Apple’s struggles with giving Siri a next-gen AI makeover are pretty well-known at this point, while rivals like Google’s Gemini have flourished on the Android ecosystem. The situation with delays got so bad that Apple had to pull the ads showing Siri’s advanced capabilities that are yet to ship nearly a year later.
As a stop-gap solution, the company integrated ChatGPT within the Apple Intelligence stack on iPhones, letting the OpenAI chatbot handle queries that Siri can’t answer. The company is also said to be in talks to bring more AI chatbots onboard in a similar capacity.
Down the road, Apple could let users fully replace Siri as their default voice assistant on Apple devices. That would be a massive shift, as Siri was one of Apple’s standout innovations. Yet, due to a lack of competitive edge and regulatory pressure, Apple could eventually allow that, according to Bloomberg.
“To meet expected European Union regulations, the company is now working on changing its operating systems so that, for the first time, users can switch from Siri as their default voice assistant to third-party options, according to a person with knowledge of the matter,” says the report, which cities interviews with multiple Apple employees.
Why does it matter?
In its current shape, if you ask Siri questions such as “Who won the best Oscar for direction in 2023?” or “What principle is best suited for understanding fluid motion in a closed loop,” it can’t answer them. Instead, it would offload them to ChatGPT, after asking users’ permission.
The bigger theme, however, is that Siri is here to stay. But letting users completely replace it with a third-party product — like Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, or OpenAI’s ChatGPT — would send a clear message that Apple can’t compete in the AI assistant race. Apple can’t allow that.
Yet, given the current status of Siri, many users have already shifted to rival chatbots such as Gemini, ChatGPT, and Perplexity, which are now getting increasingly integrated with third-party services. My tests with Gemini on an iPhone tell me that Google’s assistant is already superior to Siri in a lot of ways.
Bloomberg’s long report suggests users will also eagerly switch away from Siri if Apple allows them to replace it. “Barring a major leap with Apple’s products, many users may make that switch,” it adds. Apple has already made some big concessions for users in the EU bloc, such as allowing third-party app stores, external in-app payment options, and the ability to change default messaging and calling apps, too.
What’s next in AI for Apple?
Apple is already working on the next-gen iteration of Siri, internally codenamed as LLM Siri, that offers the same kind of capabilities as modern age AI chatbots. Yet, as per previous reporting, that overhaul is at least a year, or two away. To develop it, Apple is also enlisting users to contribute data for training purposes.
The company is reportedly trying to set apart the Apple Intelligene branding from Siri, so that it can continue developing new AI-powered features without having to share a spotlight with the lagging virtual assistant. As part of this strategy, Apple is eyeing new features such as an AI-assisted battery management tool and a personalized health coach.
The company is also said to be planning a more mellow approach to feature announcements after the Siri misadventure. “Apple, for the most part, will stop announcing features more than a few months before their official launch,” adds the Bloomberg report. We’ll get to know more about the company’s future roadmap at the WWDC 2025 conference next month.