Apple Expands Siri AI to Third-Party Applications in iOS 27.3 Developer Preview

Apple has started allowing external developers to hook their software directly into Siri AI, granting the assistant the ability to run tasks across third-party applications using personal context and on-screen awareness. The integration tools launched on Tuesday as part of the iOS 27.3 Developer Preview, according to reporting by The Verge .

The framework expands Siri AI's reach across all app categories rather than limiting developers to narrow system intents. Under the updated developer guidelines, outside applications can tap into the voice assistant's natural language processing to complete requests informed by what a user is actively viewing on their screen or doing within the operating system.

A central component of the release is a capability Apple terms "app skills," which permits software creators to bundle multiple discrete operations into a single automated voice command. In its developer documentation, Apple stated that users will no longer need to explicitly state an application's name if the app is active in the foreground, displaying information through a Live Activity widget, or part of an active conversation with Siri AI.

Apple illustrated the mechanism with a ride-hailing scenario: a customer monitoring a booking via a Live Activity can prompt, "Hey Siri, change my ride pickup to a new address," without naming the underlying service. As noted in secondary coverage cited by The Verge, third-party developers previously had access to only a limited subset of assistant integrations.

Alongside external access, Apple is rolling out identical capabilities across its built-in applications, including Calendar, Files, Finder, Journal, Mail, Maps, Messages, Music, Notes, Photos, Preview, Reminders, Safari, Shortcuts, and Weather. The documentation highlights contextual historical queries, such as instructing the assistant to surface a coffee shop visited the previous week or archive local files left unopened for more than a year. Users can also ask Siri AI directly what actions it can execute inside any supported application.

Because the tools are currently restricted to the iOS 27.3 Developer Preview, broad user availability will depend on when third-party developers build and ship the new app skills ahead of Apple's eventual general operating system release.