Apple's next big bet in artificial intelligence has a name: Siri AIThe company is preparing to overhaul its classic assistant, transforming it into a much more conversational tool capable of understanding the user's context and leveraging advanced AI models to provide more helpful and natural responses. This move comes after a rocky start with Apple Intelligence, whose rollout was slower than expected and whose features took time to reach all markets.
At the same time, Apple is finalizing a plan to Siri AI can answer questions about news and current events. with greater precision. To achieve this, it is negotiating licensing agreements with publishers that would allow it to access journalistic content under a pay-per-use model, very different from that of other large artificial intelligence companies. The idea is that each time a Siri AI response is based on a specific news story, the media outlet will receive financial compensation.
What exactly is Siri AI and how does it improve upon the traditional Siri?
Apple describes Siri AI as a completely new version of Siri Built on Apple Intelligence, the personal AI system the company began rolling out on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, this new generation of the assistant promises a significant leap forward in language understanding, reasoning, and the ability to hold two-way conversations like today's leading chatbots.
Among the most notable improvements is the understanding of personal contextSiri AI will be able to use information from messages, emails, photos, and other user content to more easily find what's being requested, all within the Apple ecosystem. The key, according to the company, is that all these features have been designed with privacy as a priority, leveraging the power of the latest chips to run a significant portion of the AI ​​tasks locally.
Another important development is the so-called understanding screen contentThe assistant will be able to interpret what the user is currently viewing—a message, an email, a website, or a document—and act accordingly: from searching for related information on the internet to creating a note, sending a message, or adding an appointment to the calendar without the user having to switch applications.
Furthermore, Siri AI gains a much more widespread presence throughout the system. It can be invoked by voice using the classic "Hey Siri" command, by pressing the iPhone's side button, from the Dynamic Island, or via... Spotlight and context menus on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. The idea is that the assistant is always at hand, on iPhone and iPad as well as on Mac, Apple Watch, CarPlay, AirPods, and Apple Vision Pro.
The company has also created a Siri AI dedicated app From this platform, users can start or resume conversations and view their chat history, synced via iCloud. This will allow them to follow the same conversation thread from different devices, similar to what other generative AI services already offer.
Siri AI as a conversational assistant: a more human voice and improved dictation
Beyond search functions or managing on-screen content, Apple wanted to Siri AI sounds less roboticThe new assistant voices will be more expressive and will allow users to adjust both the level of expressiveness and the pace. Users will be able to choose between a more formal and professional voice or something more casual and friendly, adapting the assistant's tone to each situation.
Voice dictation also takes a leap forward. According to Apple, Siri AI It will capture oral commands with greater accuracy. It will convert speech into polished text, complete with capitalization, punctuation, and automatic formatting, as the user speaks. This improved speech comprehension aims to allow people to express themselves naturally, without having to slur their pronunciation or dictate "like a machine."
This reinforcement of the conversational aspect is key at a time when assistants like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude have raised the bar for what is expected of AI. Apple aims for Siri AI to not only execute simple commands, but to be capable of maintain long dialoguesRemember the context of the conversation and refine the responses based on the clarifications requested by the user.
Siri AI compatibility and arrival: who will be able to use it and when
Siri AI will officially debut with the company's new wave of operating systems: iOS 27, iPadOS 27, macOS 27, tvOS 27, watchOS 27, and visionOS 27The first developer beta versions are already available, and the general release is expected in the fall, around October or November, coinciding with the new high-end iPhones.
However, not all devices will have access to the updated assistant. Apple has established a list of compatible models focused on the most recent devices and those with chips capable of handling advanced AI workloads. In the case of the iPhone, Siri AI will be limited to iPhone 16 and later models.In addition to the iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max. For tablets and computers, the minimum requirement will be an iPad with an M1 chip or later and a Mac with an M1 or higher chip, along with specific models such as the iPad mini with an A17 Pro or the MacBook Neo with an A18 Pro.
In the broader ecosystem, users of apple vision proThis also applies to those with an Apple Watch Series 9 or later, Apple Watch Ultra 2, or the upcoming third-generation Apple Watch SE. Apple's strategy involves making Siri AI a cross-functional assistant across all its hardware, but reserving the most demanding features for relatively recent devices.
Another point to consider is language. In the first phase, Siri AI will only be available in EnglishThis partially mirrors what happened with the rollout of Apple Intelligence. Although the company's AI model already works in Spanish and many other languages, the full capabilities of the revamped assistant will take a little longer to reach those who don't use the system in English.
Delay in the European Union: Regulatory controversy once again slows Apple down
For users in Spain and the rest of the European Union, the news isn't so good. Apple has confirmed that, at least initially, Siri AI will not be available on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS within the European Union.The company claims it needs additional time to find a formula that guarantees compliance with European regulatory requirements without jeopardizing its privacy and security model.
This situation is reminiscent of what already happened with Apple Intelligencewhose launch was delayed several months in Europe compared to other markets. There are also other features that were slow to arrive—or are still not fully available—for similar reasons, such as some advanced cross-device continuity features.
It's noteworthy that Apple has taken the same decision with Chinawhere Siri AI also won't be available at launch due to local regulatory requirements. However, while other tech giants have often opted to launch their services and accept potential fines or subsequent adjustments, Apple is more cautious and tends to delay features when it detects conflicts with the regulations of each region.
In practice, this means that those who update to iOS 27, iPadOS 27, or macOS 27 in Spain will encounter Some of the announced new features have been deactivatedThese include the flagship features associated with Siri AI. Everything will depend on whether the company and European authorities can soon agree on an interim solution that allows the updated assistant to be enabled without compromising the current legal framework.
Apple makes a move: deals with media outlets to feed Siri AI with news
Alongside the technical development of the assistant, Apple is negotiating licensing agreements with publishers so that Siri AI can access news and current affairs content in a controlled manner. According to multiple media reports, the company has proposed a minimum budget of $100 million, with the possibility that the total could reach several hundred million if the program is expanded.
The origin of this data lies in reports from publications such as The Wall Street JournalThese reports cite sources familiar with the discussions. While it has not yet been revealed which specific publishing groups would participate or in which countries the system would be activated first, it is known that the contracts would be multi-year And Apple has been exploring similar approaches for years. Back in 2023, it explored deals worth at least $50 million to use journalistic content in training its AI models.
The novelty now is that the main destination for this content would not only be internal training, but Siri AI itself when responding to usersThe company is working on an AI-powered response layer capable of generating summaries that combine text, images, and video, and needs to ensure that the information used is licensed and that media outlets receive proportionate compensation.
This plan makes even more sense when you consider that the new version of Siri will be designed to answer complex questions and gathering data from multiple sources, something that becomes particularly delicate when dealing with news or current affairs. Having direct agreements with media outlets aims to reduce the risk of serious errors and legal conflicts associated with the use of third-party content.
A pay-per-use model for news that Siri AI consults
One of the most striking aspects of Apple's proposal is the media compensation modelInstead of paying a fixed amount for broad access to the news archive, as has been traditionally done in the industry, the company would be proposing a variable system based on actual content usage.
In practice, this would mean that each editor would receive money every time one of your news stories appears quoted or summarized in a response from Siri AI. It is, in essence, a pay-per-use scheme that departs from the usual flat rate in other agreements between large technology companies and media groups, and is closer to what is seen in sectors such as music streaming.
For the media, this approach has two sides. On the one hand, it opens the door to income linked to real performance of its content within the Apple ecosystem: the more relevant and frequently consulted the information, the greater the compensation. On the other hand, it introduces uncertainty, since final revenue will depend on the volume of user queries and how Siri AI selects sources to construct its responses.
Apple, for its part, thus ensures continuous access to quality and up-to-date informationThis is especially valuable in a context where the credibility of platforms depends largely on the reliability of the data they provide. Furthermore, this type of agreement aligns with the company's prior experience in the publishing sector, where it already operates services like Apple News+ and maintains contracts with various groups to use their content.
In any case, everything suggests that the budget allocated for this program would be around nine-digit numbersIn other words, the company would be willing to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to ensure its assistant has a stable supply of licensed news, at a time when the relationship between media and AI is being redefined.
A sector divided between lawsuits and licenses: Apple's particular approach
Apple's talks with publishers come amid a tense atmosphere between large AI companies and media outletsOn one hand, lawsuits like the one filed by the New York Times against OpenAI and Microsoft have been filed for the alleged unauthorized use of its articles to train models. On the other hand, groups like News Corp and Axel Springer have opted to sign licensing agreements with generative AI companies.
In this context, Apple's strategy is situated at an intermediate point: it bets on close formal agreements and pay for access to the content, but it introduces a payment mechanism different from traditional fixed rates. It's a way to distance itself from the models that have generated the most friction and, at the same time, avoid a direct legal confrontation with publishers.
Apple itself is no stranger to these balancing acts. It has already signed specific contracts to use editorial content in training its models and has been operating Apple News+, its subscription news platform, for years. The difference now is that the focus is shifting to how will that content be integrated into the responses of a conversational assistantmuch more visible to the user and with a greater potential impact on traffic to media sites.
For European publishers, these kinds of agreements can be seen as both an opportunity and a source of uncertainty. On the one hand, they open up an additional avenue for monetization at a time when the The presence of AI reduces direct clicks on their pages. On the other hand, it remains to be seen to what extent Siri AI summaries will drive traffic to the original websites or remain within the assistant's interface itself, something crucial for the sustainability of many Spanish media outlets and the rest of the EU.
Increasing regulatory pressure in Europe, with specific regulations on copyright and data use, adds another layer of complexity. Any deployment of these features in the European market will likely have to undergo further scrutinyboth in terms of financial compensation and transparency regarding what sources are used and how.
The awkward precedent: Apple Intelligence's failed summaries
Part of Apple's caution in designing the new Siri AI with access to news stems from a previous incident that left a bad taste in people's mouths. In late 2024, the company launched some Notification summaries generated by Apple Intelligence which, in several cases, ended up attributing false headlines to real media outlets.
Some users even received alerts with incorrect information presented as if it came from reputable sources, which raised concerns among publishers and forced Apple to remove that function for more than a year while checking its operation. The incident demonstrated just how risky it is to automate news synthesis without rigorous control over sources and how content is condensed.
That stumble largely explains the shift towards clearer licensing agreements to feed Siri AI. Instead of relying solely on automated web crawls or unauthorized content, the company wants explicit permissions from media outlets and a financial framework that recognizes the value of their work. It also aims to reduce the risk of the assistant generating misleading or incomplete headlines when dealing with particularly sensitive topics.
From the user's perspective, the big question is how these responses will be presented within Siri AI. It remains to be seen whether the assistant will display clear references to sourcesWhether it will prominently link to the original news stories or opt for more self-contained summaries. Depending on that design, the impact on traffic to the media outlets—and, therefore, on the actual usefulness of the economic agreements—could be very different.
In any case, the previous experience with Apple Intelligence has served as a reminder that the combination of AI and current news requires additional verification and transparency measures, something Apple seems keen to make progress on before Siri AI starts answering questions about what's happening in the world.
With all this activity, Apple is trying to catch up in the artificial intelligence race, equipping Siri AI with advanced conversational capabilitiesThis includes deep integration into its device ecosystem and authorized access to news under a pay-per-use model that could change the relationship between technology platforms and media outlets. For users in Spain and Europe, the less appealing aspect is that many of these new features will take time to arrive due to the usual regulatory hurdles, but the direction seems clear: the former voice assistant is about to become a central component of the company's AI strategy.
