NEW YORK, Aug 23: Bloomberg reported Friday that Apple Inc. has approached Google to explore the possibility of building a custom artificial intelligence model that could serve as the foundation of its long-awaited AI-powered Siri. The news service cited people familiar with the matter.

The discussions come as both companies face pivotal moments. Alphabet Inc. is awaiting a federal judge’s order on remedies following a ruling last year that found the company holds a monopoly in both general search services and general text advertising. Potential remedies could include forcing Google to share search data with rivals, divest its Chrome browser, or bar it from entering exclusive search engine agreements with companies such as Apple.

Apple, meanwhile, has faced criticism from investors and customers over delays in its artificial intelligence rollout. An AI-powered version of Siri, its digital assistant, has been postponed until next year. The iPhone maker has also reportedly held talks with OpenAI and Anthropic as potential partners for its AI push.

“We believe an Apple-Google partnership to revamp Siri would be well received, given concerns around Apple falling behind competitors in regards to AI,” Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani wrote in a note Friday.

“While we think Apple could develop its own upgrade internally, a Gemini-powered upgrade to Siri would accelerate Gen AI adoption and allow it to maintain a less capital-intensive approach to AI,” he said. Daryanani rates Apple at Outperform with a price target of $250.

According to Bloomberg, Apple remains several weeks away from deciding whether to continue developing its own internal models for Siri or proceed with an external partner.