Siri AI Opens to Every App: iOS 27.3 Developer Preview, Timeline, Limits and How It Works

Siri AI can finally work inside apps that are not made by Apple. With the iOS 27.3, iPadOS 27.3, macOS 27.3 and visionOS 27.3 betas, Apple opened a Siri AI Developer Preview to every developer on 3 November 2026.

That means you will soon be able to say “change my ride pickup to the office” or “are the sneakers I liked on sale?” and have Siri act in a third-party app.

Then on 8 November, Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reported that Apple wants Siri to become “more like an agent” as early as next year.

This guide explains what changes for iPhone and Mac users, the timeline, the limits (EU, languages, daily caps), how developers add support with tool intents and SKILL.md skills, and how it compares with Gemini on Android.

What Apple Actually Opened

Siri AI arrived with iOS 27 in September 2026, but it could only act in third-party apps through a small set of predefined app schema domains (about 13, per PPC Land). Apps outside those categories were left out.

The Developer Preview removes that wall. Any developer can now turn custom app actions into tools that Siri can call, and make custom content findable, with no new entitlement needed.

The four building blocks

• Tool intents: a @AppIntent(.tool) macro makes an existing app action callable by Siri.
• Spotlight entities: Siri can find any entity in the Spotlight semantic index, not only ones that fit a schema.
• App skills: Markdown SKILL.md files that teach Siri how to chain several actions.
• Testing tools: a Siri Integration Advisor in Xcode and a new SiriEvaluations framework.

Siri AI also brings its existing abilities to these apps: personal context, onscreen awareness and natural language, so you do not need exact command phrases.

What You Will Be Able to Ask Siri

Apple’s documentation gives three types of request, each with its own rule about when you must name the app.

Other examples from Apple include checking a delivery, booking a reservation, placing an order and finding a flight: “find me an economy class flight from San Francisco to Los Angeles next Friday in [airline app].”

Apple’s own apps already work

Siri AI already acts inside these Apple apps, per iPhone in Canada’s summary of Apple’s note: Calendar, Files, Finder, Journal, Mail, Maps, Messages, Music, Notes, Photos, Preview, Reminders, Safari, Shortcuts and Weather.

The iOS 27.3 beta also adds new Siri abilities in Calendar, Music, Messages, Reminders and Weather, and Siri AI actions in Safari, according to Macworld.

Timeline: Beta, Customers, App Store

Note: iOS 27.3 shipping does not mean third-party apps will work with Siri AI on day one. Apple has not said the two will land together, and App Store submission only opens in spring.

For what Siri AI already does today, see my iOS 27 Apple Intelligence guide and the iOS 27.2 Siri update.

Who Gets It: Devices, Languages, EU and Fees

• Devices: an Apple Intelligence-capable iPhone, iPad, Mac or Vision Pro. On Mac, see Apple Intelligence on Mac for the supported models.
• Languages now: English, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish.
• Coming soon: Traditional Chinese, Norwegian, Turkish and Vietnamese.
• EU: Siri AI is not available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS and watchOS. Apple says it is working with the EU on a path forward.
• China: 27.3 brings basic Apple Intelligence features there, but not Siri AI (Macworld).
• Age: not available to users under 13.
• Usage caps: server-side features, including Siri AI, have daily limits. Apple has not published the numbers.
• Fees: “expanded access” will cost a fee in the future. At WWDC Apple said higher iCloud+ tiers will include more access; no prices yet.

Warning: when you hit a daily limit, the feature comes back after a time-out period, per Apple’s fine print. Heavy Siri users may notice this once apps start using it for multi-step tasks.

How to Try It Today

Right now the new app actions only work in apps a developer builds and installs on their own device, or shares with internal TestFlight testers. Regular App Store apps and external TestFlight testers do not get it yet.

So for most people, installing the beta only shows Apple’s own app improvements. If you are a developer, or want to see the new Siri in Apple’s apps, here is how.

1. Back up your device. Betas can have bugs and battery issues.
2. Sign up. Developers register a free account at developer.apple.com; others join the public beta at beta.apple.com once 27.3 appears there.
3. Open Settings > General > Software Update > Beta Updates and choose the iOS 27 Developer Beta (or Public Beta).
4. Install iOS 27.3 beta, then make sure Apple Intelligence is on and your device and Siri use a supported language.
5. Developers: build your app in Xcode, sign it with a development profile and run it on the device (not the Simulator).

How Developers Add Siri AI Support

Apple’s guide, “Bringing custom actions and content to Siri”, boils down to five jobs. Siri can only use actions and content that you expose explicitly.

1. Mark actions as tools. Add @AppIntent(.tool) to the intents you want Siri to call. It adds conformance to the ToolIntent protocol.
2. Describe everything. Give each intent and each parameter a clear title and description; Siri uses them to choose and fill intents.
3. Index your content. Make app entities available to Spotlight, or provide an EnumerableEntityQuery.
4. Add onscreen context and donations. Link views to entities so people can say “this”, and donate intents when users perform actions.
5. Make data transferable. Conform custom entities to Transferable so Siri can pass them to other apps.

A minimal tool intent

This is Apple’s own shopping-cart example, trimmed slightly:

@AppIntent(.tool)
struct AddToCart: AppIntent {
    static let title: LocalizedStringResource = "Add to Cart"
    static let description = IntentDescription(
        LocalizedStringResource("Adds a product to the shopping cart.")
    )

    @Parameter(title: "Item", description: LocalizedStringResource("The product to add"))
    var item: ProductEntity

    @Parameter(title: "Quantity", description: LocalizedStringResource("How many to add"), default: 1)
    var quantity: Int

    func perform() async throws -> some IntentResult {
        try await Cart.shared.add(item, quantity: quantity)
        return .result()
    }
}

Rules that trip people up

• Already using a Siri schema? Do not add .tool; the schema already exposes it (for example sendMessage).
• Shortcuts-only schema? Switch to @AppIntent(.tool, schema: .journal.createEntry) style.
• No real action? A WidgetConfigurationIntent without perform() cannot be a tool.
• Let Siri build entities: @AppEntity(.generable) on a TransientAppEntity lets Siri fill fields like origin, destination and date from the request.

To test, use App Intents Testing, the Shortcuts app, Spotlight and Siri, plus the Integration Advisor and SiriEvaluations. PPC Land notes Apple warns that Siri’s answers can vary between runs.

App Skills: SKILL.md for Siri

A single tool intent does one thing. For multi-step tasks like “search, add to cart, choose delivery, confirm”, Apple lets you ship app skills: plain Markdown guidance that Siri reads when a request matches.

They use a subset of the open Agent Skills format, the same SKILL.md idea used by Claude. If you have built one before, my Claude Skills guide will feel very familiar.

How to add one in Xcode

1. File > New > File from Template, then choose Skills Bundle under Resource.
2. Keep the name Skills and select your app target. Only one .skillsbundle per target is allowed.
3. Add a folder per skill inside Skills/ (lowercase letters, numbers and hyphens), each holding only a SKILL.md.
4. Build and test on a real device, trying several wordings of each request.

Skills.skillsbundle/
└── Skills/
    └── flight-add/
        └── SKILL.md

Tip: refer to tools by what they do (“call the get weather tool first”), not by Swift names. Apple also says skills are guidance, not scripts: Siri will not run the listed steps in a fixed order.

Privacy and Sensitive Data

By default, Siri can show entity details without asking you to unlock. Apple gives developers three controls to change that.

• Whole entity: set a static authenticationPolicy, such as .requiresAuthentication.
• Single property: pass a policy to @Property, for example a bank balance with .requiresLocalDeviceAuthentication.
• Hidden from Siri: mark a property visibility: .internal so Siri, Shortcuts and system features never read it.

For users, the iOS 27.2 Excluded Apps switch still lets you keep chosen apps away from Siri’s personal context. Check it once apps start adding support.

Siri AI vs Gemini on Android and Other Agents

The difference is approach. Apple’s route is structured: apps declare exactly what Siri may do. Google pairs a similar AppFunctions API with screen-level UI automation, and the always-on agents work more freely in the background.

The Gurman Report: An Agentic Siri in 2027?

In his 8 November Power On newsletter, Gurman wrote that “the company could make Siri more like an agent as early as next year,” and that “Apple ultimately wants to go in this direction.”

• Today: Siri AI is personal and smarter than classic Siri, but not proactive or always-on.
• The goal: agents that keep track of goals and decide next steps, like Dots, Muse and Grok.
• Internal push: Gurman reports CEO John Ternus told Craig Federighi to “accelerate” the software roadmap.
• Process change: for iOS 28, engineers get six weeks of coding plus two weeks of integration instead of two four-week stages.

Note: this is reporting, not an Apple announcement. Apple has not named a version or date for an agentic Siri.

Troubleshooting

Siri ignores my custom intent

Check that it has @AppIntent(.tool), a clear title and description, and described parameters. If the app is in the background, include the app name in the request.

Testers say nothing works

Siri AI Developer Preview features only work for internal TestFlight testers and development builds. External testers and App Store users will not see them yet.

My skill never triggers

Make sure the bundle is in the target’s Copy Bundle Resources phase, the name matches the folder, and the build shows no skills errors. Then make the description more specific.

Siri AI is missing completely

Check that Apple Intelligence is on, your device and Siri language are supported, you are not in the EU on iPhone or iPad, and the account is not for someone under 13.

My Take

This is the piece Siri has been missing since 2024. A smart assistant that cannot touch your delivery, ride or shopping apps is just a chatbot; tool intents fix that in a way that keeps developers in control.

I like that Apple borrowed the SKILL.md format instead of inventing a new one. Developers who already write skills for Claude can reuse the habit, and that should speed up adoption.

The catch is timing. With App Store submission in spring, ordinary users may not see many third-party apps working before early-to-mid 2027, and EU users are still left out.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can Siri control third-party apps now?

Only in developer test builds on iOS 27.3 beta. Apple says customers get it “in a few months” and apps can be submitted to the App Store in spring.

Which apps work with Siri AI right now?

Apple’s own apps such as Calendar, Mail, Maps, Messages, Notes, Photos, Reminders, Safari and Weather. Apps that used existing Siri schemas also work.

Is Siri AI available in the EU?

Not on iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch. Apple says it is working with the EU on a path forward.

Will Siri AI cost money?

Basic use is included, but server-side features have daily limits and Apple says expanded access will cost a fee later. No price has been announced.

What is a Siri app skill?

A SKILL.md Markdown file inside an app that explains to Siri how to combine several actions for a complex task. It follows a subset of the Agent Skills format.

Do I need a paid developer account to test it?

A free Apple Developer account gets you the beta and on-device builds. Internal TestFlight distribution needs a paid Apple Developer Program membership.

Is Apple making Siri an AI agent?

Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman reports Apple could make Siri “more like an agent” as early as 2027. Apple has not confirmed it.

Sources

• Apple Developer News: Siri AI is now open to all developers (3 Nov 2026)
• Apple: Siri AI Developer Preview documentation
• Apple: Bringing custom actions and content to Siri
• Apple: Orchestrating complex actions with app skills
• Macworld: With iOS 27.3, the Siri AI floodgates are about to open
• PPC Land: Apple opens Siri AI to all developers
• MacRumors: Siri AI rumored to become more agentic (8 Nov 2026)
• 9to5Mac: Apple aiming to make Siri more like an agent
• MacRumors: Siri AI daily usage limits
• 9to5Google: Android AppFunctions and Gemini