Apple Recruits Google Veteran Lilian Rincon to Lead AI Product Marketing

Apple has hired Lilian Rincon, former Vice President of Product Management at Google, as its new Vice President of Product Marketing for Artificial Intelligence. Rincon will report directly to Greg Joswiak, Apple's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing.

The appointment was announced on Friday, March 27, 2026, and sends a clear signal that Apple is intensifying its AI efforts. Rincon spent nearly a decade at Google, most recently leading the global product organization for consumer-facing shopping experiences and contributing to Google Assistant.

At Apple, she will be responsible for product marketing and product management for the company's AI platforms, including Apple Intelligence and Siri. The hire comes as Apple is working to significantly upgrade Siri, with plans for a more capable, chatbot-style assistant leveraging technology from Google's Gemini AI model.

Apple Intelligence launched in 2024 but has faced criticism for lagging behind competitors. Siri has long been seen as weaker than ChatGPT and Google Gemini on advanced tasks. Rincon's experience building consumer products at the intersection of search, AI, and everyday use makes this a strategic move by Apple.

For CIOs and IT leaders, this is a signal that the battle for AI assistants in the enterprise market will intensify through 2026. Apple Intelligence combined with Gemini technology could strengthen Siri as an alternative to Microsoft Copilot and ChatGPT Enterprise, particularly in Apple-dominant workplaces.