Senior Apple AI Executive Robby Walker to Leave the Company Amid Delays and Restructuring

Apple is facing another major change in its artificial intelligence and search leadership. Robby Walker, one of its most senior executives in charge of AI and search technology, is set to leave the company next month. His departure marks another shake-up at a time when Apple is struggling to show progress in the global AI race.

Walker has worked at Apple for more than a decade. He joined the company in 2013 and rose to become a central figure in its artificial intelligence and search development. Most recently, he was the senior director of Apple’s “Answers, Information and Knowledge” team. This group is responsible for strengthening Apple’s internal search functions, user assistance features, and knowledge-based AI capabilities.

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Before taking up this latest role in April 2025, Walker was leading Siri, Apple’s voice assistant. For years, Siri was seen as Apple’s primary AI product, but delays, limitations, and missed opportunities made it less competitive compared to offerings from Google and Amazon. Earlier this year, responsibility for Siri was moved away from Walker and placed under Craig Federighi, Apple’s software engineering chief. That shift signaled a restructuring within Apple, reducing Walker’s influence over one of the company’s most visible AI products.

Apple’s slow pace in AI

The timing of Walker’s departure has raised questions because Apple has already been under pressure for moving too slowly in artificial intelligence. While rivals like Google, Microsoft, and Meta have aggressively invested in AI systems, Apple has taken a more cautious approach.

Its flagship initiative, called Apple Intelligence, was unveiled this year but has been delayed in several areas. Key features, including deeper integration with external tools like ChatGPT, have been postponed. The company’s promised major upgrade to Siri, which many expected in 2024, has been delayed again and will not be released until next year.

These delays have fueled a perception that Apple is not keeping up with the biggest wave of innovation in technology in decades. In an industry where speed often matters as much as precision, Apple’s careful, perfection-driven culture has left it behind in the eyes of some analysts. Walker’s departure adds to that concern, as he was one of the people responsible for moving Apple’s AI efforts forward.

A wave of executive exits

Walker is not leaving in isolation. Over the past year, Apple has lost several top executives and researchers from its AI teams. Many of them have joined competitors like Meta, which has been aggressively hiring. Among the most notable departures was Ruoming Pang, who led Apple’s AI models team. Pang joined Meta earlier this year, taking with him two other Apple researchers, Mark Lee and Tom Gunter. Together, they are now working at Meta’s “Superintelligence Labs,” a new division focused on pushing AI development beyond current models.

This trend is significant. For years, Apple was seen as a company where talent stayed long term, thanks to its culture, resources, and prestige. But the growing number of senior AI executives leaving suggests that Apple may be struggling to retain the best minds in this competitive field.

Management shake-ups inside Apple

Internally, Apple has been making major leadership changes. Siri’s development, which had been under Walker’s watch, was shifted to Craig Federighi. Later, Mike Rockwell, who is the vice president in charge of Apple’s Vision Products Group, also took on a bigger role in supervising Siri. Reports earlier this year suggested that CEO Tim Cook had lost confidence in John Giannandrea, Apple’s head of AI, due to repeated delays in delivering product improvements.

These changes highlight the uncertainty within Apple’s AI division. Leadership reshuffles are often a sign that a company is trying to correct course, but they can also cause disruptions and slow progress further.

Why Walker’s departure matters

Robby Walker’s exit is important for several reasons. First, he has been with Apple for more than a decade, which means he carries deep knowledge of how the company operates and how its AI technologies have evolved. Losing such institutional memory at a critical time can be a setback.

Second, Walker was leading Apple’s new “Answers” project, which is part of its broader strategy to make search and AI features smarter and more reliable. This project, expected to be rolled out around 2026, is designed to compete with knowledge-based systems offered by rivals. His departure raises questions about whether Apple can keep the project on track without him.

Third, the move may affect Apple’s credibility in the AI space. If one of its most senior AI leaders is leaving at a time when the company is already struggling to meet deadlines, it may strengthen the impression that Apple is behind and uncertain about its direction.

The competitive landscape

The broader context is the AI race among technology giants. Google has been showcasing the power of its Gemini AI model, integrating it into smartphones and apps. Microsoft has embedded OpenAI’s technology into its products and cloud services. Meta, meanwhile, has launched ambitious projects in advanced AI research.

Apple, in contrast, has focused on integrating AI quietly and carefully into its ecosystem. Its strategy emphasizes privacy, device-level processing, and user security. While this approach has advantages, such as protecting user data, it also limits the scale of Apple’s AI features compared to cloud-based rivals.

At Apple’s annual product launch event last week, the company introduced its latest line of iPhones, including a slimmer model called the iPhone Air. However, the event offered little information about how Apple plans to catch up in AI. The absence of major AI announcements left many observers disappointed.

Challenges ahead for Apple

Apple now faces a difficult balancing act. On one hand, it needs to speed up the rollout of advanced AI features to remain competitive. On the other hand, it wants to maintain its high standards for privacy and reliability, which often require more time and testing.

The company also needs to rebuild confidence in its AI leadership. With several senior executives leaving and others taking on new responsibilities, Apple must show that it still has a clear vision and the right team in place.

Some analysts believe that Apple’s cautious approach could pay off in the long run if it results in safer, more polished AI tools. But in the short term, the lack of visible progress is making investors and users impatient.

What comes next

Robby Walker is expected to officially leave Apple in October. It is not yet known where he will go next or what role he will take up. Given his background, it is possible he will join another leading technology firm or even launch his own venture in the AI field.

For Apple, his departure will put even more pressure on Craig Federighi, Mike Rockwell, and John Giannandrea to deliver results. They will need to show progress on both Siri and the wider Apple Intelligence platform within the next year. Otherwise, Apple risks losing more ground to competitors who are moving faster.

The departure of Robby Walker highlights the challenges Apple faces in the rapidly advancing field of artificial intelligence. At a time when Google, Meta, and Microsoft are racing ahead with bold AI products, Apple appears stuck in a cycle of delays and leadership changes.

Walker’s exit is more than just another executive leaving—it symbolizes the uncertainty surrounding Apple’s AI strategy. For a company that has defined consumer technology for decades, finding its footing in this new wave of innovation is crucial. Whether Apple can turn things around and show leadership in AI will depend on how quickly it can adapt, how effectively it can use the talent it still has, and how clearly it can communicate its vision for the future.

If Apple fails to move faster, it may be remembered as a pioneer that hesitated too long during one of the most transformative moments in technology history. But if it succeeds, the company could redefine AI in a way that balances innovation with privacy and trust. The next two years will be decisive.

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