Apple Hires Former Google Executive to Lead AIApple Inc.BATS:AAPLKalaGhaziIn a strategic move signaling its intensified focus on artificial intelligence, Apple announced on Friday that it has hired Lilian Rincon to serve as its new Vice President of Product Marketing for AI. Rincon joins Apple after spending nearly a decade at Google, where she held leadership roles overseeing product management for the tech giant’s shopping and assistant platforms. In her new position, Rincon will report directly to Greg “Joz” Joswiak, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing, placing her at the center of the company’s efforts to redefine its AI-powered user experiences. The high-profile hire comes at a pivotal moment for Apple, as the company prepares to launch a significantly improved version of Siri later this year. The revamped virtual assistant is being rebuilt using technology derived from Alphabet’s Gemini AI model, representing a notable departure from Apple’s traditional approach of relying solely on internally developed software. According to a report from Bloomberg News, Apple plans to further differentiate the new Siri by opening it up to rival AI services, moving beyond its existing partnership with ChatGPT. This initiative would allow third-party AI applications to integrate directly with Siri, giving users the flexibility to route queries to a variety of external services—such as Alphabet’s Gemini or Anthropic’s Claude—directly from within the assistant interface. This strategic shift is expected to debut as part of Apple’s upcoming iOS 27 update, marking a significant evolution in the company’s AI philosophy. By transforming Siri into a more open platform, Apple aims to catch up with competitors in Silicon Valley who have moved more aggressively in the AI space, while also positioning the iPhone as a central hub for a broader ecosystem of artificial intelligence services. Siri, which first launched over a decade ago as a pioneering voice assistant, is now being positioned as the cornerstone of this renewed push into AI. According to Bloomberg News, Apple is actively developing tools that will enable chatbot apps downloaded from its App Store to work seamlessly not only with Siri but also with other features under its broader Apple Intelligence platform. This integration is designed to give users the autonomy to choose which AI service handles each specific request, whether it involves answering a complex question, generating content, or managing tasks. By offering a curated yet flexible selection of AI partners, Apple hopes to enhance the overall user experience while maintaining its commitment to privacy and security. Beyond the functional benefits for users, the overhaul could also open up new revenue opportunities for Apple. The report suggests that Apple may seek to take a share of subscriptions sold through third-party AI services that integrate with its ecosystem, mirroring the successful business model it has long employed with the App Store. This would create a new avenue for services revenue, which has become an increasingly important part of Apple’s overall financial strategy. Apple is expected to provide a preview of these new software features at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in June. The event typically serves as a platform for the company to unveil its most significant upcoming software advancements. However, the report cautions that plans could still evolve as the company finalizes its development and integration efforts ahead of a broader public release later in the year. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters regarding the details of the new AI strategy.