Apple Plans to Turn Siri Into an AI Agent as Early as 2027
Apple is pushing to turn Siri into an AI agent that can pursue goals on its own, Bloomberg reported, with a more capable assistant possible as early as 2027.
Image: Wikimedia Commons / F ASTILY
Apple is pushing to turn Siri into an AI agent that can pursue goals on its own, with chief executive John Ternus pressing software chief Craig Federighi to speed up the assistant's roadmap. A more agentic Siri could arrive as early as 2027, though Apple has announced nothing and the timing remains a forecast rather than a promise.
Ternus raised the issue with Federighi in a closed-door meeting and urged the software division to move faster on artificial intelligence. The aim is for Siri to work "more like an agent" as early as 2027. An agentic Siri would be a shift from answering one request at a time: it would keep track of a user's goals and keep working on them without the user starting every step, like OpenAI's Dots, Meta's Muse and xAI's Grok.
Key Takeaways
- Apple chief executive John Ternus pressed software chief Craig Federighi to speed up Siri's roadmap.
- A more agentic Siri could arrive as early as 2027; Apple has announced nothing.
- iOS 27.3 in December gives Siri finer control over Apple's own apps; third-party app control is expected in spring 2027.
The nearer-term steps are in motion. The first developer beta of iOS 27.3, released on 3 November, gives Siri finer control over Apple's own apps. Users can ask it to make detailed changes inside apps, such as cropping or rotating a photo in Photos or organising open tabs in Safari, rather than simply opening the app. It is expected to reach the public with iOS 27.3 in December.
The same day the beta arrived, Apple opened a developer preview letting apps bring their content and actions into Siri through App Intents. Apple also added "skills", a way to teach Siri to combine several actions into a single experience for complex requests. The company says the features will ship to customers "in a few months", with App Store submission opening in the spring.
The larger step, control of third-party apps, is expected to wait until spring 2027, possibly in iOS 27.5 or iOS 27.6 ahead of Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference. That would let Siri place a food order through Grubhub or book a restaurant reservation through OpenTable. The current limit is clear: it acts only on request and does not work in the background on a user's behalf.
Apple has spent the past two years playing catch-up in artificial intelligence: the rebuilt Siri was announced at WWDC 2024, with app intents among its three headline features, but the most capable version has been slow to arrive while rivals shipped agents that plan and execute multi-step tasks. Ternus has called agentic AI capabilities promising on a recent earnings call. There are limits to what is on offer today: Siri AI shipped in beta with iOS 27 on 14 September, and it remains unavailable in the European Union on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, and to users under 13. Apple's fine print says server-side features, including Siri AI, are "subject to daily usage limits", with "expanded access" available "for a fee in the future".
The Siri roadmap
| Milestone | Timing |
|---|---|
| iOS 27.3 beta with finer Apple-app control | 3 November |
| iOS 27.3 public release | December |
| App Store submission for Siri skills | Spring 2027 |
| Third-party app control (iOS 27.5 or iOS 27.6) | Spring 2027 |
| Agentic Siri | As early as 2027 |
Frequently Asked Questions
When could an agentic Siri arrive?
As early as 2027, though Apple has announced no timeline.
What will Siri be able to do in third-party apps?
It is expected to place a food order through Grubhub or book a restaurant reservation through OpenTable, with that control expected in spring 2027, possibly in iOS 27.5 or iOS 27.6.
Where is Siri AI unavailable today?
It remains unavailable in the European Union on iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, and to users under 13.
For iPhone owners, the change would arrive in stages: December brings finer control of Apple's own apps, and third-party control in spring 2027 would let Siri place a food order or book a restaurant. Only after that would Siri start pursuing goals in the background instead of waiting to be asked. The December release brings finer control of Apple's own apps, while third-party control follows in spring 2027.
