After months of back and forth with its artificial intelligence strategy, Apple has revived its plan to make Siri a real alternative to ChatGPT . The company has reorganized teams, accelerated hiring, and focused on creating a conversational experience that doesn't depend on third parties and is better integrated into its devices.
The initiative is gaining traction with a newly formed internal team and a clear objective: to offer helpful answers, stay updated with information from the web, and maintain the privacy standards that characterize the Apple ecosystem. It won't be an immediate move, but it marks a shift away from relying on external solutions.
What has changed in Apple's strategy
Sources close to the company indicate that management has decided to reinvest heavily in AI capabilities for Siri, after several delays. The goal is to equip the assistant with features currently associated with conversational models like ChatGPT or Gemini , resulting in more natural and contextually useful behavior.
To achieve this, Apple has created the AKI (Answers, Knowledge, and Information) team, tasked with refining the quality of responses , strengthening knowledge, and improving information retrieval. Plans include developing a dedicated LLM for the assistant, as well as a conversational search experience that integrates seamlessly into the system.
Becoming independent from OpenAI is a short-term priority.
During the transition to Apple Intelligence, the company relied on OpenAI technology to improve responses in certain scenarios. Now, the approach is different: to build an in-house chatbot capable of querying the web and providing accurate answers , with a view to integrating it with Siri, Spotlight, and Safari. A standalone app is also a possibility if the user experience warrants it.
The project is led by Robby Walker , former head of Siri, and has resulted in job postings focused on search engines and algorithms . The message is clear: Apple wants to balance information retrieval with seamless conversation, avoiding reliance on third parties for the core of its assistant.
Rhythm, deadlines and the option of strategic purchases
Timelines have been the plan's Achilles' heel. After past failed estimates, the most realistic scenarios suggest that major new features could appear in 2026 , though nothing is certain at this time. Even so, work is progressing and the product focus is taking shape.
Furthermore, management has left the door open to acquisitions that could accelerate the timeline . Among the options considered by the industry are companies specializing in AI search, such as Perplexity, and third-party models like Anthropic, with the intention of strengthening capabilities and shortening timelines if necessary.
How it would fit with current Siri and Apple Intelligence
Currently, Apple Intelligence offers useful features—such as summaries, translations, and content generation —but its approach to chatbots remains limited and focused on providing one-off responses. A major improvement would be to integrate a conversational model that maintains context and reliably retrieves information in real time.
This advancement requires balancing privacy and power . The creation of the AKI team indicates that Apple is seeking a balance between improving the assistant's usability and maintaining control over data and security as differentiating factors compared to other platforms.
Competition is accelerating and Apple doesn't want to be left behind.
The market is moving quickly, with OpenAI, Google, and Meta setting the trends. In this context, Apple aims to regain ground: some internal voices consider the delays unacceptable and are pushing for faster implementation. The company is confident in its ability to release a polished solution , although the window for delays has narrowed.
Cupertino's plan focuses on three main fronts: a dedicated team (AKI) with clear leadership, investment in search and proprietary models, and flexibility to acquire technology if it leads to a more competitive Siri against ChatGPT . The roadmap is still being developed, but the direction is already set.