Apple has held early discussions with OpenAI and Anthropic about using their AI models to power the next generation of Siri. The talks are focused on testing hosted versions of ChatGPT or Claude on Apple’s own cloud systems for evaluation and research. Apple continues to work on an internal large language model for Siri, known in-house as LLM Siri, but that effort has been slower than expected.
Why Apple is in talks with AI specialists
Siri has fallen behind competing voice assistants from Google and Amazon, and even newer chatbot styles from OpenAI and Anthropic. Apple had planned to launch a major Siri upgrade in 2025, but internal teams have faced technical hurdles. By outsourcing the core AI model to established providers, Apple could speed up deployment and offer more fluent natural language responses on iPhone and Mac.
What Apple needs from ChatGPT and Claude
Sources say Apple asked both companies to create custom versions of their models that can run on Apple’s secure cloud. This would allow Apple engineers to test them under real user conditions while maintaining privacy. Apple would still control the speech recognition layer and tailor the user interface, but the core reasoning and language generation could come from a proven foundation model.
Privacy and security concerns
Apple has long promoted on-device processing and user privacy as key differentiators for Siri. Relying on external models raises questions about data handling. Any model Apple chooses would need to meet its strict privacy standards and likely run within Apple’s own guarded server clusters to avoid sending user queries to third‑party networks.
Roadmap for the Siri relaunch
Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman indicates Apple still plans to release its own Siri LLM in spring 2026. In the meantime, an interim solution from OpenAI or Anthropic could bridge the gap and restore confidence in the assistant. Apple aims to integrate new AI features such as improved follow-up questions and deeper contextual understanding.
What this means for Siri users
In the event that Apple uses one of the models developed by OpenAI or Anthropic, the experience would be more like dealing with the next generation of a chatbot than the existing Siri. They are: smarter answers to complicated questions, improved translation, and more natural conversation. Apple’s challenge will be to blend that power with the tight device integration and privacy that users expect.
Apple’s outreach to OpenAI and Anthropic highlights how the company is willing to adapt its strategy to keep Siri competitive. As testing proceeds, the coming months will reveal whether Apple can deliver a truly modern voice assistant without sacrificing the core values that have defined its products.
