Apple Inc. must be feeling pretty good about their brand new partnership with Google! As one such former engineer now working at x, together they will introduce Siri to the new world of powerful AI technology. This collaboration aims to provide users with a more personalized and efficient experience, leveraging Google’s AI capabilities to unlock innovative features across Apple’s suite of applications.
This announcement comes hot on the heels of Apple’s new partnership with OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT. They announced this collaboration with great fanfare in June 2024. This collaboration allowed the quick deployment of ChatGPT into Apple Intelligence. This new suite of generative AI tools complements Apple’s longstanding focus on creating more intuitive ways to interact with Apple devices. The new collaboration with Google represents a notable move in Apple’s efforts to strengthen its AI capabilities.
Francisco Jeronimo, one of the most respected industry analysts, raised some alarming points about the consequences of Apple’s choice to adopt Google’s AI technology. He remarked that “by outsourcing the foundational layer of its AI to Google, Apple is effectively admitting that its internal efforts couldn’t compete with Google’s Gemini in terms of capability and scale in the short term.” Jeronimo further noted that historically, “Apple always preferred to own every layer of its technology.”
In light of these concerns, both companies have focused on the bright side of their partnership. They stated, “After careful evaluation, Apple determined that Google’s AI technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and is excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for Apple users.” Additionally, they assured consumers that “Apple Intelligence will continue to run on Apple devices and Private Cloud Compute, while maintaining Apple’s industry-leading privacy standards.”
With the new partnership, the two companies hope to create a smarter Siri. They’ll use Google’s AI to make Siri more responsive, personalizing its interactions with users even more. This decision represents a watershed moment for Apple, which has historically prided itself on its proprietary technology. Many are still wondering what this collaboration might do to competition in the tech industry, if anything at all. This follows some groundbreaking work by the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). In October, the CMA ruled that Apple and Google control the UK market with an “effective duopoly.” Such a move would be disastrous for consumer choice and innovation.
This collaboration comes on the heels of a problematic U.S. In the suit brought by different states, a US District Judge found that Google had created an illegal online search monopoly in August of 2024. The antitrust ruling proved the breadth of Google’s intimidating monopoly over the markets. In 2021 alone, the company paid firms over $26 billion, including Apple. These agreements were designed to create Google as the default search engine on iPhones and other devices.
Apple is doubling down on improving its AI tools by aligning with other collaborative leaders in the industry such as Google and OpenAI. The ultimate effect of this strategy on its competitive landscape is still being determined. The integration of Google’s AI into Siri could potentially redefine user interactions with the device, offering features that align with modern expectations for digital assistants.