Apple Intelligence, ChatGPT and Gemini: What Changed for Siri

Apple's AI story has moved on since it first brought ChatGPT to the iPhone. In 2024 Apple launched Apple Intelligence with an optional ChatGPT extension inside Siri and Writing Tools. In January 2026 Apple and Google announced that the next generation of Apple's own foundation models would be built on Google's Gemini models, and those models now power the more capable Siri in iOS 27. This article explains what each partnership does, how privacy is handled and what it means for businesses that build apps.

What Apple Intelligence is

Apple Intelligence is the name Apple gives to the AI features built into iPhone, iPad, Mac and its other devices. It covers Siri, Writing Tools for rewriting, summarizing and proofreading text, image tools such as Image Playground, smarter notifications and Visual Intelligence, which understands what the camera or screen is showing.

The design principle has stayed the same since launch: run as much as possible on the device, and send heavier requests to Apple's own servers through a system called Private Cloud Compute. Apple says personal data sent there is used only to answer the request and is not stored or made accessible to Apple.

The ChatGPT integration: how it worked

When Apple announced Apple Intelligence in 2024, it also announced an integration with OpenAI's ChatGPT, which arrived for users at the end of that year. The integration was an extension, not a replacement for Apple's own models:

• Siri could hand off questions. When a request was better suited to ChatGPT, such as broad world knowledge or creative writing, Siri offered to pass it along.
• Users had to agree. Siri asked before sending anything to ChatGPT, and the extension could be switched off in settings.
• No account was required. People could use it without signing in, or connect a ChatGPT account to use their own subscription features.
• Writing Tools gained a compose option. Users could ask ChatGPT to draft text or create images inside apps that support Writing Tools.
• Privacy terms were set by Apple. Apple said that for users who did not sign in, requests were not stored by OpenAI and IP addresses were obscured.

The arrangement gave Apple a strong chatbot quickly while its own models matured. It also showed the pattern Apple prefers: its own system in charge, with outside models called only when needed and only with consent.

The Google Gemini partnership

In January 2026, Apple and Google published a joint statement describing a multi-year collaboration. Under it, the next generation of Apple Foundation Models is based on Google's Gemini models and cloud technology. Apple said it judged Google's technology to be the most capable foundation for its models, and that Apple Intelligence would continue to run on Apple devices and Private Cloud Compute.

This is a different kind of deal from the ChatGPT extension. ChatGPT was a separate assistant Siri could call. With Gemini, Google's technology sits underneath Apple's own models, and the user still deals only with Siri and Apple's features.

What arrived in iOS 27

Apple announced the new features in June 2026 for iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, watchOS 27 and visionOS 27, describing them as running on next generation foundation models built in collaboration with Google. In September 2026 Apple released the new Siri in beta. According to Apple, it brings:

• Personal context, so Siri can draw on your messages, mail, calendar and files to answer questions about your own life.
• Onscreen awareness, so Siri understands what you are looking at and can act on it.
• Broader world knowledge and a dedicated Siri app that keeps conversation history.
• Actions inside apps, including named third party apps.
• Expanded Writing Tools and Visual Intelligence across Apple devices.

At launch, the new Siri was in beta in English, with more languages planned. Apple said it was not initially available on iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch in the EU, and not available in China. It needs an Apple Intelligence capable device.

Where ChatGPT stands now

Apple's 2026 announcements about the new Siri do not mention ChatGPT or OpenAI. If you rely on the ChatGPT extension, check the Apple Intelligence settings on your device after each major update, because what is offered can vary by software version and region.

ChatGPT extension versus Gemini based models

Privacy: what Apple says

Privacy is the reason Apple has kept control of the experience in both partnerships. For Gemini based features, Apple says requests are handled on the device or in Private Cloud Compute, and that personal data is not stored or made accessible to Apple or anyone else. Apple has also said independent experts can inspect the code that runs on Private Cloud Compute servers.

For businesses, the practical point is that users expect AI features to respect the same standard. If your app adds its own AI, be clear about what data leaves the device, where it is processed and whether it is kept.

What this means for businesses and app owners

Siri can now act inside apps

A Siri that understands personal context and the screen is far more useful when it can take actions in third party apps. Apple's App Intents framework is how an app tells the system what it can do, such as booking a slot, reordering a product or checking a balance. Apps that expose clear, well named actions are more likely to appear in Siri, Spotlight and Shortcuts.

On device AI is open to developers

Apple's Foundation Models framework lets developers call Apple's on device model from their own apps, for tasks like summarizing, classifying or extracting text without sending data to a server. Apple's 2026 developer sessions also cover bringing other model providers into the same framework. That gives app teams a choice between private on device processing and larger cloud models.

Expect AI from more than one vendor

Apple has worked with OpenAI and Google within two years, and Microsoft, Samsung and Meta have all built AI deeply into their own platforms. For a business, the lesson is to design AI features so the model behind them can change. Keep prompts, data access and business rules in your own layer rather than tying everything to one provider.

Practical steps

1. Review which of your app's tasks users would want to trigger by voice, and expose them through App Intents.
2. Identify text heavy features, such as search, support or form filling, that an on device model could improve.
3. Write down what data any AI feature sends off the device, and say so plainly in the app.
4. Test on the latest iOS betas each summer, because Apple Intelligence changes with every major release.

The shift from a ChatGPT add on to Gemini based Apple models shows how quickly the platforms are moving. Codeeo builds iOS and Android apps and custom software, and the safest AI features are the ones designed so the model behind them can be swapped. If you want to know how ready your current app is, start with a codebase review or explore our case studies.