Apple's new CEO is reportedly pressing his software chief to move faster on AI while cutting what staff can spend on it

Apple's new chief executive is pushing his top software executive to speed up the company's artificial intelligence plans, according to Bloomberg. The pressure comes about two months into John Ternus's tenure. It also arrives alongside a cost drive that is shrinking what Apple engineers may spend on AI tools.

For investors, the report sharpens a question that has hung over Apple since 2024: who inside the company owns AI, and can that structure deliver? The answer now rests heavily on Craig Federighi, the software chief, and on a Siri team whose leader may leave next year.

What Bloomberg reported

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman wrote in his Sunday newsletter that Ternus held a closed-door meeting with Federighi in recent weeks. Ternus reportedly urged him to accelerate Apple's AI plans and go well beyond fixing Siri. Gurman described Ternus as frustrated by what he sees as a lack of urgency compared with rivals.

Apple has not confirmed the meeting or commented on it. The account rests on unnamed sources, and the outlets that followed it, including Gizmodo and PYMNTS, relied on the newsletter rather than independent reporting.

The private message contrasts with the public one. On Apple's November 2 earnings call, Ternus said that with its new Siri, Apple has "the Siri we always wanted," 9to5Mac reported. Privately, per Gurman, he acknowledges Apple remains far behind its rivals.

The gap is concrete. As Gurman noted, OpenAI and Anthropic already offer AI agents, meaning software that can carry out multistep tasks on a computer with little supervision. Apple has no comparable product. Gurman says Siri could become more agent-like as early as next year, but Apple has announced no such plan.

A leadership bench under strain

Federighi took over Apple's AI effort after the company pushed out its previous AI chief last year. He has had a reputation as an AI skeptic, with concerns about privacy, security and effects on jobs, Gizmodo and PYMNTS reported, citing Gurman. Bloomberg says he oversees technical decisions closely, and some staff feel that leaves little room for other voices.

There is also a mismatch in planning horizons. Federighi's group typically plans 12 to 18 months ahead, while Apple's hardware teams plan several years out, according to the report. Ternus rose through Apple's hardware organization.

The sharper retention risk sits one level down. Mike Rockwell, who led the Vision Pro headset and was then handed the Siri rebuild, "continues to seriously consider stepping down," Gurman wrote. Rockwell is reportedly weighing leaving the Siri job, or Apple altogether, next year. No departure has been announced.

The tension is not new. In April, Bloomberg reported that Rockwell had reservations about reporting to Federighi and wanted a bigger role. A Macworld headline then suggested the CEO handover "may have claimed its first casualty." Seven months on, the rebuilt Siri has shipped, and the question is open again.

If Rockwell leaves, Bloomberg says Siri work would likely shift to Amar Subramanya, a Google veteran Apple hired last year, or to Sebastien Marineau, a Federighi deputy.

Apple is also changing how it builds its next major software release. Bloomberg reports the iOS 28 cycle gives engineers more time for exploration before features are locked in. That is an early test of whether Ternus can change the pace of the software side.

Faster on AI, but tighter on AI spending

The push for speed lands alongside a push for thrift. On November 4, Bloomberg reported that Apple cut some engineers' daily cap on AI tool spending from $300 to $200 in October. Some engineering teams could fall to $100 a day.

Many non-engineering staff already have a $100 daily cap, and Apple has considered cutting some teams to $25, according to 9to5Mac and The Next Web, both citing Bloomberg. Staff can use Anthropic's Claude, OpenAI's ChatGPT and Google's Gemini. Some teams are being steered to cheaper models or ones that run on the device. Apple declined to comment.

Bloomberg noted that few workers used their full $300 allowance, and said it is unclear how much Apple will save. But some employees read the cuts as a sign of wider cost-cutting and worry about layoffs. Ternus has pushed Apple to run leaner and has removed layers of management, the reports say. Apple cut more than 200 jobs in August.

Overall spending is still climbing fast. Apple's annual report shows research and development rose 32% in fiscal 2026, to $45.8 billion. Sales grew 15%. Apple's filing links the increase to infrastructure costs, including AI, and to headcount, without breaking out the AI share.

Apple is not building all of its AI in-house, either. Its new Siri models rely on technology licensed from Google, according to Gurman's newsletter.

Three signals are worth watching over the next six months. One is whether Rockwell stays through the iOS 28 cycle. Another is whether Apple ships a Siri that can act on its own rather than only respond. The third is whether cost discipline moves from AI allowances to headcount.