Apple triggered a market reaction when Bloomberg reported that the company is building World Knowledge Answers, a new AI powered web search capability that could turn Siri into a true answer engine. Investors cheered, and Apple stock rose on the news, reflecting confidence in Apple AI as a major new contender in AI search.

Why this matters

For years Siri handled basic voice queries but often deferred to external web results. The new approach aims to change that by offering direct, context aware answers that combine text, images, video and local information. This multimodal experience is designed to improve voice search results and everyday interactions across the Apple ecosystem.

Key details from the report

• Launch timing: World Knowledge Answers is expected to debut in March 2026 with iOS 26.4 and the next iPhone lineup
• Multimodal responses: The system will generate rich summaries that include images and video alongside text and local results
• Ecosystem integration: Siri, Safari and Spotlight will share the same intelligence for a unified user journey across Apple devices
• Competitive focus: The project is positioned to compete with OpenAI ChatGPT, Perplexity AI and Google's AI Overviews in the AI search space
• Backend partnerships: Apple will use Google Gemini models for some backend tasks while building its own front end answer engine

Implications for users and businesses

Consumers can expect more useful, conversational results when they use voice search or type queries in Spotlight and Safari. The shift from keyword search to generative, answer centered results means content creators and marketers should optimize for intent, incorporate voice search phrases and emphasize clear factual answers. Long tail queries such as "How Apple is reinventing Siri with generative AI in 2025" or "Privacy friendly AI search on Apple devices" will grow in importance for discoverability.

Privacy and technical trade offs

Apple has a strong privacy first reputation, and messaging about secure, on device processing will be central to adoption. Delivering comprehensive search quality without heavy data collection is a technical challenge, but it aligns with consumer demand for secure search options. Terms to watch in coverage and optimization include privacy first AI, on device processing and zero knowledge AI search.

What to watch next

Key signals will include developer access, search quality and how Apple balances on device intelligence with cloud based models. For marketers and product teams, prepare for a future where Apple devices become major search destinations and where SEO evolves to prioritize conversational and multimodal content that answers user intent directly.

Apple's entry into AI search reshapes the competitive landscape. With a massive installed base of devices and a privacy oriented brand, Apple could accelerate the shift to generative answer engines and influence how people ask questions in the age of voice search and multimodal AI.