Apple is accelerating Siri's transformation into a functional AI agent capable of controlling third-party applications and executing multi-step tasks, a strategic move that signals the company recognizes its competitive lag against OpenAI, Meta, and other rivals offering more sophisticated agentic capabilities.
CEO John Ternus is pressing AI czar Craig Federighi to expedite development. Federighi has delivered a working version in a short timeframe, but the company acknowledges the current implementation does not match competitors like OpenAI's and Meta's offerings.
Two rollouts are planned. The first will give Siri fine-grained control over Apple's own apps—rotating and cropping images in Photos, organizing tabs in Safari—anticipated for iOS 27.3. The second phase will unlock third-party app integration, expected later in spring, allowing Siri to place orders through Grubhub or book reservations via OpenTable directly.
Competitors already demonstrate this autonomy. Apple is targeting similar capabilities as early as next year.
The strategic logic is clear: deeper third-party integration increases hardware and services stickiness while opening new revenue models through enhanced app engagement and potential platform fees. For a company whose services margin has plateaued and whose hardware growth has stalled, agentic Siri becomes a lever to deepen customer lock-in and justify premium pricing in a market where AI is rapidly commoditizing.
