Apple is preparing to fundamentally reshape how its users interact with AI assistants — and it involves letting go of one of the most rigid aspects of its ecosystem. According to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, iOS 27 will introduce “Extensions” — a feature that allows third-party AI chatbots to plug directly into Siri, giving users the ability to choose which chatbot handles their voice queries.
From One Chatbot to Many
Since WWDC 2024, Siri has been able to hand off certain queries to OpenAI’s ChatGPT when it detects that ChatGPT might provide a better answer. It was a notable opening from Apple, but a narrow one. With iOS 27’s Extensions feature, that capability expands dramatically: users will be able to enable chatbots from Google, Anthropic, and potentially others, giving Siri a much broader AI backend to draw from.
The system will work similarly to how ChatGPT integration was initially implemented — Siri will intelligently route queries to whichever enabled chatbot is best suited to handle them. But the deeper implication is that Apple is effectively building an AI App Store inside Siri.
An AI App Store Taking Shape
The Extensions announcement builds on a broader pattern. Apple’s latest moves suggest a deliberate strategy to transform Siri into a hub for third-party AI services. The company is reportedly planning a standalone Apple Intelligence app — an upgraded, action-oriented version of Siri — that will serve as a unified interface for these AI extensions.
A dedicated App Store section for AI chatbots is expected to accompany the iOS 27 release, making it easy for users to browse, download, and enable the AI assistants that best fit their needs. Think of it as the ringtone store for AI — a marketplace where different AI personalities and capabilities can be sampled and swapped.
This is a significant strategic pivot. For years, Apple’s approach to AI was characterized by on-device processing and tight integration with its own services. The Extensions feature signals that Apple recognizes the AI landscape is too diverse and fast-moving for any single company to dominate — and that users want choice.
The Google Gemini Deal Context
The Extensions news comes in the context of Apple’s broader AI partnership strategy. Apple already announced in January that it is working with Google to power its overhauled Siri. A subsequent report from The Information revealed that Apple’s deal also includes the ability to use Google’s Gemini to train smaller, on-device AI models — suggesting Apple sees itself as a synthesizer of AI capabilities rather than a builder of all of them.
This creates an interesting dynamic: Apple is simultaneously competing with the AI companies it is integrating. Siri, powered by Apple’s own on-device models, will coexist alongside ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude extensions — each potentially better at certain tasks than Apple’s native offering.
What This Means for Developers
For AI developers, the Extensions framework represents a new distribution channel with potentially massive reach. Being the default chatbot for Siri queries on hundreds of millions of devices is a compelling proposition — one that would effectively guarantee a built-in user base the moment Extensions launches.
For enterprises, Apple’s opening of Siri to third-party AI could unlock new categories of voice-driven workflows. Imagine an enterprise deploying a specialized AI assistant for customer service — with Extensions, that assistant could be invoked through Siri on any iPhone, without requiring a separate app install.
WWDC 2026: The Big Reveal
Apple is expected to formally announce iOS 27 and the Extensions framework at WWDC on June 8th. The company has been working to address several historical weaknesses in its AI strategy, including the departure of AI chief John Giannandrea and several high-profile Siri-related setbacks. The Extensions feature represents the most concrete evidence yet of a coherent, open AI strategy under that new direction.
The implications extend beyond convenience. By building a marketplace for AI assistants inside iOS, Apple is effectively positioning itself as the platform for AI platforms — a role that could prove as transformative for the AI industry as the App Store was for mobile software a decade ago.
“The company is opening Siri and Apple Intelligence to third-party services. Extensions will have a dedicated App Store section, making it hard to believe Apple will stop at just a couple of chatbots.” — Mark Gurman, Bloomberg
Whether Apple’s AI App Store can replicate the commercial success of its original App Store depends on execution — and on whether the leading AI labs are willing to participate on terms that make sense for both parties. But for users, the direction is clear: the era of a single, locked-in AI assistant is ending. iOS 27 will be the beginning of choice.