Apple Opens Siri AI to Third-Party Apps, Letting Developers Plug In Actions and Multi-Step “App Skills”

Featured photo: Apple Park in Cupertino, California, June 2024 (file photo). Photo: Nils Huenerfuerst, Wikimedia Commons, CC0.

Apple on Tuesday, Nov. 3, opened Siri AI to every app developer, letting third-party apps plug their own content and actions into the AI version of its assistant for the first time, the company said in a developer announcement. The developer preview starts with the iOS 27.3, iPadOS 27.3, macOS 27.3 and visionOS 27.3 betas. Customers will get the features in a few months, and Apple plans to open App Store submissions for Siri AI integrations in the spring.

What’s changing

Until now, only a smaller set of apps and system-defined schemas could work deeply with Siri AI, 9to5Mac reported. Under the preview, any developer can use Apple’s App Intents framework to describe what their app can do and what content it holds. Siri AI can then use a person’s context, understand what is on screen and respond to plain-language requests, iPhone in Canada reported. Apple’s examples for third-party apps include checking a delivery, booking a reservation and placing an order.

Developers can also build “app skills,” instructions that teach Siri to carry out multi-step tasks, 9to5Mac reported. One example in Apple’s documentation has Siri find a user’s favorite sneakers in a shopping app, look up a partner in Contacts and send the items through a messaging app. Siri AI can also pull items from Spotlight’s semantic index, including content that does not fit a fixed schema.

Fewer app names, more cross-app actions

In many cases, users will not need to name an app. If an app is in the foreground, has an active Live Activity, or was already part of the Siri conversation, Siri can route the request there; requests to background apps still need the app’s name, Unite.AI reported. 9to5Mac’s example: with a ride-share Live Activity running, asking Siri to change the pickup address goes straight to that app.

Developers decide what Siri can read and do inside their apps, including authentication rules and settings that keep sensitive fields hidden. For now, only internal TestFlight testers can use the preview, and it does not work in App Store builds, Unite.AI reported.

Apple’s own apps

Apple is building the same Siri AI foundation into its own apps, including Calendar, Files, Finder, Journal, Mail, Maps, Messages, Music, Notes, Photos, Preview, Reminders, Safari, Shortcuts and Weather, iPhone in Canada reported. Apple’s examples include finding a coffee shop you visited last week and archiving files that have not been opened in more than a year.

Limits and open questions

• Devices and languages: Siri AI requires an Apple Intelligence-capable device set to a supported language: English, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese or Spanish. Traditional Chinese, Norwegian, Turkish and Vietnamese are listed as coming soon.
• Regions and ages: It is not available in the European Union on iOS, iPadOS and watchOS, or to users under 13, Apple said.
• Usage caps: Some server-based Apple Intelligence features, including Siri AI, have daily usage limits, and Apple has said paid expanded access for heavier use is planned.
• Rules still to come: Apple said it will share terms and usage policies for Siri AI experiences later, so developers do not yet know the conditions for shipping them.

Apple engineers are holding Apple Intelligence group lab sessions for developers on Nov. 4 and 5.

Why it matters

Opening Siri AI to every app moves it from a feature of Apple’s own software toward a platform other companies can build on. For businesses, the spring submission window and the still-unpublished terms will decide how quickly assistant-driven ordering, booking and customer service reach iPhone users. For more on how AI is reshaping search and tech, see our coverage of Google’s AI Overviews investigation in Turkey and OpenAI’s 1,000-megawatt power deal in Georgia, and more on our business and tech news page.

Sources

• Apple Developer: Siri AI is now open to all developers
• 9to5Mac: Developers can now create advanced “app skills” for Siri AI
• iPhone in Canada: Apple opened Siri AI to every app
• Unite.AI: Apple opens Siri AI developer preview for custom app integrations