Apple is lighting a fire under its artificial intelligence (AI) efforts, pledging to “significantly” step up investments and dedicating more staff toward the development of Apple Intelligence features.

During its fiscal third-quarter earnings conference call with analysts on Thursday (July 31), CEO Tim Cook said that the company is making “good progress” on infusing more AI capabilities in Siri, which are set to come in 2026.

The goal is to develop a “more personalized” Siri and for AI features in iOS to be “deeply personal, private and seamlessly integrated,” Cook said. Features such as live translation and “workout buddies” are coming soon.

“We are significantly growing our investments in AI,” Cook said, just as the company did in the fiscal second quarter and will likely also do so in Q4.

The investments might include acquiring companies. “We’re very open to M&A that accelerates our roadmap,” Cook noted.

Apple reportedly is interested in acquiring Perplexity AI, which is an AI-powered search engine that also offers shopping and payments services.

Cook did not confirm nor deny the rumor, only saying that Apple has acquired seven companies this year thus far, most of them smaller firms, and is not opposed to buying bigger companies.

“We’re putting all of our energy behind it,” Cook said, adding that Apple is “reallocating a fair number of people” to focus on developing AI features.

However, Bank of America analysts are more cautiously optimistic.

“Apple is likely 3+ years away from delivering a truly modern AI assistant, long after Google and others have integrated such tech,” Bank of America wrote in a research note shared with PYMNTS. “While the company is famous for not rushing features to market until they’re ready, the pace of AI development externally (by its rivals) is blistering; Apple’s slow timeline could leave it far behind in user expectations.”

Cook said Apple has earmarked $500 billion to invest in the U.S. over four years, which includes opening chip manufacturing plants. It has 24 semiconductor manufacturing plants in 12 states. In August, Apple is opening the Apple Manufacturing Academy in Detroit to train workers.