Apple Explains How Gemini-Powered Siri Will Work

Apple CEO Tim Cook yesterday reiterated the structure of its partnership with Google to use Gemini AI models for the next generation version of Siri.

During the company's Q1 2026 earnings call yesterday, Apple CEO ‌Tim Cook‌ and CFO Kevan Parekh were asked several questions about Apple Intelligence and the company's recently announced deal with Google to power the personalized version of ‌Siri‌ using Gemini.

We basically determined that Google's AI technology would provide the most capable foundation for AFM (Apple Foundation Models), and we believe that we can unlock a lot of experiences and innovate in a key way due to the collaboration. We'll continue to run on the device and run in Private Cloud Compute and maintain our industry-leading privacy standards in doing so. In terms of the arrangement with Google, we're not releasing the details of that.

That description closely matches language from Apple and Google's earlier joint announcement, which said that ‌Apple Intelligence‌ would continue to operate on Apple hardware and Private Cloud Compute.

Cook also addressed Apple's own artificial intelligence development efforts, noting that the company continues to build its own technology alongside the Gemini partnership, but clarified that those efforts do not replace Google's role in the personalized ‌Siri‌ system.

You should think of it as a collaboration. And we'll obviously independently continue to do some of our own stuff, but you should think of what is going to power the personalized version of Siri as a collaboration with Google.

When asked about monetization and return on investment, Cook framed ‌Apple Intelligence‌ as a feature integrated across Apple's platforms rather than a discrete revenue driver.

We're bringing intelligence to more of what people love and we're integrating it across the operating system in a personal and private way, and I think that by doing so, it creates great value, and that opens up a range of opportunities across our products and services. And we're very happy with the collaboration with Google as well, I should add.

Neither Cook nor Parekh disclosed how many users currently have access to ‌Apple Intelligence‌ features or whether those capabilities are driving hardware upgrades. Apple previously acknowledged that ‌Apple Intelligence‌ is limited to devices with sufficient memory and processing capacity, which constrains availability somewhat.