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Google Gemini could be integrated into Apple Intelligence this year, says CEO Sundar Pichai.
Pichai made the remark on Wednesday while appearing in court for his company's ongoing antitrust trial. According to Bloomberg, Pichai revealed that he held multiple meetings with Apple CEO Tim Cook regarding the integration in 2024. He hopes to strike a deal by mid-2025 and start a rollout on iPhones by year's end.
Apple Intelligence is Apple's suite of AI features, powered by the company's own large language models. It already allows people to tap into OpenAI's ChatGPT, and Apple execs said last year that the company is open to adding access to other rival AIs over time, including Gemini.
Gemini already features prominently on Android devices like Google's Pixel lineup and Samsung's Galaxy S25. And iPhone users can download the Gemini app. But a more formal integration into iOS could put Google's AI in front of a huge group of people who have not yet experimented with Gemini.
Apple Intelligence has had a rather lackluster rollout. Apple previewed it at WWDC 2024, but it wasn't available on the iPhone 16 at launch. Instead, we got piecemeal rollouts starting in October with features like Writing Tools, Image Playground, and eventually, ChatGPT access.
A revamped Siri, meanwhile, is still a work in progress. The goal is to have Apple's digital assistant "draw on a user's personal context to deliver intelligence that's tailored to them" and give the AI "onscreen awareness...to take hundreds of new actions in and across Apple and third-party apps." Rumors are all over the place on when that might happen, however; some suggest it might take a year or two.
In the meantime, Apple is facing multiple lawsuits for false advertising related to Apple Intelligence. In March, Tim Cook reportedly made changes to the company's AI leadership, appointing Vision Pro head Mike Rockwell to handle Siri.
Meanwhile, Google is facing the penalty phase of its antitrust trial. Last year, a federal judge found Google to be an illegal search monopoly, and as a remedy, the search engine giant might be forced to sell its Chrome browser. Suitors include OpenAI, Perplexity, and Yahoo.