Apple released Siri AI in 2026: a digital assistant that works with voice recognition and typing, and represents a major expansion of the previous Apple Intelligence system woven throughout their operating systems. Siri AI marks the biggest step forward in this area the company has ever taken.
This guide follows the order the book does. First how Apple got here, then what Siri AI is and how to switch it on. Then what it is like to use, the accessibility features, Visual Intelligence, and Apple Intelligence inside the apps. Finally, the three features they suggest you skip.
How Apple got here
Apple started deploying what’s loosely called “artificial intelligence” over a decade ago, when they silently switched the original Siri voice-assistant system to use a neural network—a software model that mimics neurons in the brain—in 2014. Unfortunately, even then, Siri was always somewhat frustrating to use unless you learned exactly the set of words you should use for particular kinds of instructions, and were patient when it got it wrong—repeatedly. Other voice assistants, like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant, offered more natural interactions.
Meet Siri AI
Siri AI is the latest evolution of Apple’s original voice-only assistant. On supported devices, you can trigger Siri AI by voice, through a button press, or by swiping and typing, among other methods. Then you can ask it questions, or just search stuff that’s on your device.
- What Siri AI Means for Your iPhone and iPad
- Siri AI on the Mac: What’s New in macOS 27
- How to Activate the New Siri on iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Watch
- How Siri AI Processing Works, On Your Device and in the Cloud
- The Siri AI Privacy Limits Apple Doesn’t Advertise
Chatting with it
For the first time in Siri history, you can ask Siri questions or ask it to do something and almost always get a satisfactory outcome. Revolutionary! Even better, Siri retains context: you can have an ongoing conversation in the Siri app, and the vastly upgraded chatbot feature now doesn’t lose the thread.
- What to Ask Siri AI: Examples That Actually Work
- The Siri AI Commands Worth Knowing
- How to Ask Siri AI Follow-Up Questions
- How to Use the New Siri App
- How Siri AI and Spotlight Merged Into One Field
- How to Use ChatGPT With Siri AI
Accessibility features
Apple devices have long offered a wide range of features intended to make them easier to use for people who have difficulties with some aspect of the default interface—which doesn’t necessarily imply a disability, but also encompasses personal preference and a limited tolerance for Apple’s Liquid Glass shenanigans, for example.
Visual Intelligence
Visual Intelligence’s remit has grown substantially since it originally let your iPhone describe what it saw via the Camera in iOS 18.2. Generally, Visual Intelligence lets you query what it “sees” in a screenshot or through the camera, or take action on what appears. Swipe your finger around something to prompt a visual search that can explain what you’ve highlighted.
- How to Ask Siri About What’s On Your Screen in iOS 27
- iOS 27: How to Use Siri Mode in the Camera App
- How to Split a Restaurant Bill With Apple Cash in iOS 27
Inside the apps
Apple Intelligence has its own role in Apple’s operating systems, starting iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS 15. The company expanded Apple Intelligence offerings in the version 26 operating systems, and then added many more features across apps in version 27. These are the Apple Intelligence features built into Apple’s own apps.
- Where to Find Apple Intelligence in Each App
- What’s New in Mail and Messages in iOS 27
- Apple Intelligence in Photos: What’s New in iOS 27
- Safari in iOS 27: Page Summaries, Tab Groups, and More
- What’s New in Reminders and Notes in iOS 27
- Apple Intelligence in Calendar, Maps, and More in iOS 27
- iOS 27: How to Use Intelligent Actions in Shortcuts
- Focus in iOS 27: Reduce Interruptions and Intelligent Breakthrough
- Live Translation in iOS 27: FaceTime, Phone, and Messages
- How to Turn Any Card Into a Wallet Pass in iOS 27
The bits we don’t recommend
As writers and technologists with combined experience in the tech industry of well over six decades—much of it focused on Apple—we have fairly well-developed opinions about which features are genuinely useful to a wide range of people and which ones lack practical utility and are more effective as marketing tools. That’s especially true for people in our age range (Gen X) and older, who constitute the vast majority of our readers.
Even though we want to be thorough and describe all the Apple Intelligence capabilities, there are a few that we think most people are better off avoiding because they may waste your time or may negatively impact your life. Those are the Image Playground app, Genmoji, and Write with Siri (formerly known as Writing Tools); you can make up your own mind as to whether they’re worth your time.
Settings worth changing
There are also fifteen smaller tips that are easy to miss.
The Siri pane of Settings/System Settings lets you configure numerous aspects of Siri AI. You can use this pane to understand whether Siri AI is currently engaged, which is not always the case.
