Key takeaways
- Bloomberg reports Apple wants to make Siri “more like an agent” as early as next year, an assistant that pursues goals without you starting every step.
- Rivals already have it: OpenAI’s Dots, Meta’s Muse and Grok Bot work on their own in the background.
- My view: five days ago, agents had to wait for security. Now Apple is rushing, and an agent Siri would hold the keys to our email, contacts and money.
Apple wants Siri to work “more like an agent” as early as next year, keeping track of goals and acting without the user starting every step, according to Bloomberg. OpenAI’s Dots, Meta’s Muse and Grok Bot already do this today.
In this article: Security first, then five days later · Apple didn’t lose the AI race in one week · “No choice” is not a strategy · An agent needs the keys to your life · What I’d need before turning it on · FAQ
Security first, then five days later
On November 3, on Apple’s earnings call, John Ternus said AI agents would have to wait, because Apple wants users to understand what they give access to, and security and privacy come first. I called it an excuse back then. Five days later, Bloomberg reports the opposite: Apple wants an agent Siri next year.
So what changed in five days? Not the security. The pressure. And this is why it matters to you: if a company’s “priority” lasts five days, how much is its next promise worth? I’m honestly sorry Apple doesn’t show us what happens inside, like a reality show. I’m sure we’d laugh until we fell on the floor. Ternus reminds me of another man who sits in the White House, says one thing and changes it a few days later.
Apple didn’t lose the AI race in one week
This didn’t start now. In 2024, Apple sold Apple Intelligence as “AI for the rest of us”. Then the personal Siri was delayed for almost two years. Meanwhile, OpenAI, Meta and xAI built agents that work on their own in the background. Were you living underground, Mr. Ternus? AI moved this fast, and Apple kept talking as if it could wait.
Now Apple sees the result: its gadgets are starting to lose their edge exactly because of the AI it played down. Competitors take the market, so suddenly everything is a rush. And the strangest part: the same CEO who wants speed just cut his engineers’ AI to $25 a day. You can’t ask for speed and take away the tools at the same time.
“No choice” is not a strategy
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman put it honestly: Apple “doesn’t have much of a choice”. For years, Apple was the company that decided what innovation looks like. Others copied. Today, the way I see it, every new gadget since the fall has brought a problem, from the iPhone Duo screens to a touch MacBook nobody asked for. A company that runs after others because it has no choice is not leading anymore. That’s why I give Apple three years at this pace.
An agent needs the keys to your life
Here is what most reports skip. An agent is not a smarter chat. To book, pay or answer for you, it needs access to your email, contacts, calendar and money. In one word, everything.
And Siri doesn’t even have its own AI brain. It runs on Google’s Gemini. Even the companies that build the strongest models, Anthropic, OpenAI and Google, admit they can’t fully predict what their AI will do. So how should a company that’s years behind keep that under control? If the agent works on servers, constantly in motion, one small mistake there can turn into a leak of our data. And when something goes wrong, Apple stays silent. We saw it with the spyware warnings, where Apple still won’t say who was behind them.
What I’d need before turning it on
Before I let any agent near my email or my money, I want three things: it runs on the iPhone itself as much as possible, it asks me before every payment or message, and Apple openly reports when something fails. Until then, I’m not turning it on. And my guess is it won’t be free anyway: Apple already charges $12.99 for AI it rents from someone else.
Also on Evolt News: Apple’s Camera AirPods Sound Like a Horror Movie. A Spy We’ll Pay For Ourselves · Gemini Is Now in CarPlay. Siri Already Runs on Google. Now Google Doesn’t Need Siri · Ternus Cut Apple’s AI to $25 a Day. Now He’s Frustrated? · Apple’s HomeView Sells Siri AI. Siri AI Is Still in Beta · Apple Locks AI Agents Out of Your Mac. Who Will Lock Out Siri?
Featured image: Amanz / Unsplash.
This article is opinion.
Siri as an AI agent: FAQ
Is Siri becoming an AI agent?
According to Bloomberg, Apple wants to make Siri “more like an agent” as early as next year. Apple hasn’t announced it.
What is an AI agent?
An assistant that keeps track of a goal, decides the next step and keeps working without the user starting every step.
Which AI agents already exist?
OpenAI’s Dots, Meta’s Muse and Grok Bot can handle tasks in the background.
What did Apple say about AI agents before?
On November 3, John Ternus said Apple wants users to understand what they give access to and to protect security and privacy first.
Does Siri use its own AI model?
Apple’s current Siri AI relies on Google’s Gemini models, run on Apple’s servers.
What would an agent Siri have access to?
To act for you, an agent would need access to apps and data such as email, contacts, calendar and payments.
I read this news on 9to5Mac.
Sources: Bloomberg, 9to5Mac, MacRumors.
Our Take
Five days ago, agents had to wait for security. Now Apple rushes, because it has no choice. That’s not a plan. That’s panic.
An agent Siri would hold the keys to our email, contacts and money. From a company years behind in AI that stays silent when things break, that scares me more than it excites me.
