How generative AI could fix Siri, Alexa, and hopefully Google Assistant, too

Apple's updated Siri, powered by Apple Intelligence, will possess several new skills that aim to improve user interaction. These include:

1. Contextual understanding: The new Siri will be able to understand and maintain the context of a conversation, allowing for more natural interactions. Users will no longer need to repeat information in subsequent requests.

2. On-screen awareness: Siri will have the ability to understand and interact with the content displayed on the screen. This will allow users to give commands related to the information currently being viewed, such as adding a new address received in Messages to a contact card6.

3. Improved language comprehension: Siri will be better at understanding and processing spoken language, making interactions more seamless and efficient. Users will be able to speak more naturally, and Siri will be able to handle complex requests more effectively.

4. Integration with apps: Siri will be able to take hundreds of new actions in and across apps, thanks to the App Intents API. This will allow for deeper integration with both first-party and third-party applications, enabling users to perform tasks within apps using voice commands.

5. Access to personal data: Siri will have access to personal data like photos, calendar events, files, and messages to provide more context-aware assistance. This will allow users to ask questions like, "What's the weather like in the location of my next meeting?" and receive accurate, personalized responses.

6. Integration with OpenAI's ChatGPT: If Siri is unable to answer a question or perform a task, it will be able to connect to OpenAI's ChatGPT model for additional support. This integration will provide users with access to a vast knowledge base and the ability to ask questions or seek assistance on a wide range of topics.

These new skills will make Siri more helpful and intuitive, allowing users to interact with their devices more efficiently and effortlessly. By incorporating generative AI and focusing on contextual awareness, Apple aims to transform Siri into a truly intelligent and indispensable personal assistant.

The new Siri, powered by generative AI, will bring significant improvements in handling commands compared to the current version3. Some of the key differences include:

1. Contextual Understanding: The new Siri will be able to understand and maintain the context of a conversation, allowing users to ask follow-up questions or give follow-up commands without needing to restate the context.

2. Conversational Interaction: Siri will be more conversational, allowing users to communicate in a more natural and less rigid manner. This means users won't need to phrase commands precisely, and Siri will be able to understand and respond effectively even if the user's speech is less structured.

3. Personalized Responses: With improved language understanding and an awareness of personal context, the new Siri will be able to provide more personalized and relevant responses based on the user's habits, preferences, and information available on their device.

4. In-App Actions: Apple Intelligence, the company’s new privacy-focused personal intelligence system, will allow Siri to control actions in apps on behalf of users. This will enable Siri to perform complex tasks entirely over voice commands.

5. On-device Processing: To ensure privacy, a healthy share of Siri's AI capabilities will be handled on-device, meaning that your data never leaves your phone for cloud processing.

6. Integration with ChatGPT: For tasks that Siri can't accomplish, it will be able to tap into ChatGPT's expertise. Users will be asked for approval before Siri utilizes ChatGPT to complete a request, and the information will be presented directly on the device screen.

In summary, the new Siri will be more conversational, understand context better, and be able to take action across apps on your phone, providing a more seamless and efficient user experience.