Apple reportedly seeks publisher deals to strengthen Siri AI

Apple is reportedly negotiating with news publishers to secure access to their content as it prepares to launch a significantly upgraded version of Siri. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company has approached media organisations about multi-year agreements that would allow the redesigned assistant to use their reporting when providing users with current news and other information.

The discussions come as Apple works to improve Siri ahead of its expected public release with iOS 27 later this year. The move would give the assistant access to a broader and more up-to-date pool of information, potentially helping it answer questions about recent events more effectively than the current version of Siri.

Apple considers new payment model for publishers

The Wall Street Journal did not identify the publishers involved in the reported negotiations. However, the company is said to have proposed a payment structure based on how often publishers’ content is used. Under the reported arrangement, media organisations would receive compensation when Siri AI accesses their material.

Such a model would differ from the approach taken by several major AI companies. Firms including OpenAI have generally negotiated agreements that involve guaranteed payments in return for broader access to publishers’ content. Apple’s reported proposal instead appears to link compensation more directly to the use of individual publishers’ material.

Apple has previously entered agreements with publishers to obtain rights to use their content for artificial intelligence purposes. The company’s latest discussions suggest it may be looking beyond training AI models and toward securing information that Siri can use to respond to users with more current answers.

Access to reliable news could become increasingly important as Apple expands the capabilities of its personal assistant. Instead of relying primarily on information already available within its software ecosystem, a more advanced Siri could use licensed third-party content to answer questions about developing stories, recent events and other topics that change frequently.

Siri AI prepares for a long-delayed launch

Apple first introduced its plans for a more capable Siri at WWDC in 2024. The company presented the redesigned assistant as a major part of its Apple Intelligence strategy, with features designed to give Siri greater awareness of a user’s context and allow it to perform more useful tasks.

However, the planned improvements were subsequently delayed, pushing back the arrival of the new assistant. Siri AI has now resurfaced as Apple continues its work on the technology, with the company expected to make the upgraded experience available to consumers alongside iOS 27 later this year.

Apple has also turned to Google as part of its efforts to develop the new Siri. The companies worked together to distil Google’s Gemini models for use with Siri AI, giving Apple access to technology that could help the assistant handle more complex requests and generate more useful responses.

The partnership reflects the scale of the challenge Apple faces as it attempts to compete in the rapidly developing AI assistant market. While Apple has been building its own artificial intelligence capabilities, competitors have already introduced assistants that can handle increasingly complex questions and tasks.

Apple still has ground to make up

Early testing suggests that the redesigned Siri represents a substantial improvement over the assistant currently available to most Apple users. The updated system is reportedly more capable and provides a more convincing experience when handling requests.

Apple’s reported discussions with publishers could therefore form an important part of its wider strategy. Having access to fresh, professionally produced information could help Siri provide more useful answers while reducing its reliance on static or outdated sources.

The approach also comes as publishers continue to negotiate with technology companies over the use of journalism in AI systems. As AI assistants increasingly generate answers using information from across the internet, agreements governing access to copyrighted news content are becoming an important part of the relationship between technology companies and media organisations.

For Apple, securing publisher partnerships could make Siri more useful at launch while giving news organisations a potential new revenue source. The strategy’s effectiveness will ultimately depend on how widely Siri can access current information, how the agreements are structured, and how well Apple’s assistant performs against established AI competitors.