Apple is turning iOS 27 into an AI model marketplace. ChatGPT loses its exclusive slot.

Mark Gurman reported on May 5 that Apple will let iPhone users choose which AI model powers their device. Not just for Siri. For Writing Tools, Image Playground, and every other Apple Intelligence feature.

The internal name is “Extensions,” and it ships with iOS 27 this fall. OpenAI’s year-long monopoly as the only third-party brain on the iPhone is over.

The shift matters because Apple controls distribution to more than 1.2 billion active iPhones. Whichever model wins the default toggle on those devices gets a scale advantage that no API partnership can match. And Apple collects a cut on every subscription regardless of who wins.

How Extensions works

Apple’s own test software describes it plainly: “Extensions allow you to access generative AI capabilities from installed apps on demand, through Apple Intelligence features such as Siri, Writing Tools, Image Playground and more.”

The setup is straightforward. Users install a compatible AI app from the App Store, then select it in Settings under Siri & Apple Intelligence. It’s a system-wide toggle, not a per-query opt-in. Pick Claude once, and Claude handles your writing suggestions, your image prompts, and your Siri overflow queries until you switch it.

According to Bloomberg, Apple has been internally testing integrations with at least Google (Gemini) and Anthropic (Claude). Both would join OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which has been embedded in Apple Intelligence since iOS 18.2 in December 2024. A dedicated App Store section will list compatible AI apps.

One notable detail: Apple plans to give each provider a distinct Siri voice. When Gemini or Claude handles a query, you’ll hear a different voice than Apple’s default. The provider’s identity becomes audible. Apple also intends to warn users that it isn’t responsible for content generated by third-party models.

What’s different from the Siri-Gemini deal

This is broader than the Google infrastructure partnership confirmed at Cloud Next in April. That deal puts Gemini technology behind the scenes, powering Apple’s own Foundation Models for native Siri. Users don’t see it.

Extensions is the user-facing layer. Google competes there too, but alongside Claude and ChatGPT, not behind a curtain. A single company (Google) now sits on both sides: infrastructure vendor and competing Extension provider.

The framework is open-ended. Any AI provider that builds Extensions support into their App Store app can participate. Apple doesn’t need to negotiate each deal individually. It built a marketplace.

The tollbooth strategy

Apple collects its standard App Store commission (30% in year one, 15% after that) on every AI subscription purchased through the store. ChatGPT alone generated $1.35 billion in App Store revenue in 2025. With Gemini and Claude now funneling through the same gate, PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster put it simply: “Apple’s the AI toll bridge, not the agentic highway.”

Apple doesn’t need to build the best model. It controls distribution to 1.2 billion active iPhones. The strategy mirrors how Apple handles search defaults: let competitors pay for access to the user base.

What we don’t know

• Whether Apple will charge providers a separate distribution fee beyond the standard App Store cut.
• How many AI apps will support Extensions at launch (WWDC is June 8; public release targets September).
• Whether smaller or open-source model providers can realistically participate, or whether the App Store requirements create a barrier.
• How Apple will handle liability when a third-party model generates harmful or inaccurate content through Siri.

What this means for you

If you’ve been locked into ChatGPT through Apple Intelligence, that lock opens this fall. But the real story is the competitive dynamic it creates. OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic will now fight for a single toggle on the world’s most popular phone. That competition should push prices down and capabilities up faster than any of them working alone.

For developers building on these platforms, watch WWDC closely. The Extensions API will likely define how AI integrations work on Apple devices for years. Apple’s $250M Siri settlement over promised-but-undelivered AI features is a reminder that shipping matters more than announcing. Whether Extensions actually delivers the model-agnostic experience Bloomberg describes, or ships with caveats that favor one provider, won’t be clear until September.