Siri AI is good.
I’ve been hesitant to say as much over the past weeks of testing because, for 15 years, I’ve had Siri disabled on my iPhone. When the digital assistant debuted on the iPhone 4S, I was working at an Apple retail store in Chicago and remember seeing Siri’s potential. I envisioned being like Spock from Star Trek and asking my iPhone questions, ordering it to do tasks or finding creative shortcuts to make my life easier.
Year after year, basic functions worked, to a point, but Siri’s full potential never materialized. Every so often, when Apple would make an improvement or add more capabilities, I’d turn Siri back on, only to be disappointed, then disable it again.
Siri AI is different.
It’s a lot more like that computer from Star Trek, but in 2026, that’s not nearly as impressive as it would have been in 2011, because other AI assistants like Gemini already have similar abilities. Siri AI’s special sauce is that it has access (once you opt-in) to your iPhone’s email, photos, calendars, texts, notes and more. It’s also able to answer questions that you’d normally search for on the internet or ask about with another AI service.
In my testing, Siri AI excels at finding info, whether it’s buried in a text thread or in a food pic (it can tell me a food’s nutritional value from a photo). It’s gifted at taking action on my behalf, like rescheduling an event without opening my calendar, or pulling up one of the 13,742 pictures in my Photos app (don’t judge me) when I ask. And whereas the old version of Siri would show web results for a topic, the new Siri explains and offers insight.
When I asked Siri whether lettuce was safe to eat, it said yes, but warned of a parasitic outbreak linked to lettuce in the US. I asked what happens if I got sick. “While I’m not a doctor,” started Siri’s reply, “the most common sign is frequent, watery diarrhea.” So yeah, I’m not planning to buy lettuce anytime soon.
These very personal touches make Siri AI shine, especially compared with its prior obtuseness. I should note that I’ve been using an early version of Apple’s improved assistant as part of the iOS 27 beta software preview. Siri AI will be released this fall, along with iOS 27.
Read more: Win a New Apple Watch in CNET Big Guessing Game Contest
Siri AI gets personal
Siri found a couple of images (out of thousands) in my Photos app from a couple of years ago when I was in Paris. C’est bien!
New Siri can do a lot, especially if what needs to be done or what you’re looking for involves an Apple app. Here are a handful of my prompts and questions over the past month.
How many steps have I taken today? Siri showed the step count from the Health app.
Move my appointment to another day. This worked like a charm, and I even messed up the day when making the prompt, and Siri was able to understand and follow along.
Show a photo of me in Paris. Siri found and displayed two images of a trip I took to Paris in 2024.
Show a photo of me in Japan. This was a trick question because I’ve never been. But Siri showed a couple of photos of me at a sake bar at the Japan Center here in San Francisco and noted that it couldn’t find any from Japan. This response really impressed me because of its nuance.
Siri AI is capable of replying with nuanced answer.
What gift should I buy my friend Mik? Siri suggested sneakers, like yellow Adidas Superstars with black stripes. Looks like Siri got the info from a combo of message threads and notes I have with Mik. I asked my friend if she’d be happy with such a gift, and she said yes. Siri also recommended cat treats, but Mik doesn’t have any cats. It is likely misunderstood that when Mik and I have had cat chats, they’re about my cats.
I feel sad. Can you show me some photos of mine to cheer me up? Siri: “I’m sorry you’re feeling sad. Sometimes looking back at good memories can help.” It then opened a preview of the Memories section in my Photos app.
As long as it’s in an Apple app, such as Messages, Photos, Calendar, Mail or Notes, Siri can find it. In fact, after opting in to use Siri AI, my phone spent a couple of days indexing all of its data, which is a bit like doing the inventory at a grocery store. Apple said that the indexing was because this was the developer beta. The more my phone indexed, the more Siri could find and do.
If what you’re looking for is in a third-party app, like Gmail, WhatsApp or Google Photos, Siri can’t access it. At least not yet. Third-party app developers can add Siri AI support to their apps, so hopefully companies like Google, Meta and others will do that in time.
Watch this: iOS 27 Has Us Excited for Siri, Again
Siri AI follow-up questions
Perhaps one of Siri AI’s best attributes is its ability to understand follow-up questions and prompts. While it doesn’t hit Gemini Live-levels of conversation — where questions and answers feel like dialogue — I’ve had some deep and insightful back-and-forths when pushing for more from Siri.
When is my dinner at Lianna’s? It said Sunday night. My guess is that it found an event on my calendar with her last name (I have a contact card for her, too). When I asked Siri what I should bring, it recommended that I reach out to Lianna. When I asked Siri what it would bring to a dinner party, it said wine, dessert or candles. And when I replied that Siri seemed like a romantic at heart, it said, “I don’t really have feelings the way a person does. I’m just here to help you get things done.”
How much RAM does my phone have? For some reason, Apple doesn’t share how much RAM its phones have, and Siri is towing the company’s line. Siri pointed me to the Settings app to find the exact model I had (not sure why it couldn’t tell me) and then recommended that I search online for details about the RAM. I pushed back and asked Siri to do the search for me, and it said that my iPhone 17 Pro Max has 12GB of RAM, citing Wikipedia. Why can’t it just tell me how much RAM my phone has without looking online?!
Siri’s world knowledge
Here’s the scoreboard graphic Siri surfaced when I asked about a World Cup game.
Whereas Siri prioritizes local on-device searches, there are questions for which it needs to go online to find the answer. These prompts are securely sent to Apple’s Private Cloud Compute for encryption before Apple’s Foundation Models on world knowledge. Here are some highlights from using Siri AI search. It does far more than “old” Siri, which would just display web result links in a list.
Is lettuce safe to eat? Siri said in general, yes, but warned about the ongoing cyclosporiasis outbreak in the US. And yes, it was hilarious hearing Siri say “explosive diarrhea.” Middle-school Patrick would have been proud. At the bottom of Siri’s responses is a tag icon and number that reads “Britannica +2” and when expanded shows source links to the CDC, Cleveland Clinic and Britannica.com.
Why do stars twinkle? Siri explained how stars don’t actually twinkle and how it’s a scientific phenomenon called atmospheric scintillation, linking to articles from Space.com, CalTech, ScienceNewsToday and Almanac.com.
What’s the score of the England/Argentina game? Siri showed a scoreboard with the final score (the game had just ended) and said that “England lost 1 to 2 in the FIFA World Cup Semifinals today.”
Who is Lynn Nottage? Siri: “Lynn Nottage is an American playwright and screenwriter who is the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice.” It cited Wikipedia among other sources. I asked follow-up questions about some of the plays she wrote and whether there were any current productions of her work. Siri pointed out that there were two, including one currently on Broadway, MJ The Musical. But it couldn’t show me a trailer or preview and suggested I try YouTube or the play’s official website, which has exclusive clips.
Where’s the best place to get coffee near me? It showed a preview from Apple Maps of two coffee shops nearby that were open. There’s a third that had just closed a little earlier that day, but Siri didn’t include it.
Siri AI wants you to verify important details
Like other AI assistants, Siri asks you to double-check the details of its responses.
Every reply from an online search has a disclaimer. “By the way, always verify important details. As an AI, I may make mistakes.” It’s not always those exact words, but something similar. And yes, like other AI assistants and online search tools, not everything presented is right.
In his preview of iOS 27, my colleague, CNET senior writer Zach McAuliffe, shares his frustrations with using Siri AI. When he asked, “What’s in the news?” Siri displayed events that were from the prior month. And while the response was accompanied by that “check the facts” disclaimer, McAuliffe wondered why he’d use Siri if he had to do his own research anyway.
Siri AI is everywhere
Siri isn’t a nutritionist but can give you a ballpark take on how nutritious your food is.
Apple smartly kept access to Siri as it was before while also integrating it in new ways. Most commonly, I’ve been activating it by long-pressing the power button to initiate a query. You can also use a trigger word/phrase, “Siri” or “hey, Siri.” Pulling down from the top of the screen also activates Siri, just as it previously brought up system search on the home screen. Navigating the Notifications shade, Control Center and Siri AI search all from the top of the phone is tricky, and I still don’t have it in my muscle memory.
The Camera app has a new Siri mode, which is a repackaged version of Visual Intelligence. In the Photos app, you’ll find an Ask Siri button if you swipe up on a photo. For photos of food, there’s a Look Up Nutrition button that opens a card estimating the food’s nutritional value. It doesn’t show a Nutritional Facts label with calories and macros, but rates the nutritional value from very low to very high.
Siri also shows up in Messages if it detects data. My pal Celso messaged me about getting a drink on Friday, and under the message was a tiny calendar icon, which, when tapped, created a calendar event based on the text.
The Shortcuts app also has Siri and can be used to create a new shortcut from a prompt. I haven’t explored this feature yet.
Siri AI, should you try it?
I’m glad I gave Siri a second chance (or third, or however many times over the past 15 years). Siri AI truly seems different, helpful and I’m excited to keep using it on my iPhone.
I can’t say that I was the most hardened anti-Siri person before now, but Siri AI is helpful enough that I’m keeping it enabled on my iPhone. I think most people should try Siri AI. I’m reminded of when I was a kid and learned about using keyboard shortcuts on a computer. I wondered why everyone just didn’t use them all the time. Turns out Siri AI’s advantages won’t ever be known unless my fellow anti-Siri peeps give it a try. There will be folks who quit Siri years ago and will be all the more content to keep the digital assistant out of their life.
McAuliffe thinks using it is more hassle than it’s worth for online searches. But CNET principal writer Vanessa Hand-Orellana, who’s testing Siri AI on her Apple Watch, says it’s a game changer.
“I won’t be going back to the old version anytime soon,” Hand-Orellana said. “This is the first time I’ve intentionally wanted to use Siri on my Apple Watch.”
But what does Siri AI have to say to those who might be hesitant to give it a try?
“If you were frustrated by older versions misunderstanding you or lacking context, the new Siri is designed to change that,” Siri replied. “Siri has been completely rebuilt to be more conversational, context-aware and capable.”
