Siri’s Future “Answer Engine”: Leadership Shake-Up Continues!

Thinking Twice About Taking a Vacation

When you’re a part of the team at Apple Intelligence in Cupertino, taking a holiday might mean coming back to a workplace that’s barely recognizable. Just a few weeks after taking over the Answers, Knowledge and Information (AKI) group, Bloomberg has reported that Ke Yang was tempted away by an offer from Meta, where he will join a dozen former colleagues who also left Apple Foundation Models earlier this year.

Leadership Changes in AKI

Ke Yang stepped into a role previously held by Robby Walker, whose departure was announced last month. The reins have now been handed to Benoit Dupin, a trusted associate of John Giannandrea. Under its new leadership, the AKI group has taken on critical importance as it is developing what Mark Gurman refers to as a “response engine.” This technology is designed to enable Siri to conduct web searches, delivering an experience similar to that of ChatGPT. It features an interface that can display images, videos, and local points of interest, as well as a text synthesis feature to present results. The introduction of this advanced capability is scheduled for March 2026 with iOS 26.4, which will also include a highly anticipated overhaul of Siri.