Cook says Apple may charge heavy Siri AI users

Tim Cook confirmed for the first time on Thursday that Apple ↘ 7.35% plans to offer paid upgrade tiers for heavy users of its revamped AI-powered Siri, tying additional compute capacity to the company's existing iCloud+ subscription service.

"We do believe there will be people that want to use it a lot, and so we will have some kind of upgrade possibilities on iCloud+, where people can buy up the stack on iCloud+, and we'll see how the pickup for that is," Cook said during Apple's fiscal third-quarter earnings call.techcrunch+1

The remarks mark the first on-record acknowledgment from Apple that it intends to monetize portions of its Apple Intelligence suite, which has been positioned as a free differentiator for its hardware ecosystem.

What Could Land Behind a Paywall

Apple has not specified which features would require payment. However, the most likely candidates are those demanding the heaviest server-side computing: image and video generation, and AI agents that carry out complex multi-step tasks on a user's behalf. Apple noted in June that its AI features have "daily usage limits because they rely on powerful server models," and that "increased access" is already available across most iCloud+ plans.techlicious+1

Cook did not disclose pricing or whether existing iCloud+ subscribers would receive any baseline AI allocation. Current iCloud+ tiers in the United States range from $0.99 per month for 50 GB to $59.99 for 12 TB.trendingtopics

A Familiar Model at an Unprecedented Scale

The approach mirrors how OpenAI, Google Alphabet Inc. ↗ 6.88%, and Anthropic structure their consumer AI products — offering limited free access with paid tiers for heavier usage. But Apple arrives with an installed base of more than a billion active devices, meaning the features will land on hardware already in users' pockets.techcrunch+1

The new Siri, unveiled at Apple's developer conference in June, uses large language models — including a custom Google Gemini model — to handle multi-step conversational requests and take actions across apps. A public beta began in July, with broad availability expected this fall alongside new iPhones and iOS 27.axios+1

According to TechCrunch, incoming CEO John Ternus will inherit the challenge of balancing AI investment costs against consumer expectations as he succeeds Cook. Apple reported $30.74 billion in services revenue for the quarter, a segment that includes iCloud+ subscriptions.theverge+1