Apple confirms ChatGPT-iPhone integration is getting even better with iOS 26

Macworld

One of the best parts of Apple Intelligence is Siri’s ability to integrate with ChatGPT. When Apple’s AI chatbot is stumped by a question, it can tap into ChatGPT’s vast knowledge base (upon request) to provide the proper answer. And when iOS 26 launches in the fall, ChatGPT will be even better.

Apple has confirmed (via 9to5Mac) that Apple Intelligence will upgrade to GPT-5 when iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS Tahoe 26 launch this fall. The current integration relies on GPT-4o, which first launched in May 2024.

According to OpenAI, GPT-5 is “a significant leap in intelligence over all our previous models, featuring state-of-the-art performance across coding, math, writing, health, visual perception, and more. It is a unified system that knows when to respond quickly and when to think longer to provide expert-level responses.”

Of course, Apple is expected to make Siri better in iOS 26 as well. Apple promised an all-new Siri in iOS 18, but was forced to delay the features until iOS 26. Reports say the update will likely arrive in early 2026 as part of iOS 26.4 with three main features:

Screen awareness: Siri can read and understand what’s on your screen. For example, if you’re reading an address, you can say, “Add this to my contacts,” and Siri will understand.

Personal context: Siri will use your mail, messages, web history, etc., to build a private profile of you on your device. That way, it can give you answers that are specific to you.

In-app actions: Siri will be able to integrate with apps on your iPhone and work within them rather than existing as a system-level layer.

However, the chat portion of Siri will be mostly the same, so ChatGPT will still be a major part of Apple Intelligence throughout 2026. Apple is reportedly working on a “true modernized, conversational version of Siri,” using a homegrown large-language model, but that isn’t expected to arrive until iOS 27.

In addition to GPT-5 integration, Apple is adding several new Apple intelligence features to iOS 26, including live translation, call screening and spam filtering, and AI actions in Shortcuts. 

Apple Intelligence is supported on the iPhone 15 Pro and Pro Max, and all iPhone 16 models, including the 16e. On the iPad and Mac, all M-series models are supported, as well as the A17 Pro iPad mini. iOS 26 is expected to launch in September.