Siri to support 3rd-party AI assistants beyond OpenAI collaboration
What's the story
Apple is gearing up for a major overhaul of its virtual assistant, Siri. The tech giant plans to open up the platform to third-party artificial intelligence (AI) assistants, beyond its current collaboration with OpenAI, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. As it stands, Siri can already send some queries to ChatGPT. However, Apple wants to expand this by allowing other AI services from companies like Google and Anthropic into the mix.
Upcoming updates
Users will be able to choose preferred AI assistant
The integration of third-party AI assistants into Siri is expected to debut with the iOS 27 update, along with changes to iPadOS and macOS. The new version of Siri will be powered by Google's Gemini AI model. This means users will have more control over which assistant they want Siri to use through new Extensions settings, allowing them to choose different AI tools based on their preferences.
Revenue potential
Apple could make money from this move
The move to integrate third-party AI assistants into Siri is also seen as a way for Apple to make more money. Third-party AI subscriptions could be offered through the App Store, giving the company a cut of those sales. This would not only improve Siri's capabilities but also boost Apple's revenue.
Official announcement
Apple to unveil new Siri at WWDC26
Apple is expected to officially announce the new version of Siri on June 8 at the Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) 26. The AI-powered version of Siri won't be part of the iOS 26.5 update as previously thought, but will instead come with iOS 27. The company is also said to be working on a dedicated Siri app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac this year.
App features
Siri will also get a dedicated app
The new Siri app will give users access to all their past conversations in a grid of round rectangles with text previews. It will also let you pin favorite chats, save older ones, search across interactions, and start new chats via a plus button. The app will work like any other chatbot with options to upload attachments like images/documents, send text images and toggle between voice mode.