Dive Brief:
- Apple and Google have entered into a multiyear partnership that will see Google’s Gemini models power Apple’s artificial intelligence features, according to a joint statement.
- Gemini will fuel Apple Intelligence, the iPhone maker’s personal AI system, including through a more personalized Siri voice assistant. Apple Intelligence will continue to run on Apple devices and its Private Cloud Compute system.
- The news confirms earlier reports suggesting the two companies could strike a deal around AI and expands a longtime partnership that has allowed Google’s search engine to be the default on Apple devices. The move adds to a series of recent AI wins for Google.
Dive Insight:
Apple has turned to Google to support its AI ambitions in a deal that strengthens the pair’s existing partnership and gives the Alphabet-owned company a potential edge in its race against OpenAI to become the dominant force in the emerging generative AI landscape. The announcement follows reports last fall suggesting an AI deal between the two was imminent, with Apple expected to pay Google roughly $1 billion for access to the search giant’s technology.
“After careful evaluation, Apple determined that Google’s Al technology provides the most capable foundation for Apple Foundation Models and is excited about the innovative new experiences it will unlock for Apple users,” Apple and Google said in a joint statement on Jan. 12 confirming the deal.
Google’s Gemini models will help power future Apple Intelligence features, including an overhaul to Siri that has been years in the making. Apple unveiled its Apple Intelligence generative AI offering in 2024 alongside a privacy-focused solution called Private Cloud Compute. At the time, the company also revealed a much-anticipated partnership with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into experiences within its iOS operating system. It’s not immediately clear how Google’s deal with Apple will impact the ChatGPT integration.
While Apple Intelligence has become a core focus for Apple, the company has taken a measured approach to AI in comparison to other players in the tech space. The company has also experienced executive shakeups, naming a new vice president of AI in former Google and Microsoft exec Amar Subramanya in December. Its latest move reads as the company taking a step away from ambitions to own its AI expertise in-house.
Google has had numerous wins on the AI front of late. Aside from its Apple tie-up, the company is making big moves on the commerce front through recent deals with Target and Walmart around AI-assisted shopping. Alphabet delivered its first $100 billion quarter in Q3 2025, with its AI bets supporting ad relevancy, performance and automation. Alphabet briefly hit a $4 trillion market valuation on Monday following the Apple announcement.
Though they are rivals in certain respects, including smartphone hardware, Apple and Google have had a yearslong partnership that allows Google to be the default search engine on Apple devices. Google pays an estimated $20 billion per year to Apple as part of the deal, which was recently protected in Google’s landmark antitrust lawsuit. The antitrust ruling ultimately found Google to be operating as an illegal monopoly while still allowing it to make revenue-sharing payments to distribution partners for offerings around generative AI, search and Chrome.
On that front, the new Apple and Google deal has already drawn criticism, with X and Tesla owner Elon Musk calling the move “an unreasonable concentration of power” for the latter. Musk owns his own generative AI business, called xAI, which powers the Grok assistant.
Apple posted revenue of $102.5 billion, an increase of 8% year over year, for the fiscal period ended Sept. 27. The company will report results for the first quarter of its fiscal year 2026 on Jan. 29.
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