After years of criticism over Apple's lack of innovation when it comes to Siri, the company has promised to release a smarter version of its digital assistant this fall. Powered by Apple Intelligence, the company's generative AI service, and a partnership with OpenAI, Siri will get a host of new features and updates.
From ChatGPT integration to the ability to type instead of talk to Siri, there are lots of changes coming to Siri in the coming months. Here's a look at what the introduction of Apple Intelligence will enable in the revamped digital assistant.
We'll learn more about Apple's plans for Siri at the iPhone event starting at 10 a.m. on Monday, which is also expected to feature new AirPods, a new Apple Watch, and possibly new Macs.
ChatGPT integration on iPhone
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Siri will soon be able to use OpenAI's ChatGPT to answer certain questions: For example, if you need recipe ideas for cooking with ingredients from your garden, you can just ask Siri, and it will automatically send that information to ChatGPT to generate some options.
When you ask ChatGPT a question via Siri, you can include photos and ask questions related to documents or PDFs. For example, say you find a flower you like during a walk but don't know its name, you can take a photo of the flower and ask Siri for its name and location.
You don't need a ChatGPT account, but you do need to grant permission for Siri to access the service.
Personal Context Awareness
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Apple Intelligence makes Siri aware of your personal context so it can take actions specific to you. Siri can use information available on your device to find what you're looking for.
For example, if you can't remember whether your friend Alice shared a recipe with you through a text message or email, you can ask Siri, “Show me the recipe Alice sent me a few days ago.” Or, if you need to quickly find your passport number when booking a flight, you can ask Siri to grab the number from an email or picture and automatically fill in the required fields.
Improved language comprehension
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Apple is making it easier to communicate with Siri. The Assistant now understands natural language better. If you stumble when talking to Siri, the Assistant will understand. For example, say, “Siri, set my alarm for 10 minutes. No, set my timer for 10 minutes. Actually, make it 5 minutes,” and Siri will understand what you're asking.
Additionally, you can ask Siri follow-up questions without having to repeat the context: For example, you can ask Siri where the next family get-together is, and it will tell you the location. You can then ask a follow-up question like, “What's the weather like there?” without having to say the name of the location.
Type to Siri
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Until now, you could only communicate with Siri by voice. With Apple Intelligence, you can now type into Siri when you don't want to speak out loud. Simply double-tap a button on the screen of your iPhone or iPad to ask Siri a question.
The Type to Siri option is useful when you're in a quiet environment and can't speak out loud, or you're in a noisy environment, typing to Siri can help ensure your question is clearly understood.
Siri Gains Product Knowledge
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Siri now knows more about Apple products and services, so you can ask her for help with any question you have about your Apple devices, including how to get started using features on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
For example, you can ask Siri how to schedule a text message to be sent later, and she'll walk you through it step by step. Otherwise, if you want more information on your device, you'll need to open Settings and go to the Help page.
On-screen recognition
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Siri now understands what's displayed on your screen and can take actions based on what you're currently looking at on your device. For example, if a friend texts you their new address, you can ask Siri to add it to your friend's contact card.
Or, if a friend suggests a TV show on Apple TV+, you can ask Siri to open it.
Take action across apps
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Apple Intelligence allows Siri to perform actions within and across apps. You can ask Siri to enhance a photo in the Photos app and then ask the digital assistant to send it to a specific person in a message. Siri can perform actions in both apps independently, so you don't need to open separate apps to complete the task.