What Siri’s Gemini Integration Means for Marketers

Key Takeaways

• Apple and Google have reportedly entered into an agreement to integrate Google’s Gemini into Siri in 2026, shifting the tool from a link-fetching assistant to an AI-driven one.
• This partnership represents another shift toward AI-driven search, making it more important than ever for marketers to be AI-ready.
• Marketers can prepare for the new, AI-driven Siri by taking steps like expanding schema markup, targeting conversational keywords, and broadening trust signals.

There’s always been a bit of a rivalry between Apple and Google products. I can’t even tell you how many conversations I’ve witnessed about whether it’s better to use an iPhone or Android, for example. But there seems to be at least one area where Apple has acknowledged Google as the winner: AI.

That acknowledgement comes in the form of a recently reported partnership between Apple and Google, where Google’s Gemini will be used to power Siri. The partnership is part of a broader shift toward zero-click, AI-mediated search, with Siri serving as the ultimate zero-click surface that gives users spoken, synthesized answers. That’s something marketers should take note of and prepare for.

But what does this shift mean, exactly? How should marketers respond to it? That’s what I’ll be covering in the following sections:

• What is the Gemini-Siri deal?
• Why does the Gemini partnership matter?
• How can marketers prepare for a Gemini-powered Siri?

Let’s start by covering exactly what the Apple-Google deal contains.

What is the Gemini-Siri deal?

As of November 2025, reports indicate that Apple has made a deal to pay Google roughly $1 billion each year in return for a custom Gemini model that they will integrate into Siri. If you’re unfamiliar with either of those tools, here are a couple of quick definitions:

• Gemini is a generative AI tool developed by Google. It’s similar to ChatGPT, in that it’s an LLM chatbot that Google markets as an AI assistant.
• Siri is Apple’s voice-activated virtual assistant that comes built into all their devices. It responds to user voice queries, typically by reading out information it finds in search results.

The purpose of the Gemini deal is to level up Siri’s performance and personalization by moving it from conventional voice commands to full conversational AI capabilities. As a result, we can expect to see the following changes in the way Siri works:

• Longer and more conversational responses
• Information synthesis instead of just reading results
• Ability to answer more advanced questions

Although the new capabilities will come from Google, existing reports suggest that Apple will not publicly promote this, presenting the Siri upgrade as their own technology. Presumably, that’s one of the conditions of their deal with Google. Notably, though, neither company has officially confirmed this deal at all. Everything we know comes from insider reports.

There’s been some debate online as to whether this a smart play by Apple or a concession of defeat to Google in the AI race. You can see some of that debate taking place here:

Apple paying Google $1B a year to power Siri with Gemini smart shortcut or proof they’ve fallen behind in AI?
byu/Minimum_Minimum4577 inGeminiAI

As for when this will all take place, the rollout is expected to be sometime in spring 2026 (iOS 26.4).

Why does the Gemini partnership matter?

AI assistants like Siri have always functioned as major touchpoints for brand discovery. That’s been increasingly true in recent years, with over a billion voice searches now being conducted each month. But up to now, those touchpoints had always drawn primarily from traditional search results when giving responses. This new deal changes that.

Now Siri — a tool accessed by millions of people across countless Apple devices — will be moving from traditional, link-based search to AI search. It marks one more shift toward the kind of search already pioneered by ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews, one where your Google rankings aren’t the end-all-be-all of online visibility.

Consequently, it’s more important than ever for marketers to optimize their content for AI retrieval rather than relying entirely on traditional SEO methods. Failing to do so risks making you invisible to Siri and other AI search tools. That’s particularly true for businesses in the B2B and professional services sectors, which depend heavily on local and service-intent queries like those people often use voice search for.

How can marketers prepare for a Gemini-powered Siri?

Optimizing your marketing for Siri means getting your content AI-ready. Although you should still be optimizing for traditional search results, you should put an equal amount of focus on optimizing for AI citations. That means upgrading your content’s accuracy, structure, and machine readability, among other things.

If you’re looking to prepare your marketing for Siri’s Gemini era starting now, here are five steps you should take:

1. Ensure the accuracy of your Google Business Profile
2. Expand your website schema markup
3. Clearly define your products and services on your site
4. Optimize for conversational search patterns
5. Ramp up your brand’s trust signals

Let’s look a little more closely at each of those.

1. Ensure the accuracy of your Google Business Profile

Since your Google Business Profile is one of the most pivotal parts of your online presence, it’s likely to be one of the main sources that the new AI-driven Siri pulls from. To ensure that Siri delivers accurate information, be sure that every part of your profile is accurate and up to date. Check for:

• Consistent NAP (name, address, and phone) info
• Accurate hours, service areas, and attributes
• Strong review volume and recency
• Complete service categories and subcategories

2. Expand your website schema markup

Incorporating structured data on your website is another great way to help make your site more visible to LLMs like Gemini. Even if you already have good schema markup, it’s worth doing an audit to verify that you have the following markup types in place:

• LocalBusiness
• Product/Service
• FAQ
• Reviews
• Organization

For each of these, be sure that the formatting aligns with schema.org standards so that it’s fully readable by AI tools.

3. Clearly define your products and services on your site

Something I’ve seen a lot on the Internet is business websites that don’t clearly define what they offer. These sites will often use vague buzzwords and broad descriptions on their homepage (e.g., “We make businesses better” or “We offer top-of-the-line AI solutions”), and even their dedicated service pages aren’t much clearer about what they do.

But if you want to get cited by LLMs like Gemini, you can’t afford to have a website that vague. In addition to making the information on your homepage clearer, you should also ensure that your product or service pages are clear and concise with the information they convey. Go out of your way to leave no doubt about exactly what your company does.

Not only will that be of more benefit to your target audience, but it will also make it easier for LLMs to classify your business, making your site more likely to appear in AI citations.

4. Optimize for conversational search patterns

As I previously mentioned, the new Siri will be much more conversational, in terms of both the queries it receives and the responses it gives. To prepare for that, you should make a point of optimizing your content for those conversational search patterns.

Here are some steps to help you do that:

• Target long-tail, conversational keywords
• Directly address search intent in your content
• Answer questions immediately and succinctly

The good news is, all of these tips were already helpful for traditional voice search optimization, so you may have already implemented them. But they become even more important in the context of AI search, so if you haven’t yet taken this approach to your content, make sure you do.

5. Ramp up your brand’s trust signals

When AI tools like Gemini cite content from brands, they do it based as much on those brands’ reputability as on the content itself. That means to have a decent shot of getting cited by Siri and other AI-powered search tools, you need to demonstrate the authority you have in your industry.

To do that, be sure to feature plenty of trust signals on your website that demonstrate your experience and expertise. Those signals might include:

• Clear, knowledgeable expertise in your content
• Author bios highlighting their qualifications
• Relevant awards and certifications earned
• Positive reviews and testimonials

When you use signals like these to establish yourself as an industry expert, Siri will be far more likely to direct users to your business.

Prepare your business for the Siri-Gemini era

In the coming years, AI-powered assistants like Siri will only become more pivotal as brand discovery channels. Marketers who prepare for these changes now will position their brands to remain visible, while those who lag behind will inevitably fall behind. Now is the time to make your brand AI-ready.

If you’re struggling to find the best strategy for doing that, you might benefit from partnering with a marketing agency like WebFX. We operate on the cutting edge of online search optimization, with our OmniSEO® services preparing your website to rank in both traditional search results and AI answer engines.

Interested in working with us? Be sure to give us a call at 888-601-5359 or contact us online today!