Apple’s Siri is in a weird position at the moment considering it hasn’t been given the upgrade it was promised months ago due to which it majorly lacks behind its competitors. However, a new report suggests that Apple could be eyeing AI technologies from Anthropic or OpenAI to power Siri.
The report from Bloomberg suggests that Apple has talked with both Anthropic and OpenAI about using their large language models for Siri, and has asked them to train versions of their models that could run on Apple’s cloud infrastructure for testing. Apple relying on Anthropic or OpenAI to power Siri could be a notable sign that the company is struggling with its own AI models which may not be enough to bring an upgrade for Siri that is of Apple’s standards.
The company currently relies on its in-house technology, known as Apple Foundation Models, to power most of its AI features. It had also been planning to launch a new version of its voice assistant based on this technology in 2026. The revamped Siri was teased back in 2024 and the company also announced a partnership with OpenAI to power Siri features where the assistant would forward the query to ChatGPT for a more detailed and relevant reply.
The capabilities that were teased would allow to Siri to access users’ personal data and analyse on-screen content to better fulfil queries. The company also demonstrated technology that would let Siri more precisely control apps and features across Apple devices. While Apple initially announced plans for an early 2025 release, it ultimately delayed the launch indefinitely. The new features are now expected to debut in Spring of 2026.
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”Apple’s investigation into third-party models is at an early stage, and the company hasn’t made a final decision on using them, the people said. A competing project internally dubbed LLM Siri that uses in-house models remains in active development,” said Bloomberg.
Senior executives at Apple, including Craig Federighi, do not see the “need for Apple to rely on its own models — which they currently consider inferior — when it can partner with third parties instead, according to the people,” the report read.
If Apple does opt for this route, it would mirror Samsung’s approach where most of its Galaxy AI features are powered by Google’s Gemini nano model. Bloomberg said that in talks with both Anthropic and OpenAI, the iPhone maker asked for customized versions of Claude and ChatGPT that could run on its Private Cloud Compute servers — a system built on high-end Mac chips that Apple already uses to power its advanced in-house models.
The reason behind using Apple’s own servers is in the interest of users’ privacy which it thinks it’ll be able to safeguard better instead when using third-party infrastructure.
As of now, Apple hasn’t been able to reach a deal with Anthropic due to disagreement on financial terms. Anthropic “is seeking a multibillion-dollar annual fee that increases sharply each year. The struggle to reach a deal has left Apple contemplating working with OpenAI or others if it moves forward with the third-party plan,” Bloomberg’s sources said.