Can Apple Catch Up With the AI Boom It Helped Trigger?

A year ago, at its I/O conference, Google pledged to integrate artificial intelligence into nearly all of its products—from search to voice calls on Android. A month later, Apple unveiled its own response: the Apple Intelligence system for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Both companies laid out ambitious visions during their presentations, but Apple faced sharper criticism. It was accused of relying too heavily on OpenAI—its partnership with the company underpins several key features—and many saw its demos as more a declaration of intent than a showcase of working technology. Google, by contrast, leaned on its in-house Gemini models, reinforcing its image as the more technologically self-reliant firm.

Yet neither company has managed to fully deliver on its initial promises. The launch of AI Overviews in Google Search was marred by a series of mishaps and oddities: the system often produced absurd—or even dangerous—recommendations. The root of the problem lay in the AI’s inability to recognize irony, sarcasm, or deliberately provocative queries. Still, Google responded quickly, gradually reducing the number of bizarre replies from Gemini. It continued expanding AI Overviews’ capabilities and rolled the feature out to more countries.

Compared with Apple’s missteps, Google’s AI Overviews issues seemed more like growing pains. The first limited set of Apple Intelligence features did not arrive until October 2024, offering tools such as text editing, an updated Siri, intelligent notification summaries, and a few other elements. Despite the long wait, early reviews were notably restrained.

"It all works, technically, but after a week of use I didn’t feel like I’d saved much time or effort," wrote Allison Johnson of The Verge. "Don’t expect your iPhone to feel dramatically different after the update," noted Lisa Eadicicco at CNET.

Questions began to surface about whether Apple had missed its moment. The AI market was becoming rapidly saturated, and the company appeared to be falling behind. CEO Tim Cook dismissed the criticism in an interview with The Wall Street Journal, insisting that Apple’s priority was not to outpace rivals but to build a product that worked: "We weren’t the first to get into AI. But we’ve done it in a way we believe is best for the user."

Even so, as new versions of iOS rolled out, it became clear that the promised features were arriving slowly—and only in part. In March 2025, Apple was hit with a lawsuit accusing the company of misleading advertising and unfair competition. One focal point was a promotional video released in September 2024 starring Bella Ramsey, which showcased Siri capabilities that, by that time, still hadn’t been made available.

Just days earlier, Bloomberg had reported growing frustration within Apple itself, citing internal sources. According to the outlet, Robby Walker, Apple’s senior director for Siri development, described the delays as "ugly and shameful" during a closed-door meeting with his team.

Bloomberg reported that, at the time Apple showcased Apple Intelligence at WWDC in June 2024, it had only a partially functioning prototype. Sources said Walker—who oversees Siri’s development—was particularly outraged that the marketing team had promoted unfinished AI features in campaigns for products such as the iPhone 16. The company’s official website claimed the device was "built for Apple Intelligence," despite the absence of key functionality. According to Walker, the team would likely have to make compromises, as resources were being stretched across multiple top-level priorities.

Meanwhile, Apple faced another strategic challenge: it had yet to respond meaningfully to the rising popularity of AI-powered search engines, despite their uneven accuracy. In April 2025, senior vice president Eddy Cue acknowledged that the volume of search queries in Safari had declined for the first time in 22 years.

Apple has already begun talks with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Perplexity about integrating their AI search tools into the Safari browser. However, according to media reports, the first tangible results are unlikely before 2026. Remarkably, Apple is also exploring the possibility of incorporating Gemini—the product of Google, its direct rival in the AI space—into its devices.

Against this backdrop, CEO Tim Cook continues to insist that Apple has made "significant progress" in developing Siri and related AI capabilities.

Google’s I/O 2025 conference, held in May, was once again entirely dedicated to artificial intelligence. One of the headline announcements was the introduction of AI Mode—a new search interface in which users interact with the Gemini chatbot instead of receiving conventional results. Over time, Google plans to embed features for product search and automated purchases, including a virtual fitting room where the AI analyzes a user’s photo to show how clothing might fit.

Google Meet has gained near real-time speech translation—currently in testing and limited to English and Spanish. The company also unveiled updated generative models: Imagen 4 for image creation, Veo 3 for generating video with sound, and a new app called Flow, which combines the powers of Gemini, Veo, and Imagen for integrated multimedia content production.

The voice assistant Project Astra, first introduced in 2024, also received a major update. It can now analyze live video from a camera and initiate interaction on its own—for instance, if it "spots" a mistake in a notebook. Some tasks can be carried out without explicit user commands.

Business Insider summed up the impression left by Google’s conference with a pointed remark: "Yes, it was a carefully edited promo video—but it made Siri look several generations out of date." According to Google, the I/O event featured exactly one hundred new features. The company’s goal is to embed AI tools across the entire Android ecosystem: smartphones, tablets, and even mixed-reality glasses. The latter—branded Project Aura—were also showcased and appeared as a direct challenge to Apple, especially given the sluggish rollout of Vision Pro.

The response to the presentation was telling. "I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m thinking of switching from iOS to Android," wrote Mahmoud Itani in Macworld, noting that Google is turning Gemini into the backbone of its ecosystem, while Apple limits itself to isolated AI add-ons. The result, he argued, is clear: while the iPhone offers basic text editing and random image generation, Android is reshaping how users interact with digital products.

Tech publications observed that, after I/O, the choice between ecosystems has become more difficult. Siri is increasingly described as a "technological relic"—though many concede that Apple still has a chance to catch up. After all, Google itself entered the AI race late, only accelerating after OpenAI’s breakthrough.

According to Mark Gurman, Apple’s challenges stem not just from technical lag but from a deeper cultural issue—the company is driven by a habit of waiting for rivals to make all the mistakes before releasing a refined product. That strategy, however, is ill-suited to the fast-moving world of AI, where success favors speed over perfection.

Apple is well aware of this. Senior vice president Eddy Cue has already voiced concerns that artificial intelligence could inflict on Apple the same kind of damage it once dealt to Nokia. The first wave of doubt—even among loyal users—after I/O has only heightened those fears.

Apple’s response may come in June at WWDC 2025. But expectations are modest: analysts predict a focus on redesigning operating systems, with AI features likely to be introduced cautiously once again. The botched rollout of Apple Intelligence has left little room for bold declarations.