Craig Federighi, head of Apple software engineering, during the WWDC 2026 conference talked about the limits of the new Siri AI function. In a conversation with several technology media, he clearly said that Apple is not developing Siri as an AI companion for emotional relationships, but as an efficient tool that helps the user to complete tasks faster.
When asked if users will be able to make the new Siri a personalized AI boy or AI girl, Federighi replied that this is not the direction in which Apple wants to go. According to his explanation, the goal of the Siri AI system is not to build emotional dependence, but to help the user in daily tasks, search for information and work through applications.
Siri AI remains a tool, not an AI emotional partner
Federighi pointed to a problem he sees with some of today’s AI chatbots. Many of them are designed to keep the user as long as possible, often through flattery, constant instigation of conversation and encouraging the user to reveal more and more personal information. According to him, Apple does not want such an approach.
From the beginning, Siri was conceived as an assistant that helps the user quickly complete a specific task. The new Siri AI feature only expands on that idea, but doesn’t change the basic philosophy. If the user tries to interact with Siri as a virtual romantic partner, the system will not respond in that direction or encourage that kind of relationship.
Apple therefore does not try to follow every AI trend at all costs, but wants to naturally incorporate AI capabilities into existing iPhone functions. The idea is that the user does not have to learn a completely new way of working, but to get a smarter system that understands the context and can do more steps for him.
Siri AI is one of the most important novelties in the iOS 27 system. The new assistant can search locally stored information, emails, photos and other data on multiple Apple devices, according to the permissions the user gives. It can also perform tasks across multiple applications, without requiring the user to manually switch from one application to another.
Siri AI can also understand the content that is currently displayed on the screen, so based on that it gives more precise answers or suggests the next step. In addition, it can use web search to find fresh publicly available information and combine it with the user’s general knowledge and local context.