Apple will use Google’s Gemini model for its revamped Siri coming later this year under a multi-year deal that deepens the tech giants’ alliance in the artificial intelligence age and strengthens Alphabet’s position in the race against OpenAI.

The deal announced on Monday is a big vote of confidence for Google. Its technology already drives Samsung’s “Galaxy AI,” but the Siri deal opens up a bigger market with Apple’s installed base of more than two billion active devices.

“After careful evaluation, Apple determined that Google’s AI technology provides the most capable foundation for the Apple Foundation Model,” Google said, adding that its models will also power other Apple Intelligence features in the future.

Alphabet is vying for the Apple deal with OpenAI, financial details of which have not been disclosed.

The iPhone maker launched ChatGPT across its devices in late 2024, allowing the company’s Siri voice assistant to leverage the chatbot’s expertise to answer complex questions.

Apple said there were no major changes to the ChatGPT integration at the time, while OpenAI did not respond to a Reuters request for comment.

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Musk founded his own AI firm, xAI, which is trying to compete with other major players in the industry by building basic models and spending billions on massive infrastructure.

Monday’s agreement is likely to raise questions about OpenAI’s partnership with Apple. In response to Gemini 3, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman late last year reportedly issued a “code red” to teams to accelerate development.

Parth Talsanya, CEO of Equisites Research, said, “Apple’s decision to use Google’s Gemini model for Siri shifts OpenAI into more of a supporting role, with ChatGPIT positioned for complex, opt-in queries rather than the default intelligence layer.”

Google is working on all cylinders to counter OpenAI’s early lead in the industry by doubling down on Frontier models and image and video generation.

Apple has faced a number of setbacks on the AI ​​front after coming late to the race, including delayed Siri upgrades, top-level executive changes and the initial rollout of its generative AI tools that was met with a lackluster reception.

The latest agreement builds on a years-long partnership that made Google the default search engine on Apple devices — a lucrative arrangement that drives traffic to Google while generating tens of billions in annual revenue for Apple.

News of the deal helped Alphabet’s market valuation top $4 trillion on Monday. The stock jumped 65% last year on growing investor optimism about its AI efforts.

To ease privacy concerns, Google said Monday, “Apple Intelligence will continue to run on Apple devices and personal cloud compute, while maintaining Apple’s industry-leading privacy standards.”