Apple weighs using Anthropic or OpenAI to power Siri in major reversal

Straits Times

2 days ago

A switch would be an acknowledgment that Apple is struggling to compete in generative AI. PHOTO: AFP
Los Angeles – Apple is considering using artificial intelligence (AI) technology from Anthropic PBC or OpenAI to power a new version of Siri, sidelining its own in-house models in a potentially blockbuster move aimed at turning around its flailing AI effort.
The iPhone maker has talked with both companies about using their large language models for Siri, according to people familiar with the discussions. It has asked them to train versions of their models that could run on Apple's cloud infrastructure for testing, said the people.
If Apple ultimately moves forward, it would represent a monumental reversal. The company currently powers most of its AI features with homegrown technology that it calls Apple Foundation Models and had been planning a new version of its voice assistant that runs on that technology for 2026.
A switch to Anthropic's Claude or OpenAI's ChatGPT models for Siri would be an acknowledgment that the company is struggling to compete in generative AI – the most important new technology in decades.
Apple already allows ChatGPT to answer web-based search queries in Siri, but the assistant itself is powered by Apple.
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.
Making a change – which is under discussion for 2026 – could allow Apple to offer Siri features on par with AI assistants on Android phones, helping the company shed its reputation as an AI laggard.
Representatives for Apple, Anthropic and OpenAI declined to comment.
Siri struggles, AI uncertainty
The Siri assistant – originally released in 2011 – has fallen behind popular AI chatbots, and Apple's attempts to upgrade the software have been stymied by engineering snags and delays.
A year ago, Apple unveiled new Siri capabilities, including ones that would let it tap into users' personal data and analyse on-screen content to better fulfill queries. The company also demonstrated technology that would let Siri more precisely control apps and features across Apple devices.
But the enhancements were far from ready. Apple initially announced plans for an early 2025 release but ultimately delayed the launch indefinitely. They are now planned for next spring, Bloomberg News has reported.
People with knowledge of Apple's AI team say it is operating with a high degree of uncertainty and a lack of clarity, with executives still poring over a number of possible directions. Apple has already approved a multibillion dollar budget for 2026 for running its own models via the cloud but its plans for beyond that remain murky.
Licensing third-party AI would mirror an approach taken by Samsung Electronics. While the company brands its features under the Galaxy AI umbrella, many of its features are actually based on Gemini. Anthropic, for its part, is already used by Amazon.com to help power the new Alexa+.
In the future, if its own technology improves, the executives believe Apple should have ownership of AI models given their increasing importance to how products operate. The company is working on a series of projects, including a tabletop robot and glasses that will make heavy use of AI.
Souring morale
Apple's models are developed by a roughly 100-person team run by Pang Ruoming, an Apple distinguished engineer who joined from Google in 2021 to lead this work. He reports to Daphne Luong, a senior director in charge of AI research.
Regardless of the path it takes, the proposed shift has weighed on the team, which has some of the AI industry's most in-demand talent.
Some members have signalled internally that they are unhappy that the company is considering technology from a third-party, creating the perception that they are to blame, at least partially, for the company's AI shortcomings. They've said that they could leave for multimillion-dollar packages being floated by Meta Platforms and OpenAI.
Meta, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, has been offering some engineers annual pay packages between US$10 million and US$40 million – or even more – to join its new Superintelligence Labs group, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Apple is known, in many cases, to pay its AI engineers half – or even less – than what they can get on the open market.
One of Apple's most senior large language model researchers, Tom Gunter, left last week. He had worked at Apple for about eight years, and some colleagues see him as difficult to replace given his unique skillset and the willingness of Apple's competitors to pay exponentially more for talent.
Apple this month also nearly lost the team behind MLX, its key open-source system for developing machine learning models on the latest Apple chips. After the engineers threatened to leave, Apple made counteroffers to retain them – and they're staying for now. BLOOMBERG
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