According to a new report, Apple’s agreement with Google could end up costing the iPhone maker an eye-watering amount over time — and it also reveals that OpenAI chose not to pursue a deal that would have made it Siri’s core AI provider.
The news, first reported by The Financial Times, highlights just how high the stakes have become in the AI race, where the best models are now valuable enough to command multi-billion-dollar licensing deals.
Apple’s AI plan is getting expensive — fast
Apple has spent years building its own AI systems known as Apple Intelligence, but the company has also made it clear it’s willing to partner when needed, especially as consumer expectations for AI assistants shift.
Siri is no longer being compared to other voice assistants — it’s being compared to ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.
And in 2026, those tools do so much more than respond to queries, they also understand context, interpret images and help users complete tasks.
They summarize emails, understand context, interpret images, and help users complete tasks. That’s why Apple leaning on Gemini matters: it suggests Apple is prioritizing speed and capability over waiting for an entirely in-house solution to catch up.
And it’s not a small partnership, either. The report suggests the deal could cost Apple billions as it scales.
OpenAI reportedly didn’t want the Siri job
One of the most surprising details in the reporting is that OpenAI — the company behind ChatGPT — reportedly decided against becoming Apple’s custom model provider for Siri.
In other words, OpenAI had the chance to be the “brain” behind Siri’s next era, and it passed.
That doesn’t mean ChatGPT disappears from Apple devices. Apple has already integrated ChatGPT in certain experiences, and that relationship could still continue in a limited or optional way.
But it does suggest OpenAI isn’t interested in being the behind-the-scenes infrastructure for Apple’s assistant — especially if it limits OpenAI’s ability to control the product experience, roadmap, or data flow.
We can only assume that passing on this deal means that OpenAI would rather support their own efforts as they continue to further develop ChatGPT and OpenAI devices.
Why this is a major win for Google
If Gemini becomes a core layer powering Siri and Apple Intelligence experiences, it puts Google’s AI technology in front of one of the biggest user bases on the planet — iPhone owners who may not have otherwise touched Gemini directly, since Gemini has primarily been integrated into Android and Samsung devices.
It also reinforces a bigger trend: AI models are becoming platforms and licensing them is turning into a massive revenue stream.
If Apple is willing to pay billions, it signals that top-tier AI models are now seen as essential infrastructure — like search engines, chips or app stores.
What the integration means for iPhone users
For everyday users, the short version is simple: Siri should get smarter and more useful, faster.
This is the type of shift that could unlock the Siri people have been waiting for — one that can:
- Understand more natural, messy questions
- Keep context across requests
- Summarize information instead of just pulling web links
- Help with real tasks inside apps
Apple will likely continue to emphasize privacy and on-device processing where possible, but the reality is that the most powerful AI features often require cloud-level computing. Partnerships like this help Apple bridge that gap, and will find a way to plug Gemini into its Private Cloud Compute platform to protect user privacy.
Outlook
The big takeaway from this news is that the AI race is entering a new phase that we've never seen. The AI race is evolving into something more expensive, more competitive and harder for any single company to dominate alone.
Big tech companies are no longer just “building AI.” They’re buying access to the best models while trying to control where AI shows up in your daily life.
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