At WWDC, Apple unveiled “Siri AI,” a revamp that moves beyond simple voice commands to become a full‑featured chatbot embedded in iOS 27. The public beta is now open to all iPhone owners, allowing them to test the new experience before the official rollout.

System‑wide Integration

According to Nabila Popal, senior research director at International Data Corporation, “Apple has woven Siri into every layer of the ecosystem, so you can summon it from anywhere on the device.” Users can now invoke Siri by swiping down to the search bar, typing a query, or speaking, making the assistant feel like part of the OS rather than an add‑on.

New Chatbot‑Style App

The freshly introduced app acts as an interaction log. It stores past conversations and lets you resume older threads. In Settings → Siri AI → Keep Conversations, you can choose to retain chats forever, for a year, or just 30 days. The beta currently lacks a persistent memory feature, so preferences such as “vegan” must be re‑stated each session.

Indexing and Contextual Answers

Siri AI leverages on‑device indexing to pull data from messages, calendar events, and app usage. In the developer beta, a progress bar labeled “Optimizing Search and Siri” shows the indexing status, which can take several days depending on storage and device model. Once indexed, Siri can, for example, combine a recent TikTok Shop order with a group‑chat discussion about a movie, delivering a unified response.

User Controls and Privacy

Users retain the option to disable Siri entirely. Under Settings → Siri AI → App Access, each app’s “Learn from this App” toggle can be switched off, preventing Siri from using that app’s data for suggestions. By default, these toggles are enabled to maximize AI usefulness.

Before installing the public beta, backing up the device is essential, as beta software may introduce instability. The author experienced no issues on an iPhone 16 Pro Max, but caution is advised.