As expected, Apple's Assistant is set to become even more useful thanks to a host of new AI-powered features. At WWDC, a new version of Siri was previewed that can take actions on your behalf and understand a wide range of new queries.
The new version of Siri will be able to better understand the apps on your phone and take over 100 actions based on your activity and device. For example, you can ask Siri to show you specific photos or memories in the Photos app, or find tracking details for an expected delivery from an email in the Mail app.
Siri can also perform some tasks on your behalf, such as adding an address to a contact card, adjusting a photo, or sharing a summary of a note via email. Third-party developers will also be able to take advantage of these new features with a new App Intent Framework, which allows them to leverage Apple Intelligence to make certain actions compatible with Siri.
Apple said Siri's new AI features could save you a lot of time on tedious tasks. One example the company gave is when you need to enter your driver's license number into an online form. Instead of searching for a photo yourself, you can ask Siri, which can then find an image of your license, get the number, and enter it into the form. Siri can also answer questions based on details in messages and emails, for example, by remembering your dinner reservations or providing up-to-date flight tracking information for a reservation you previously shared.
Another big change is that Siri will no longer just be a voice-activated assistant. Apple has added a “Type to Siri” feature, bringing the experience a little closer to other generative AI chatbots. Chatting with Siri should make the experience feel more natural, as the Assistant will be able to respond to queries even if the command isn't spoken perfectly. Apple demonstrated how Siri can respond to requests about the weather even if the speaker stumbled and said the wrong thing. Additionally, the Assistant can provide help and answers about iPhone features, such as “I need to scan a document.”
Apple's newly announced partnership with OpenAI will also bring chatGPT to Siri, and for some text-based queries, users can choose to get answers from chatGPT through the new Siri interface.
Apple didn't say when the new Siri features would be released, but said the new version of the assistant will be available on iPhones, iPads and Macs. The revamped Siri is part of Apple's “personal intelligence” initiative, which Tim Cook has described as the “next big step” for the company.
Check out the latest news here Apple’s WWDC 2024.
