Apple opens Siri AI to third-party developers
What's the story
Apple has announced a major update to its Siri artificial intelligence (AI) platform, enabling third-party developers to create advanced integrations for any app. The new feature, called 'app skills,' will be available with the upcoming iOS 27.3 and macOS 27.3 updates. The development marks a significant expansion from the original versions of Siri AI, which were limited in their supported schemas.
Enhanced capabilities
'App skills' for nuanced understanding
The new 'app skills' feature will allow apps to teach Siri how to handle complex multi-step actions.
This is similar to what other LLM-driven AI models offer, enabling a more nuanced understanding of complicated tasks.
For instance, a flight tracking app skill could clearly define which app intents Siri should use for specific user requests, a capability that was missing in the first version of Siri AI.
Internal use
Siri to get smarter with new features across Apple apps
Apple is also set to leverage the new Siri AI capabilities with a major rollout of new features across its own apps.
For example, developer documentation shows how Siri could find custom content from one app, transfer it to another, and perform an action.
This would allow users to say something like "Hey Siri, send my favorite sneakers to my partner in _name of a messaging app_."
User experience
Other notable improvements in Siri AI
The upcoming iOS 27.3 update will also simplify the process of initiating Siri actions for third-party apps.
Users won't have to explicitly mention the app's name in many circumstances.
For example, if a ride-sharing app's Live Activity is active, Siri will automatically understand that a request like "change the ride address" relates to that particular app driving the Live activity.