Report: Apple is building an AI-powered web search for Siri

Macworld

While we’re still waiting for the new Apple Intelligence-infused Siri to arrive on our iPhones, a new report claims Apple’s plans for its digital assistant go far beyond the scope outlined so far. According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple is working on a new AI-powered web search feature for Siri to rival OpenAI and Perplexity.

The tool, dubbed “World Knowledge Answers” internally, is not a large-scale LLM (Large Language Model) chatbot, but rather relies on web crawling, search, and an LLM to provide answers from the web. According to the report, the system is meant to launch in spring 2026 as part of the big Siri overhaul, and would compete with ChatGPT, Google’s AI search answers, and Perplexity when it comes to getting up-to-date information from the web. Apple may later bring the same system to Safari and Spotlight on the Mac.

The report says the technology behind the new tool “could come in part” from Google. Apparently, the two companies came to a formal agreement just this week in which Apple will test a Google-developed AI model to power the future Siri upgrade. Perhaps coincidentally, a judge ruled this week that the two companies’ lucrative partnership to make Google the default search engine on iPhones is allowed.

The new search experience will have an interface that “makes use of” text, images, video, and local points of interest. There will also be AI summaries for longer results.

This new search capability is just one part of a planned multi-faceted overhaul of Siri to take place next year. Also planned is the ability to understand and act with knowledge of the user’s personal context, to read and understand what’s on the screen, and to take actions within apps using an extensive set of app interfaces called “intents.”

All of this is currently planned for the OS update that should correspond to OS 26.4, due for release in the spring. There are other related AI features coming later, including a big visual redesign for Siri, an AI-powered health and wellness feature as part of a paid wellness subscription, and a big Siri update for home devices to make them more conversational.