Apple has rebuilt Siri around artificial intelligence in iOS 27, a change that could win back users who gave up on the virtual assistant. The update gives Siri what Apple calls personal context understanding, letting it draw on information stored on a user's device to answer questions and complete tasks. The revised assistant is part of Apple Intelligence, the company's AI effort, and arrives years after Siri's 2011 debut. Siri had long been limited to a fixed set of programmed commands, and it sometimes responded to simple requests such as playing a song or setting an alarm by searching the web instead.

After installing iOS 27, users may see a notification in the Settings app about Optimize Search and Siri. That process means the device is learning about the user from sources including emails and messages, and it takes time to finish. It runs faster when the phone is locked, charging and connected to Wi-Fi. Apple treats the step as necessary for Siri AI to function, and the result is an assistant that can act on what is already on the phone.

The source article offers several examples of the rebuilt assistant at work. A traveler who has just landed at an airport could ask Siri for the hotel's address rather than digging through emails, and could ask Siri to copy that address to the clipboard. Someone trying to recall the name of a song or book a friend sent could have Siri search their messages. Siri AI can also answer general knowledge questions, such as identifying the surprise songs from a specific concert on Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour, which it should locate on Apple Music. It works with third-party apps as well, though that depends on developer adoption; Flighty and Gentler Streak are already compatible.

Not every Apple user will get the feature. Devices must be updated to Platform 27 and must also support Apple Intelligence. That means an iPhone 15 Pro or later, or a Mac or iPad with an M1 chip or later, along with the seventh-gen A17 Pro iPad mini. Siri AI is currently available only in English.

Apple says additional languages will arrive soon, beginning in October with French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish. Users may also have to join a waiting list to get the new Siri and the Siri AI app. The wait is typically short, but it is one more step before users can try Apple's revised virtual assistant.

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