According to a code analysis reported by MacRumors, internal references within Apple's software point to a possible mechanism for replacing Siri with third-party AI models, specifically Anthropic's Claude and OpenAI's ChatGPT. These findings, spotted in files tied to upcoming iOS builds, fall short of an official confirmation but add weight to ongoing speculation about a significant overhaul of Apple's voice assistant.
The approach described would resemble existing iOS mechanisms that let users pick default apps for browsing or email. Applied to Siri, this would allow Apple to hand off certain conversational tasks to more capable external models rather than closing the gap with its own large language model development.
The discovery comes against a backdrop of prolonged struggles for Apple in generative AI. The promised Siri redesign, originally expected alongside iOS 18, has been delayed multiple times, and the company is reportedly in talks with Google to integrate Gemini, building on its existing arrangement with OpenAI that already brings some ChatGPT features to iPhone. Opening Siri to outside providers would represent a notable strategic shift for a company that has traditionally kept tight control over its core technology stack.
Without an official statement from Apple, these findings should be treated cautiously, since experimental code does not always translate into a shipped feature. If the project does move forward, it would underscore how difficult it has become for Apple to compete unaided against specialized AI labs, while also raising fresh questions about data privacy as user requests potentially flow through external models inside a historically closed ecosystem.