When Will Siri Rival ChatGPT? What to Expect from Apple’s AI

A Much-Anticipated Revival for Siri

According to Bloomberg, significant changes are indeed underway at Apple regarding Siri. Almost exactly a year since the announcement of Apple Intelligence, Apple has been promising a more context-aware and intelligent Siri. However, it appears that this transformation hasn’t yet occurred.

Facing increasingly stern criticism, the company admitted to having overpromised and recently undertook an internal reorganization. Behind the scenes, leadership is now pushing for Siri to evolve into a true chatbot, capable of browsing the web and expanding its responses using external data.

The goal is clear: to position Siri as a direct competitor to ChatGPT, achieving a similar level of relevance while maintaining control over the user experience. Additionally, the company might even allow European users to choose a default voice assistant other than Siri, complying with the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

A Strategy to Lessen Dependence on OpenAI

Currently, Siri already incorporates ChatGPT through Apple Intelligence, but Cupertino aims to go further. The company is developing its own internal chatbot, which has been in testing for several years and has reportedly made significant progress in the past six months. Moreover, it is contemplating reducing its reliance on OpenAI while keeping data either locally or on its own servers, consistent with its privacy commitment. This would also allow Apple to maintain better control over the responses provided, their quality, and the associated infrastructure costs.

What’s Next?

The redesign of Siri is not just about enhancing the assistant. Apple is now also under strategic pressure: the $20 billion deal with Google to remain the default search engine on iOS is under threat.

In this context, a Siri capable of handling complex queries, similar to ChatGPT or Gemini, could provide an integrated search alternative. This would boost the appeal of the iPhone and its services without relying on third-party players.

According to Mark Gurman, Apple also plans to enhance Siri’s interaction with applications. A feature – again delayed but highly anticipated – would allow Siri to initiate actions within apps at the user’s command. This would help Apple maintain the central role of the App Store, despite numerous attempts to open it up and the rise of increasingly capable chatbots.

In other words, Siri would not just be an assistant anymore, but a true intelligent agent, capable of navigating through apps, responding to queries, and executing complex commands, all while supporting the iOS ecosystem’s economy. The question now is how long it will take for Apple to achieve this!