Apple launches long-awaited AI-powered Siri upgrade

Apple unveiled a major upgrade to Siri on Monday, introducing new artificial intelligence features as it seeks to catch up with rivals in the rapidly evolving AI market.

The announcement came at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in Cupertino, California. The new version, called Siri AI, is more conversational and can understand what is happening on a user’s screen. It can also pull information from the web and help users find details buried in messages, emails, and apps.

The launch comes two years after Apple first promised a major Siri overhaul. The company delayed the release several times, raising questions about its AI strategy as competitors moved ahead.

Apple said users will be able to revisit past Siri conversations. The assistant can also find information, such as an address mentioned in a text message, even if the user never saved it.

The update marks Apple’s biggest effort yet to make Siri more useful in the age of generative AI. Rivals including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google have already introduced AI assistants capable of handling more complex tasks.

“Some appear to be racing forward, seemingly pursuing AI for the sake of AI,” Apple’s software chief Craig Federighi said during the keynote presentation. He said Apple remains focused on building AI features that are useful to everyday users.

Unlike some competitors, Apple is not positioning Siri as a fully autonomous AI agent. Instead, the company says it wants to integrate AI into tasks people already perform on their devices.

“This finally delivers on the promise of Siri from 15 years ago,” said Bob O’Donnell, president and chief analyst at TECHnalysis Research. He described the upgrade as “AI for the masses.”

Still, some analysts offered a cautious response. Craig Moffett, an analyst at MoffettNathanson, said the updates were not groundbreaking but could make Siri a more credible chatbot and digital assistant.

Apple shares fell 1.9% to $301.54 on the Nasdaq after the announcement.

The company is also relying on partners for part of its AI strategy. Apple said some of its AI models use technology from Google’s Gemini, while larger models will run on cloud infrastructure powered by Nvidia chips.

PRIVACY CONCERNS WITH THE NEW UPDATES

At the same time, Apple stressed that privacy remains central to its approach. The company said most AI processing will happen directly on users’ devices or through its own private cloud systems.

However, the new features require Siri to understand more about what users are doing across apps and screens.

“That creates an inevitable tension between convenience and privacy,” said Paolo Pescatore, an analyst at PP Foresight. “The challenge for Apple is convincing consumers that intelligence does not have to come at the expense of privacy.”

Apple said Siri AI will not initially launch in the European Union on iPhones and iPads because of regulatory and privacy concerns. The company also said the feature will not be available in China at launch.

Beyond Siri, Apple announced several new safety and AI features.

The company introduced stronger parental controls that allow parents to manage the apps, websites, and contacts their children can access. Messaging apps will also blur graphic images by default and alert parents when necessary.

Apple also upgraded its image-generation tools and added new AI features to Safari. One of those features can notify users when an out-of-stock item becomes available again on a website.