In the world of virtual assistants, Apple’s Siri has fallen behind its competitors like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant due to its lack of contextual awareness and limitations in conversation flow. However, with the upcoming iOS 18 update, expected to be announced at Apple’s WWDC in June, significant changes are anticipated for Siri. The introduction of multimodal virtual assistants, with capabilities beyond text-based responses, is reshaping the landscape of AI chatbots. Companies like OpenAI and Google are showcasing advanced AI models that can interact in more humanlike ways, giving rise to concerns about privacy and voice copyright issues.
OpenAI recently unveiled its GPT-4o AI model, which can hold two-way conversations with humanlike nuance, leading to comparisons with the virtual assistant from the movie “Her.” Google also presented its Project Astra prototype, focusing on the future of AI assistants with multimodal capabilities. Apple, on the other hand, is exploring the potential of a multimodal AI assistant called Ferret, aimed at understanding and responding to tasks based on what’s displayed on the screen. Apple’s commitment to privacy may set it apart from competitors in the AI assistant space, offering a more private alternative with on-device processing.
In the race to create advanced virtual assistants, other companies like Elon Musk’s xAI and Amazon are also developing generative AI upgrades for their existing products. Apple’s Siri, while not yet equipped with multimodal capabilities, may potentially collaborate with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT, focusing on enhancing its existing functionalities rather than competing directly with cutting-edge AI models. As Apple prepares for its upcoming iOS 18 update, improvements to Siri are expected to include better understanding of complex questions and multistep tasks, leveraging large language models and generative AI technology.
Apple’s strategy of taking a slower, more deliberate approach to incorporating new technology means that Siri may not always be first to market, but seeks to provide the best user experience. With Siri expected to play catch-up in terms of AI advancements, the focus of iOS 18 will likely be on improving the voice assistant’s capabilities across various apps and features. By training Siri on large language models and incorporating generative AI technology, Apple aims to make Siri more context-aware and capable of handling sophisticated queries. As Siri evolves into a more intelligent digital helper, users can expect improvements in accuracy, sophistication, and the ability to perform multistep tasks more effectively.
