Good news, Scarlett Johansson, you may not have to use ChatGPT with Siri

So yes, most of the new AI-infused or AI-powered features coming to iOS, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15 Sequoia are powered by Apple Intelligence using either on-device or in the Private Compute Cloud. And yes, that goes for the vast majority of Siri’s new intelligence and new powers, as well. 

But Apple is giving users the option to pull from another LLM (large-language model) – OpenAI’s ChatGPT-4o may be called upon when Siri doesn’t quite know the answer or when you might want to mix up your writing style. You won’t be stuck with OpenAI’s latest LLM, though. 

Speaking at a talk after the keynote wrapped, Craig Federighi – Apple’s SVP of Software Engineering – shared a bit more about Apple’s approach here: “We want to enable users, ultimately, to bring the model of their choice.”

It’s an approach similar to how Apple lets you select a default search engine on your iPhone; Federighi did say that LLM choice could potentially include Google Gemini but was quick to note Apple had “nothing to announce,” but it is “the direction.” On stage with Federighi during the conversation were John Giannandrea – Apple’s SVP of Machine Learning and AI Strategy – and Justine Ezarik (iJustine). Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, introduced the conversation.