Apple Inc. is planning to revamp its Siri virtual assistant with more advanced artificial intelligence that would allow users to control individual app functions with their voice, according to people familiar with the matter. The new system will allow Siri to control all features within an app for the first time, said the people, who requested anonymity because the plans are not public. The changes would require an overhaul of Siri’s underlying software using large-scale language models, a key technology in generative AI, and would be one of the highlights of Apple’s new push into AI, they said.
The upgrade is part of the company’s larger AI strategy that will be unveiled at the Worldwide Developers Conference on June 10. Apple is preparing several features, including voice memo history and summaries, quick summaries of websites and notifications, automatic message replies, advanced features, and more. Bloomberg reported on photo editing and AI-generated emoticons.
As part of the launch, more basic AI tasks will be handled on the device itself, while more advanced features will be handled through cloud computing. The company has also signed a deal with OpenAI to integrate the startup’s chatbot and other technology into the iOS operating system, and is continuing talks with Google parent Alphabet Inc. to use Gemini software in the future. Apple software chief Craig Federighi has instructed his team to develop as many new AI features as possible for this year’s operating system update.
Siri will be a key focus of the WWDC reveal. The new system allows assistants to control and navigate their iPhone or iPad more precisely. This includes opening individual documents, moving notes to another folder, emailing or deleting them, opening specific publications in Apple News, emailing web links, and requesting article summaries to your device.
A representative for Cupertino, California-based Apple declined to comment.
Today, Siri is mostly limited to a broad range of commands, such as playing music playlists, retrieving information, and controlling smart home appliances. The company also offers developers a feature known as app intents, which allows them to create ways for Siri to tap individual features. In 2018, Apple also launched Siri Shortcuts, which allows users to manually create commands for app functions.
The new system goes further and uses AI to analyze what people are doing on their devices and automatically activate features controlled by Siri. Initially limited to Apple’s own apps, the company plans to support hundreds of different commands.
The feature is one of Apple’s more complex AI initiatives and is expected to launch as early as next year, according to sources, and will be part of a subsequent update to iOS 18. The first version of the new operating system is expected to be released in September, around the same time as the next iPhone model.
Initially, the new Siri will handle one command at a time, but Apple plans to allow users to chain multiple commands together. For example, you can ask Siri to summarize a recorded meeting and then text a colleague. Or, theoretically, you could ask your iPhone to crop a photo and email it to a friend.
A key component of the new push is a system that uses AI to automatically determine whether a feature should be handled on the device or through the cloud.
This has raised some privacy concerns. While on-device actions do not share personal information, cloud-based approaches require some user data to be transferred to a remote server. Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that information would be protected by the so-called Secure Enclave in the advanced Apple Mac chips that power data centers.
Apple will try to further reassure customers that their data is private by producing “intelligence reports” that explain how the information is protected. The iPhone maker also won’t create customer profiles. This has been criticized by Google and Meta Platforms Inc.
With the Siri upgrade, Apple plans to reinvigorate a pioneering product that has fallen behind competitors’ offerings. The company first launched Siri in 2011, leading the way in voice-based interfaces and AI. But Apple soon lost that lead to Amazon.com Inc.’s Alexa and Google Assistant. Then, with the advent of generative AI chatbots two years ago, we were left defenseless again.
Apple is also struggling with slowing sales, and its stock price is underperforming its peers this year. Stock prices are down about 1% in 2024, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 stock index is up 10%. Apple rose 0.5% to $191.29 in New York on Thursday.
Apple is confident that new AI features on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, as well as improvements to Siri, will encourage users to upgrade their devices. Many on-device AI features require iPhone 15 Pro or later to work. Meanwhile, Macs and iPads require at least the M1 chip.
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