Apple Leaders Push for Siri to Become a More Capable AI Agent
WHO:
Gizmodo - Craig Federighi has been considered an AI skeptic, with concerns about AI’s privacy, security, societal, and employment implications.
Gizmodo - Mike Rockwell is reportedly considering leaving his role as vice president of Siri engineering or leaving Apple; if he leaves, his Siri AI work could go to Amar Subramanya or Sebastien Marineau.
Gizmodo - Amar Subramanya, a Google veteran hired to strengthen Apple’s AI efforts, and Sebastien Marineau, a deputy to Federighi, were identified as possible successors for Rockwell’s Siri AI work.
Bloomberg - Apple CEO John Ternus is pressing software chief Craig Federighi to increase urgency in the company’s AI efforts.
Bloomberg - Apple wants to turn Siri into a “true AI agent.”
9to5Mac - Mark Gurman reported in his *Power On* newsletter on Apple’s plans for a more proactive Siri.
9to5Mac - The article describes Meta and SpaceXSI as companies developing agentic AI interfaces, and names Muse and Grok Bot as agents.
WHAT:
Gizmodo - At a closed-door meeting, Ternus pushed Federighi to accelerate Apple’s roadmap and move beyond necessary Siri improvements.
Gizmodo - Ternus described agentic AI capabilities as “promising” on an earnings call.
Bloomberg - Ternus is pushing Federighi to move beyond Siri AI tweaks toward agentic and other advanced capabilities.
9to5Mac - Apple shipped a personalized Siri with iOS 27; the article says the company met goals it had set in 2024.
9to5Mac - Siri still lacks the ability to proactively take actions for users.
9to5Mac - Apple could make Siri “more like an agent” as soon as next year, according to Gurman.
Mashable - A report says Siri will become more like an AI agent next year.
WHEN:
9to5Mac - Apple could introduce a proactive version of Siri as soon as “next year.”
9to5Mac - In the first iOS 28 development cycle, Apple allocated six weeks to coding, exploration, and feature development, followed by two weeks of convergence.
9to5Mac - Apple’s typical development stages are four weeks each.
WHY:
Gizmodo - Gurman’s anonymous sources said Ternus was “frustrated by what he sees as a reluctance to embrace AI with the same urgency as competitors.”
9to5Mac - Gurman said Apple wants to pursue agent-like capabilities amid consumer and market demand, writing that it “doesn’t have much of a choice.”
9to5Mac - The article says the development-process change was likely driven by advances in agentic coding tools.
HOW:
Gizmodo - Apple is adjusting development cycles for iOS 28 and other major operating-system updates to allow more time for coding, exploration, and feature development, and less time integrating changes into the operating systems.
9to5Mac - Agents such as Dots, Muse, and Grok can track goals, determine next steps, and pursue objectives without users initiating each step.
9to5Mac - Apple is changing its engineering pipeline to give engineers more time for coding and exploration and less time integrating features into the operating system.
9to5Mac - Employees said the six-week coding and exploration period gives them more time to develop and explore ideas before finalizing them.
9to5Mac - Apple’s App Intents framework could let Siri perform some tasks with less reliance on computer-use capabilities, which the article says could make those tasks less expensive.
(UPDATED November 9, 2026 16:00 UTC)
Apple CEO John Ternus is urging Craig Federighi to accelerate AI development and transform Siri into an agent. The assistant still cannot proactively act for users, but Apple may introduce that capability next year. Apple is also changing software development cycles, giving engineers more time to code and explore.
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(UPDATED November 9, 2026 11:57 UTC)
Apple CEO John Ternus is urging software chief Craig Federighi to accelerate AI efforts and move beyond Siri’s current capabilities. Apple wants Siri to become a proactive agent, taking actions for users rather than waiting for instructions. The company could introduce a more agent-like Siri as soon as next year.