Siri has felt outdated and unresponsive compared to larger language model-based chatbots like ChatGPT Voice, but that may be about to change thanks to Apple's AI-related acquisitions and job growth.

Rumors have been circulating for some time that the iPhone maker will unveil a new GPT-powered version of Siri at WWDC 2024 in June, and the FT reports that Apple has made more AI acquisitions than any of its competitors, suggesting that this change is coming.

Since 2017, Apple has acquired 21 AI startups, including California-based AI video compression company WaveOne last year. Experts expect another large acquisition this year, and nearly half of Apple's AI job ads are for generative AI-related roles.

Siri 2.0 will be conversational, capable of handling complex queries, and likely to be more deeply integrated across Apple's product line than the current generation of voice assistants.

Apple is not alone in looking to generative AI to improve the quality of its chatbots. Google plans to launch a version of its assistant powered by its Gemini large-scale language model later this year, and Amazon will launch Alexa Plus with its own LLM for a monthly fee.

The big difference is that Apple is unlikely to launch Siri with GPT unless it can achieve something on-device, like not sending personal information to the cloud.

Apple has already published research showing how to run these models more efficiently on the iPhone through better memory management, and already uses an on-board neural engine to train synthetic speech and handle transcription and other AI tasks.

From the outside looking in, it sometimes feels like Apple has been slow to deploy generative AI across its products. However, CEO Tim Cook stated during last year's earnings call: "We view AI and machine learning as a fundamental technology, and it's integral to virtually every product we ship."

The company is also working to develop a new AI platform for its products.

Google, Microsoft, and Meta have heavily promoted their use of generative AI and labeled their products as AI-powered. For Cook, branding AI is less about what AI can bring to a product than it is about making artificial intelligence the product itself.

With more AI-related acquisitions than its competitors, more researchers focused on deep learning, and $162.1 billion in cash on hand, it is unlikely to take Apple out of the competition.

Apple's research team has been active recently, open-sourcing its own multimodal AI model called Ferret, making technology that allows LLM to run more efficiently on the iPhone, and making other generative AI tools widely available

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Wedbush Securities analyst Daniel Ives told the FT: "They are preparing to do significant M&A.

"There is an AI arms race going on and Apple is not going to be on the outside looking in.