Siri to transform into an AI that pursues goals on its own next year
Apple is weighing plans to turn Siri from an assistant that waits for commands into an AI assistant that proactively pursues goals on its own. If realized, Siri would handle tasks without users having to give instructions each time — a change that could reshape the way AI assistants are used. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported in his Sunday newsletter 'Power On' that the plan could materialize as early as next year, though the specifics of how it would be implemented remain unknown.
Gurman pointed to OpenAI's Atlas, Meta's Muse, and Grok as benchmarks. "Atlas, Muse, and Grok track goals, determine what's needed next, and keep pursuing those goals even when the user doesn't initiate each step," he explained. He added that "Apple ultimately wants to move in this direction as well, and I could see Siri becoming more agentic as early as next year."
Currently, Siri operates on a per-request basis. Apple introduced a personalized Siri in iOS 27, but it still lacks the ability to act proactively on users' behalf. Siri AI in iOS 27 requires users to kick off each step themselves, while Atlas, Muse, and Grok can keep working on goals between conversations. These services remember users' projects and preferences, surface information unprompted, and decide on their own when to pause or resume tasks. Notably, Meta's Muse and the Grok bot come equipped with their own virtual machines, handling tasks in the background and then delivering the results.
The push for speed is coming from the very top. In private meetings held in recent weeks, CEO John Ternus told software chief Craig Federighi that the software roadmap needed to be 'accelerated.' There were also instructions to move quickly beyond merely making the improvements Siri requires. Ternus has hinted at the same direction in public. At Apple's earnings announcement on November 2 (local time), his first since taking office, he said Siri AI is the assistant Apple has always wanted to build, and that its architecture leaves room to add agentic capabilities over time.
Federighi, by contrast, has a reputation for skepticism toward AI, citing concerns over privacy, security, and the impact on jobs. He is also the executive who took over Siri's development after John Giannandrea stepped down as head of AI.
The change users can get their hands on right away is iOS 27.3. Siri AI, released with iOS 27 on September 14, handles composing emails and texts, setting reminders, and looking up information on the web. The iOS 27.3 beta adds new Siri AI actions available across 15 Apple apps, with a full rollout planned for December.
Apple has not officially announced an autonomous Siri agent, nor disclosed a release date. Gurman pointed to iOS 28 as the next major software milestone, though he noted it has not been confirmed that agentic Siri will be included in iOS 28.
