Apple Opens Siri AI to Third-Party Apps, Launches App Skills Framework

According to information published by Apple, developers can now bring new Siri AI features into their own apps. With these capabilities, Siri can not only understand users' everyday ways of speaking, but also complete requests by taking into account the current interface state and personal usage habits, thereby reducing the steps users take to switch back and forth between multiple apps and perform manual operations.

A major focus of this update is the launch of a new feature framework called "App Skills." With this mechanism, developers can consolidate multiple operations that previously had to be completed separately into a single command execution. Users only need to issue one natural-language command, and Siri AI can automatically coordinate multiple steps and complete the entire process in the background.

Apple says that when a user is using an app, viewing that app's live activity information, or has already started a conversation with Siri around that app, there is no need to repeat the app's name. The system can automatically understand the current context. For example, after a user completes a ride request in a ride-hailing app, they can directly say to Siri, "Change my pickup location to the new address," and the system can identify the relevant service and perform the operation.

In addition to operations within a single app, Siri AI has also gained cross-app coordination capabilities. It can search for content in one app and then pass the results to another app to complete follow-up tasks. For example, a user can ask Siri to find a saved item in a shopping app and send it directly to a specified contact through a messaging app.

Apple has also opened more flexible content and operation interfaces to developers. Developers can decide which data Siri is allowed to access and which functions can be invoked. The related capabilities are implemented based on the App Intents framework, and can be used without applying for additional special permissions or joining a new developer program.

To improve AI's ability to understand app content, developers can also include entity data from their apps in the Spotlight semantic index and use descriptions, attributes, and intent definitions to help Siri understand user expressions more accurately. When users make requests in natural language, the system can use this information to identify the target content and generate more precise responses.

At the same time, Apple is also bringing these enhanced capabilities to its own ecosystem apps, including Calendar, Files, Finder, Journal, Mail, Maps, Messages, Music, Notes, Photos, Preview, Reminders, Safari, Shortcuts, and Weather. In the future, users will be able to directly ask Siri to find a café they visited last week, or automatically organize files that have not been opened for a long time, without manually searching and managing them.

Notably, this means Siri AI is gradually shifting from a traditional voice assistant to a true intelligent agent. In addition to understanding questions and providing answers, it is beginning to have the ability to coordinate resources across apps, invoke functions, and complete practical tasks.

Currently, these new features have been opened to developers for testing through the iOS 27.3 developer preview. Apple is expected to further expand support in the future and continue to improve deep integration between third-party apps and Siri AI, bringing users a more unified and intelligent software experience.