Siri gets smarter! Apple building AI search tool to rival OpenAI, Perplexity, may launch in Spring 2026

Apple is building its own AI-powered web search tool that could launch in spring 2026, aiming to compete with OpenAI and Perplexity AI. The project is called World Knowledge Answers inside Apple, and it will first be built into Siri. Later, Apple may also add this AI search system to Safari browser and Spotlight, which is the iPhone home screen search tool, reports say.

Some Apple executives call it an “answer engine”, and it will be part of a big Siri overhaul that has been delayed for years. The tool will work like ChatGPT, Google’s AI Overviews, and other new AI apps, relying on large language models (LLMs) to answer questions. Apple has made a deal to test a Google-made AI model to help power the new Siri, showing that Apple may partly rely on Google technology, as reported by Bloomberg.

Apple AI search tool details

The new AI search will show text, photos, videos, and local info and will also give AI summaries that are faster and clearer than Siri today. Apple and Google both declined to comment on these plans. After Bloomberg’s report, Apple’s stock jumped 3.8% to $238.47, the biggest one-day rise in almost a month.

Right now, Siri can answer basic questions, but it struggles with complex searches and often uses Google or ChatGPT for results. Siri was first released in 2011, but it now shows Apple’s weakness in AI compared to rivals. This week, a U.S. judge allowed Apple to keep Google as the default search engine, a deal worth about $20 billion a year, as per the report.

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Siri AI upgrade explained

Apple’s Eddy Cue testified earlier that Google search queries from Apple devices have dropped for the first time in 20 years, calling AI rivals “formidable competitors”. With the Google deal secured, Apple may feel less pressure to rush, but the AI search project continues. The Siri revamp, called Linwood and LLM Siri, will let Siri use personal data and on-screen content to give better answers, as stated in the report by Bloomberg.

Siri will also be able to navigate iPhones and iPads more precisely by voice. Craig Federighi, Apple’s software chief, told employees the Siri revamp will deliver a “much bigger upgrade than we envisioned”. The project involves multiple teams: Federighi’s Siri group, John Giannandrea’s AI team, and Eddy Cue’s services unit. Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell and ex-Siri chief Robby Walker are also leading roles.

iOS 26 and Apple AI plans

Apple plans to use the same AI search system for both internet search and on-device search, helping people quickly find images, files, and more. Apple even thought about making a chatbot-style search app, and it has formed a new AKI (Answers, Knowledge, and Information) team to support the work. The new Siri and search will ship in iOS 26.4, codenamed Luck E, which could arrive as soon as March 2026, as per the Bloomberg report.

The first version of iOS 26 will launch this month with the iPhone 17 lineup, but without major new AI features. Siri’s new AI system will have three core parts: a planner (to interpret input), a search system (for web + device), and a summarizer (to deliver answers). Apple is considering using third-party AI models like Google’s Gemini or Anthropic’s Claude, along with its own models, under a project called Glenwood.

Apple faces AI competition and talent loss

Apple is leaning toward using a custom Google Gemini model for the summarizer, running on Apple’s Private Cloud Compute servers. Apple will still use its own Apple Foundation Models for searching private user data, to keep privacy protections. Anthropic’s Claude was originally in the lead, but it was too expensive ($1.5 billion/year), while Google offered better financial terms.

Last year, Apple even talked to Google about integrating Gemini chatbot into Siri, but ended up partnering with OpenAI temporarily. Beyond search, Apple also plans a visual redesign of Siri and a health AI agent for a paid wellness service in 2026. Apple is working on another Siri update to make it more conversational for future home devices. The AI push comes as Apple tries to catch up in AI after falling behind rivals. The delays forced Apple to reshuffle executives earlier this year, as per the report by Bloomberg.

Apple also looked at buying AI startups like Perplexity and Mistral. Talks with Mistral happened as recently as July, but Apple dropped Perplexity plans. Instead of acquisitions, Apple is pushing its own search tool, which will compete directly with Perplexity’s offering. But Apple faces problems: its Foundation Models team is losing staff. Founder Ruoming Pang left for Meta in July with a $200M pay package.

Since Pang’s exit, around 10 more researchers left for Meta, and others joined OpenAI and Anthropic. Just last week, key AI staff, John Peebles and Nan Du (to OpenAI) and Meng Zhao (to Anthropic), also quit Apple. More Apple AI researchers are actively interviewing for jobs elsewhere, showing Apple’s struggle to keep talent, as reported by Bloomberg.

FAQs

Q1. When will Apple launch its AI search tool?
Apple is planning to launch its new AI search tool inside Siri in spring 2026, as reported by Bloomberg.

Q2. How is Apple’s AI search different from Google and OpenAI?
Apple’s AI search will give text, photos, videos, and AI summaries directly in Siri, aiming to be faster and more private than Google or ChatGPT.