billions annually to remain the default search engine on iPhones and other devices — an agreement that survived antitrust scrutiny in 2025. Reports suggest Apple will pay Google around $1 billion per year for access to customized Gemini tech, marking a pragmatic move for Cupertino after facing delays and criticism over its own AI rollout.

This positions Google as a key player in powering AI across Apple's massive ecosystem of over two billion devices, boosting Alphabet's stock and pushing its market valuation past $4 trillion on announcement day. The partnership isn't exclusive, and Apple continues its separate integration with OpenAI's ChatGPT for certain queries, but Gemini now takes center stage in addressing Siri's longstanding shortcomings.

This tie-up arrives amid the furious AI arms race, where Apple — long focused on privacy-first, on-device intelligence — has opted to leverage Google's frontier models rather than fully reinvent the wheel in-house.

It's a win-win: Apple accelerates its catch-up in generative AI without compromising core principles, while Google gains massive validation and reach for Gemini against rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic. Expect the revamped Siri to debut in a major iOS update later in 2026, potentially transforming how iPhone users interact with their devices daily.