Apple opens Siri AI to third-party apps in iOS 27.3 update

Apple began distributing an update to its operating system on Tuesday that grants Siri AI access to third-party applications. The changes arrived with the iOS 27.3 Developer Preview, a release that marks a major shift in how the voice assistant interacts with software outside the Apple ecosystem. Developers can now integrate the assistant into all their apps, enabling it to process natural language prompts and utilize on-screen awareness to complete user requests.

The company introduced a new feature called app skills in this update. These skills allow developers to bundle several tasks into a single command. According to Apple's developer documentation, users do not need to speak an app's name if that app is currently in the foreground, active in a Live Activity, or the subject of an ongoing conversation with Siri AI.

Apple provided a specific example of this workflow in its release notes. The company described a scenario where a user requests a ride through a ride-share application. The user can then track the driver via the app's Live Activity. When they need to modify the trip, they can simply tell Siri AI to change the pickup location to a new address. This capability builds on a smaller set of tools Apple previously made available to third-party builders.

The expanded capabilities apply to Apple's own software suite as well. The update covers Calendar, Files, Finder, Journal, Mail, Maps, Messages, Music, Notes, Photos, Preview, Reminders, Safari, Shortcuts, and Weather. Apple stated that users can ask Siri AI what it can do within each of these applications. The company cited examples such as finding a coffee shop a user visited last week or archiving files that have not been opened in over a year.