Apple CEO pushes Siri overhaul to compete with OpenAI and Meta agents

The push for agentic AI

Apple CEO John Ternus is reportedly applying intense pressure on software chief Craig Federighi to overhaul Siri. The objective is to transform the voice assistant into a full-fledged agentic assistant that can compete directly with rivals like OpenAI and Meta. While Federighi's team recently delivered a functional version of Siri AI on a very tight timeline, executives admit the current version is not enough.

The company is currently falling behind in the race to build powerful AI agents. These are systems capable of autonomously handling complex, multi-step tasks across various apps and services without constant human intervention. Apple is now scrambling to catch up in a landscape where competitors are already deploying these capabilities to millions of users.

This internal urgency marks a rare admission of vulnerability for a company that usually sets the industry pace. The pressure suggests that Apple views the transition to agentic AI as an existential requirement. They need to move beyond incremental improvements to provide a tool that can actually stand alongside the best offerings in the market.

Upcoming Siri capabilities

Two significant capability upgrades are expected to arrive for Siri in the coming months. The first wave will provide the assistant with granular control over Apple's native applications. This includes the ability to perform specific actions like rotating and cropping images in the Photos app or organizing Safari tabs by topic.

Users will also see Siri take on more complex workflows within the Mail app without needing constant prompting from the owner. The second wave of improvements will push even deeper into the territory of automation. While the specific details of these deeper features remain under wraps, the goal is to make the assistant genuinely useful for saving time.

These updates are designed to move Siri away from simple voice commands toward a more proactive experience. The company wants the assistant to anticipate user needs and coordinate workflows across different services. This shift is necessary to keep users within the Apple ecosystem as other platforms offer similar autonomous features.

The architectural challenge

Apple faces a significant technical hurdle in building these agents while maintaining its brand identity. The company built its reputation on tightly controlled, privacy-first experiences. However, modern AI agents typically require access to vast amounts of user data and deep cross-app coordination to function effectively.

Federighi's team is essentially trying to perform a technical high-wire act. They must build a competitive agent that can navigate the entire device while adhering to Apple's strict privacy guardrails. This balance is proving to be much harder than the company initially anticipated during the development process.

The difficulty is compounded by the fact that software and AI are moving at a much faster pace than hardware. Apple's traditional playbook of waiting to perfect a product before shipping may no longer work. They are now in a position where they must deliver transformative capabilities quickly to keep up with quarterly releases from their competitors.

The competitive landscape

The urgency at Apple is driven by the rapid success of competitors like OpenAI and Meta. OpenAI's Dots agent can already manage sophisticated tasks like booking travel and coordinating schedules with minimal human input. Meanwhile, Meta has been aggressively rolling out its Muse agent across its family of apps to billions of users.

Apple risks becoming a second-class citizen in the AI ecosystem if it cannot provide a comparable experience. If third-party developers begin optimizing their apps for OpenAI and Meta agents first, Apple could lose its influence. The company needs Siri to be genuinely useful to ensure that developers continue to prioritize Apple Intelligence first.

The landscape is also fragmenting quickly as other tech giants join the fray. For example, Amazon recently launched a text-to-shop Alexa feature after blocking Meta's Muse from its platform. This rapid movement shows how quickly the agentic landscape is evolving and how much pressure is on Apple to secure its position.

What comes next for Siri

The coming months will be a critical period to see if Apple's internal pressure results in external progress. The company has already shown a willingness to partner with rivals when its own technology lags, such as integrating ChatGPT support into its HomeView smart hub. However, relying on third parties for core functionality remains a risk for Apple's ecosystem lock-in.

The ultimate goal is to deliver a tool that feels native and polished while offering the power of an autonomous agent. Users are looking for an assistant that can actually save them time by coordinating complex operations. If Apple can succeed, it will preserve its position as a leader in premium, private technology.

If the company fails to compress its development timeline enough, it may have to find new ways to remain relevant. The transition from a voice assistant to an agentic one is a fundamental shift in architecture. Whether Apple can achieve this while keeping its privacy standards is the primary question remaining for the industry.