Apple is breaking down the walls around Siri. The company's upcoming iOS 27 update will allow users to choose which AI chatbot powers their voice assistant, opening the door to Google's Gemini, Anthropic's Claude, and other third-party options. According to a report from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, this represents a major shift for Apple, which has historically kept tight control over its ecosystem.
Apple just made a surprising concession in the AI wars. The iPhone maker is planning to open up Siri to competing AI chatbots with iOS 27, allowing users to pick their preferred AI brain instead of being locked into Apple's own assistant, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman.
The move represents a dramatic shift for a company famous for keeping its ecosystem tightly controlled. Under the new "Extensions" system, users will be able to download AI chatbots like Google's Gemini or Anthropic's Claude from the App Store and connect them directly to Siri. The setup mirrors how Siri already works with OpenAI's ChatGPT, which Apple announced at WWDC 2024, but expands the playing field considerably.
The Extensions feature will give users granular control over which chatbots they want active, with the ability to enable or disable individual AI services across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It's a plug-and-play approach that turns Siri from a standalone assistant into more of a platform - a significant strategic pivot for Apple as it races to catch up in the generative AI space.
