Here comes new Siri again

What happened

At WWDC 2024, Apple gave the first public look at its revamped Siri, part of the larger Apple Intelligence initiative. The new Siri shows visual updates like a glowing border and offers multiple voice options. More importantly, it can send queries to ChatGPT when it cannot answer directly, signaling deeper AI integration than previous versions.

Why it matters

Apple’s AI efforts have lagged behind competitors for years, but this refresh could help it stay relevant in conversational AI. Allowing Siri to hand off questions to ChatGPT acknowledges Apple’s limits and leverages third-party AI strengths. That’s a practical approach to improve results without building everything from scratch. For users and businesses relying on Apple devices, it raises the bar for voice assistants to be more useful in real-world tasks.

The update pressures rivals like Google and Amazon to deepen AI interoperability instead of keeping assistants siloed. It also strengthens Apple’s platform by nudging users to engage with Siri rather than switching out for other assistants. For developers and operators, it suggests a shift where voice AI becomes a gateway to multiple AI models, not a single-source system.

What to watch next

Focus on how Apple expands this hybrid Siri strategy beyond simple query handoffs. The quality of integration with ChatGPT or similar models will determine user trust and Siri’s usefulness. Watch for how Apple balances privacy and data sharing when routing queries through third-party AIs.

Also track whether Apple opens developer APIs around this setup, as that could reshape how AI assistants fit into enterprise workflows. Finally, pay attention to updates in Siri’s core AI model, named Gemini, as that will influence how often Apple relies on external AI versus internal capabilities.

AI Quick Briefs Editorial Desk