Apple will open Siri to Gemini and Claude: iOS 27 adds support for third-party AI chatbots

Apple is preparing a radical change to how Siri works: in iOS 27, users will be able to choose which AI chatbot answers their requests through the voice assistant. For the first time in the product's history, the system will move beyond a single partnership and open access to competitors: Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude and other models available in the App Store.

According to Bloomberg, the feature will be called Extensions. It will work on iPhone, iPad and Mac as part of the iOS 27 update.

The mechanics are straightforward: the user enables the desired AI chatbot in settings, and Siri starts passing it requests that fall outside its built-in capabilities. The scheme is not new. The ChatGPT integration already works this way: when Siri meets a complex question, it offers to switch to GPT. iOS 27 will extend this logic to the entire AI assistant market at once.

Historically, Apple built a highly closed ecosystem. The ChatGPT integration announced at WWDC 2024 was presented as a strategic partnership, not as an open platform for everyone. Extensions changes the philosophy: any AI product developer can now potentially become part of Siri, provided the app is published in the App Store and supports the required interface. It is a fundamentally different position: not "Siri plus one partner" but "Siri as an orchestrator for the whole market."

Bloomberg also reports that Apple is developing a separate standalone Siri app, which will also support Extensions. That widens the scope of the change: competition among AI models will play out not only in the system assistant but also in a dedicated AI app that the company intends to develop as a standalone product.

For Google and Anthropic, opening Extensions is a first-order strategic opportunity. Gemini and Claude are already in the App Store; if Extensions works specifically with installed apps, both companies automatically land among the first available options. For users, this means real choice: ChatGPT by default, Claude for technical tasks, Gemini for work with Google services.

The context of this news matters. Apple Intelligence, introduced in 2024, fell short of expectations: delayed features, limited availability in a number of markets, and general disappointment among part of the audience. Siri still trails ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini considerably in the quality of answers to complex queries. Extensions looks like a pragmatic acknowledgment of the real state of affairs: instead of racing to improve its own model, Apple turns Siri into a universal interface on top of the whole market. This is not weakness. It is a different strategy, fully consistent with the company's position as the gatekeeper of an entry point for a billion devices.

Apple keeps control through a familiar mechanism: users manage their connected integrations themselves, and every chatbot goes through standard App Store review. Extensions is not an open API but a managed storefront.

The race for a share of Siri will begin at WWDC 2026.