Apple shakes up AI executive ranks in bid to improve Siri: report

Apple is shaking up its executive ranks to get its AI efforts back on track after months of delays, Bloomberg News reported Thursday citing people familiar with the situation.

Some AI improvements to voice assistant Siri will be delayed until 2026, Apple had said earlier this month without giving any reason for the delays.

Mike Rockwell, vice president in charge of the Vision Products Group, will now be in charge of the iPhone maker’s Siri virtual assistant as CEO Tim Cook has lost confidence in AI head John Giannandrea’s ability to execute on product development, the report said.

Rockwell, known as the brain behind Apple’s Vision Pro headset, will report to software chief Craig Federighi, removing Siri completely from Giannandrea’s command, according to Bloomberg.

Paul Meade, an executive who has run hardware engineering for the Vision Pro under Rockwell, will take over VPG, the report added.

Apple did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the report.

Last year, Apple announced a range of AI-driven features called Apple Intelligence that included new capabilities such as rewriting emails and summarizing a cluttered inbox.