Apple has unveiled a groundbreaking enhancement to its digital assistant, Siri, with the integration of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in the upcoming iOS 18, iPadOS 18, and macOS Sequoia. This significant update makes Siri smarter, more intuitive, and significantly more useful in everyday tasks.
Key new features include system-wide Writing Tools powered by ChatGPT, on-screen awareness for Siri, and advanced privacy measures to ensure user data security.
One of the standout features of this update is Siri’s ability to access ChatGPT directly. Siri will now be able to determine if a query would benefit from ChatGPT’s advanced language and image understanding capabilities. When appropriate, Siri will ask the user for permission to forward the query to ChatGPT, ensuring a seamless experience without needing to switch between different tools.
This integration allows users to ask Siri about a wide range of topics, including text, documents, photos, and PDFs. For instance, you can inquire about the details in a document or ask Siri to interpret an image, making the digital assistant far more versatile and effective.
In addition to Siri’s new capabilities, Apple is also introducing system-wide Writing Tools powered by ChatGPT. These tools, accessible through a new feature called Compose, will assist users in generating content for various writing needs. Whether you are drafting an email, writing a report, or creating a presentation, ChatGPT will be there to help. Moreover, users can use ChatGPT’s image generation tools to create visuals in various styles to complement their written content.
Apple has taken privacy seriously with this integration. Siri’s use of GPT-4o for leveraging ChatGPT’s capabilities will be free, requiring no account creation. Furthermore, user requests are not logged, and IP addresses are obscured, ensuring that user privacy is maintained.
For those subscribed to ChatGPT, the integration will also provide access to premium features, enhancing the user experience even further.
Apple’s AI enhancements, collectively branded as “Apple Intelligence,” aim to make Siri not only smarter but also more personalized and productive. This initiative goes beyond just integrating ChatGPT. Over the next year, Siri will gain on-screen awareness, allowing users to control apps and perform complex tasks entirely through voice commands. This functionality includes retrieving specific information from emails, locating and utilizing information from images, and maintaining context across multiple interactions.
