Apple Inc. hired a prominent executive from rival Google to lead its artificial-intelligence efforts, an area of growing importance where analysts say the tech giant has lagged rivals in research and recruiting.
The company on Tuesday told employees it named John Giannandrea its first senior vice president of artificial intelligence, according to a person familiar with the internal announcement. Mr. Giannandrea who left a similar role this week at Alphabet’s Google, will report directly to Chief Executive Tim Cook, the person...