Apple reshuffles AI leadership to revamp Siri and boost innovation

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Apple Inc. is making big changes in its leadership team to improve its artificial intelligence (AI) projects, especially Siri. After facing delays and difficulties, the company is now bringing in a new leader to take charge of Siri and help get its AI work back on track.

CEO Tim Cook has lost confidence in John Giannandrea, the current head of AI, when it comes to improving Apple’s AI products. Because of this, Apple has decided to hand over the responsibility of Siri to Mike Rockwell, the executive who led the development of the Vision Pro headset. Rockwell will now take charge of Siri and report directly to Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering. This change means that Siri will no longer be under Giannandrea’s control.

Apple employees were informed about this leadership shift on Thursday. The decision comes after Apple’s top executives, known as the "Top 100," recently held a secret annual meeting to discuss the company's future. One of the biggest concerns at the meeting was Apple's struggle to compete with other tech companies in AI.

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Apple has fallen behind in AI compared to its rivals. The company’s Apple Intelligence platform was released late and did not impress users, even though it was one of the major selling points for the iPhone 16. The situation has put pressure on Apple to take action and make serious improvements.

Mike Rockwell is currently the vice president of Apple’s Vision Products Group (VPG), the team responsible for creating the Vision Pro headset. As part of his new role, Rockwell will leave the Vision Pro team, but the software groups working on the headset will move with him to Federighi’s software engineering division. The hardware team will stay under John Ternus and will be led by Paul Meade, a senior hardware engineer who played a key role in developing the Vision Pro.

Apple has not officially commented on these leadership changes.

Fixing Siri has become a top priority for Apple. The company has been struggling to launch new Siri features that were announced last year. These features were supposed to allow Siri to access a user’s data for better responses. However, despite advertising these improvements for months, Apple has been unable to release them as planned. Earlier this month, the company delayed these features even further due to ongoing technical issues.

Robby Walker, the Apple manager who has been leading Siri until now, recently admitted to his team that these delays have been frustrating and embarrassing. He also said that he is unsure when the new features will finally be available because there are too many competing priorities within Apple’s development teams. Apple has only said that the features will be ready sometime in the “coming year.”

Apple’s stock has dropped by 15% this year, as tech companies in general have faced declines. On Thursday, Apple’s shares fell slightly to $214.10.

By choosing Rockwell, Apple is turning to an executive known for his strong technical skills and ability to solve complex problems. Rockwell has successfully led large teams and helped develop advanced technologies. His leadership was crucial in creating the Vision Pro, which was a technical success but did not perform well in the market. Developing the headset required many breakthroughs, including some that involved artificial intelligence. Now, Rockwell is leaving the Vision Pro team at a time when the product's future is uncertain.

Rockwell is one of the few Apple executives who has successfully led the development of a completely new hardware device, starting from an idea and turning it into a real product. He joined Apple in 2015 and played a major role in launching the Vision Pro last year.

John Giannandrea, on the other hand, has a different background. Before joining Apple in 2018, he was a top executive at Google, leading its AI and search divisions. While Giannandrea is well-respected in the AI community, he has not been able to deliver the improvements Apple needs. Rockwell, in contrast, does not have deep experience in AI, but his background in hardware could help Apple integrate AI more effectively into its future products. Apple is already looking at new ideas, such as AirPods with outward-facing cameras that could use AI to enhance user experiences.

Siri has changed hands multiple times within Apple. When Siri was first launched in 2011, it was managed by software executive Scott Forstall. In 2012, control was given to Eddy Cue, Apple’s head of services. In 2017, Craig Federighi took over, and a year later, Siri was placed under Giannandrea. Now, Rockwell will lead Siri, with oversight returning to Federighi once again.

Despite these changes, Giannandrea is not leaving Apple. He will continue overseeing AI research and development, including robotics projects. Apple wants to avoid making it seem like its AI division is in crisis, so it is keeping Giannandrea in the company while shifting his responsibilities.

Federighi, Rockwell’s new manager, is one of Apple’s most influential executives. He is responsible for developing Apple’s operating systems, including iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. He was also a major figure in the creation of Apple Intelligence, Apple’s AI platform. Right now, he is leading a major redesign of Apple’s core software.

Siri has been facing technical problems for years, long before Giannandrea took over. While he has struggled to fix Siri, he has made progress in other areas. He helped Apple attract top AI researchers, which was not common for the company before. He also combined Apple’s scattered AI projects under one unified team.

This management shift has been in progress for months, even before Apple announced delays in Siri’s new features. Last year, Apple brought in Kim Vorrath, a respected leader in software program management, to help the Siri team. Vorrath has a reputation for turning around struggling projects. In January, she was officially moved into the AI division under Giannandrea. Now, she will be part of Federighi’s team.

Recently, Apple also moved another senior manager, Aimee Nugent, from Rockwell’s team to the Siri division. Like Vorrath, she has experience in fixing difficult projects. These moves allowed Rockwell’s trusted team members to assess the situation before he officially stepped in.

Within Apple, Rockwell has been open about his frustration with Siri’s shortcomings. He has pitched ideas for making Siri smarter and more personalized. In recent weeks, he has already been advising the AI team. Even before these leadership changes, Giannandrea saw Rockwell as a possible replacement for leading Siri.

When developing the Vision Pro, Rockwell believed Siri could play a major role in controlling the device. However, Siri’s current abilities were too limited, so Apple instead focused on hand and eye control. Now that Rockwell is taking over Siri, he will have the opportunity to implement his ideas and make significant improvements.

Rockwell has also been working closely with the AI team recently to integrate Apple Intelligence into the Vision Pro. These AI-powered features are set to launch on the headset in April with a software update.

With these leadership changes, Apple hopes to finally make Siri a stronger and more competitive AI assistant. By bringing in a leader like Rockwell, who has a strong technical background and problem-solving skills, the company is betting on a fresh approach to fixing its AI challenges.

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