Apple May Lean on OpenAI or Anthropic to Revamp Siri’s AI Capabilities

Apple’s artificial intelligence roadmap appears to be hitting bumps, prompting the tech giant to potentially seek outside help to enhance its voice assistant, Siri. According to recent reports, Apple is considering partnerships with leading AI firms such as OpenAI and Anthropic to power the next generation of Siri—delayed until 2026.

This shift indicates Apple may no longer pursue building its large language models independently. Instead, the company could integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Anthropic’s Claude to provide Siri with more natural and conversational abilities. These advanced models would support tasks like improved contextual understanding and more human-like responses.

At the WWDC 2025 keynote in June, many anticipated a major AI announcement from Apple, but the event fell short of expectations. Now, it seems Apple may be playing catch-up, focusing more on integrating external AI models while refining the rest of its ecosystem.

Apple has already incorporated ChatGPT into iPhones through an existing collaboration with OpenAI. However, a deeper integration with either OpenAI or Anthropic could mean Siri’s responses would be powered entirely by one of these platforms. This setup might also involve sending certain user data to external servers, a move that could clash with Apple’s long-standing privacy stance.

Given its reputation as an innovation leader, Apple’s reliance on third-party AI could raise questions. Critics argue that a company with Apple’s scale and resources should not have to depend on external technology to build its core capabilities.

Any potential agreement with OpenAI or Anthropic will likely require that Siri’s AI enhancements run via Apple’s own secure data centers, ensuring user privacy remains intact. Apple has repeatedly emphasized this commitment to safeguarding personal data—something that could complicate negotiations with external AI providers.

Meanwhile, Apple’s AI strategy has come under increasing scrutiny. In a recent Wall Street Journal interview, executives Craig Federighi and Greg Joswiak were asked directly why Siri lags behind competitors. Their responses offered little clarity. Some insiders suggest Federighi’s reluctance to embrace the AI trend may have contributed to Apple’s slow pace in the space.

While Apple’s pivot to external partnerships may seem reactive, it could also be a pragmatic move to close the AI gap without compromising its core values. Whether this leads to a reimagined, more capable Siri—or further questions about Apple’s AI vision—remains to be seen.