Siri App Intents Explained: What Apps Can Now Do With Siri AI

By Jaspal Singh November 9, 2026 Updated: November 9, 2026

Siri App Intents in iOS 27 are how any app hands its actions and content to Siri AI, and Apple opened them to every developer on November 3, 2026, in the iOS 27.3 betas. The public launch comes later: App Store submissions open in spring 2027, so most iPhone owners won't see third-party Siri AI actions before then.

What Happened

On November 3, 2026, Apple posted a developer news item titled "Siri AI is now open to all developers". It says a new Developer Preview, starting with the iOS 27.3, iPadOS 27.3, macOS 27.3 and visionOS 27.3 betas, lets any developer integrate an app with Siri AI. The availability notes in the same post also list watchOS 27.3.

The route in is App Intents, the framework apps already use to expose actions to Shortcuts, Spotlight and the older Siri. Apple says apps can now bring their content and actions directly into Siri AI and use its newest abilities: personal context, onscreen awareness and natural language. Apple's own examples of what a custom action might do are checking a delivery, booking a reservation and placing an order.

Apple added two pieces alongside that. The first is skills, which let a developer teach Siri AI how to combine several actions into a single experience for complex requests. The second is that Siri AI can now surface any entity in the Spotlight semantic index, "not just the ones that fit an existing schema." According to 9to5Mac's report on app skills, earlier Siri AI integrations were limited to a much smaller set of supported schemas.

Apple also said it has started rolling these abilities into its own apps, including Calendar, Files, Finder, Journal, Mail, Maps, Messages, Music, Notes, Photos, Preview, Reminders, Safari, Shortcuts and Weather. Its examples are finding a coffee shop you visited last week, or archiving files that haven't been opened in over a year.

Five days later, on November 8, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman wrote in his Power On newsletter that Apple could make Siri "more like an agent" as early as next year. MacRumors' summary of the report says CEO John Ternus told software chief Craig Federighi in a closed-door meeting that Apple must "accelerate" its software roadmap. That part is reporting, not an Apple announcement, and Apple has not confirmed any timeline for it.

Why It Matters

Until now, the new Siri AI that shipped with iOS 27 mostly worked inside Apple's own apps and a limited set of third-party integrations. Apple's post notes that thousands of developers have already built Siri integrations for things like directions, to-do lists, messages and audiobooks. The preview widens that to any app that adopts App Intents.

For iPhone, iPad and Mac owners, that means a future where you can ask Siri AI, in your own words, to do something inside an airline, delivery, banking or note-taking app, without opening it and without memorising a fixed phrase. For developers, it is a new way to be found. Apple's own pitch is that "more customers can discover and use apps just by asking."

It also settles a question many developers have been asking since Apple Intelligence was first shown in 2024. Macworld's Jason Cross notes that App Intents integration with the new Siri was first promised back then, and that this preview is the first time developers have had real access to it.

How It Works

App Intents is a Swift framework. A developer describes each action the app can perform as an intent, with typed inputs, and describes the app's content (a flight, an order, a note, a playlist) as entities the system can find and pass around. Apple's App Intents documentation is the reference for the framework itself.

Siri AI then does three things with those building blocks:

Understands the request. You don't have to say the action's exact name. Siri AI uses natural language, what is on screen and your personal context to work out which app and which action you mean.
Finds the content. Because Siri AI can now surface any entity in the Spotlight semantic index, an app's own data types can be found even if they don't match one of Apple's predefined schemas.
Runs one action or a skill. A simple request maps to a single intent. A skill lets the developer tell Siri which intents to chain for a type of request, so one sentence can cover several steps.

9to5Mac gives two examples from Apple's material. In one, Siri finds a user's favourite sneakers in a shopping app and sends them to a partner through a messaging app, finding the partner in Contacts along the way. In the other, when a ride-sharing app has an active Live Activity, a request to "change the ride address" is understood as applying to that app, so you don't have to name it.

Apps have to opt in. Siri AI only gets the actions and content a developer chooses to expose through App Intents; it doesn't reach into an app's data on its own.

Siri intents vs App Intents

Two similar names cause confusion. "Siri intents" usually means SiriKit, Apple's older system, where an app handled a fixed set of request types through a separate Intents extension. App Intents arrived with iOS 16 in 2022 as a more flexible, code-first framework that also feeds Shortcuts, Spotlight and widgets. The November preview runs through App Intents, so that is the framework developers adopting Siri AI need to use.

Who can test it, and when

Right now, Macworld reports, developers can build intents and skills and test them in Xcode builds or with internal TestFlight testers. They can't ship these features in the App Store or test them with external TestFlight users yet. Apple's post says submission to the App Store "opens in the spring," and calls the preview early access "before first shipping to customers in a few months."

Apple lists other limits too. Siri AI needs an Apple Intelligence-enabled device set to a supported language: English, French, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese or Spanish for now, with Traditional Chinese, Norwegian, Turkish and Vietnamese to follow. It is not available to users under 13. It is currently unavailable in the EU on iOS, iPadOS and watchOS, and Apple says it is "working constructively" with the EU on a way forward. Features that use Apple's server-side models, including Siri AI, have daily usage limits, and Apple says expanded access will be offered for a fee in the future.

What's Still Unknown

The exact launch date. Apple says spring for App Store submissions and "a few months" for customers. It has not given a day, and the public release date of iOS 27.3 itself is not announced. Macworld expects 27.3 to reach the public in late November or early December, but that is an estimate, and Apple's post ties third-party Siri AI actions to the spring submission window.

The rules. Apple says it will "follow up with more details about the terms and usage policies" for experiences built on Siri AI. Until then, developers don't know what review guidelines or business terms will apply.

Usage limits and fees. Apple hasn't said how the daily limits on server-side features will affect third-party actions, or what paid expanded access will cost.

The agent question. Gurman's report says Apple wants Siri to act more like always-on agents such as OpenAI's Dots and Meta's Muse, which keep track of goals and work in the background. Today's Siri AI still waits for you to ask for each task. Whether App Intents and skills become the base for that, and when, is not something Apple has said.

The final API. Apple calls this a "sneak peek" and asks developers for feedback, so the way intents and skills behave could still change before the spring launch.

Frequently Asked Questions

When do Siri App Intents launch in 2026?

For developers, they launched on November 3, 2026, as a Developer Preview in the iOS 27.3, iPadOS 27.3, macOS 27.3 and visionOS 27.3 betas. For everyone else, the wait is longer. Apple says App Store submission of Siri AI integrations opens in the spring, so third-party Siri AI actions should reach customers in spring 2027 rather than this year.

Do Siri App Intents work in iOS 27?

Yes, but only in the iOS 27.3 beta for now. App Intents has existed since iOS 16 for Shortcuts and Spotlight, and the new Siri AI shipped with iOS 27. What's new in 27.3 is that any app's App Intents can be used by Siri AI. Developers can test it in Xcode builds or internal TestFlight, not yet in App Store releases.

What is the difference between Siri intents and App Intents?

Siri intents, or SiriKit, is Apple's older system, where apps handled a fixed list of request types through a separate Intents extension. App Intents, introduced with iOS 16, describes actions and content directly in Swift code and also powers Shortcuts, Spotlight and widgets. Apple's Siri AI preview is built on App Intents, so that is the framework to adopt now.

How does Siri AI work with apps?

Apps expose actions and content through App Intents. Siri AI reads your request in plain language, uses what's on screen and your personal context to pick the right app and action, and runs it. For complex requests, developers can write skills that chain several actions. Siri AI can also find any app entity in the Spotlight semantic index, not only ones matching Apple's schemas.

Is Siri safe on iPhone if apps connect to it?

Apps have to opt in, and Siri AI only gets the actions and content a developer exposes through App Intents. It doesn't read app data on its own. Apple hasn't published the terms and usage policies for Siri AI integrations yet, and Digital Trends, citing Gurman, says Ternus has acknowledged privacy and security concerns about giving Siri more autonomy. Check each app's permissions once support ships.

Can I use Siri AI app actions in the EU?

Not yet on iPhone, iPad or Apple Watch. Apple's November 3 post says Siri AI is currently unavailable in the EU on iOS, iPadOS and watchOS, and that it is working with the EU on a path forward. The post doesn't list macOS or visionOS among the EU exclusions. Siri AI also needs an Apple Intelligence device and a supported language.

What are Siri AI skills?

Skills are a new part of the preview that let a developer teach Siri AI how to combine several App Intents into one experience. A travel app, for example, could tell Siri which actions to use for a flight-tracking request. That lets a single sentence cover what would otherwise take several steps or several separate commands, with Siri handling the order.

Will Siri become an AI agent like ChatGPT Dots?

Possibly, but nothing is confirmed. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman reported on November 8 that Apple wants Siri to work more like always-on agents such as OpenAI's Dots and Meta's Muse, and that this could start as early as 2027. Apple hasn't announced it. Today's Siri AI acts when you ask; it doesn't track goals over days.