Highlights

• Apple has appointed Kim Vorrath to improve Siri and its AI capabilities.
• The company is moving her to the AI and machine learning division under John Giannandrea.
• Vorrath has played significant roles in Apple’s past projects including the original iPhone software team and the Apple Vision Pro.
• The AI-enhanced version of Siri is expected to launch with iOS 18.4.

Apple is taking steps to improve Siri and its AI capabilities, which currently lag behind competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic. Unlike its rivals, Apple doesn’t yet have a chatbot, and its AI features still need significant development. The Cupertino giant has brought in an experienced internal software leader to address this and guide its AI strategy in a better direction.

In his recent report, Bloomerg’s trusted Apple reporter Mark Gurman states, “Apple Inc. executive Kim Vorrath, a company veteran known for fixing troubled products and bringing major projects to market, has a new job: whipping artificial intelligence and Siri into shape.”

Introducing the new leadership, Gurman further added, “Vorrath, a vice president in charge of program management, was moved to Apple’s artificial intelligence and machine learning division this week, according to people with knowledge of the matter. She’ll be a top deputy to AI chief John Giannandrea, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the change hasn’t been announced publicly.”

According to Mark Gurman, this leader played a crucial role in bringing the Apple Vision Pro to market. Before that, they contributed to the original iPhone software team and previously advised the group to report to John Giannandrea, Apple’s head of machine learning and AI strategy.

He adds, “Prior to joining Giannandrea’s organization, Vorrath had spent several weeks advising Kelsey Peterson, the group’s previous head of program management. Peterson will now report to Vorrath — as will two other AI executives, Cindy Lin and Marc Schonbrun. Giannandrea, who joined Apple from Google in 2018, disclosed the changes in a memo sent to staffers.”

One of Apple’s biggest AI challenges is Siri. At its developer conference in June 2024, the company showcased an AI-enhanced version of Siri with iOS 18, but it’s yet to be fully released. The updated Siri is expected to arrive in beta with iOS 18.4, following the public rollout of iOS 18.3 in the coming days.

On what to expect from the new Siri when it gets the Apple Intelligence upgrade, the report highlights, “With onscreen awareness, Siri will be able to understand and take action with users’ content in more apps over time. For example, if a friend texts a user their new address in Messages, the receiver can say, “Add this address to his contact card.”

“With Apple Intelligence, Siri will be able to take hundreds of new actions in and across Apple and third-party apps. For example, a user could say, “Bring up that article about cicadas from my Reading List,” or “Send the photos from the barbecue on Saturday to Malia,” and Siri will take care of it.”

“Siri will be able to deliver intelligence that’s tailored to the user and their on-device information. For example, a user can say, “Play that podcast that Jamie recommended,” and Siri will locate and play the episode, without the user having to remember whether it was mentioned in a text or an email. Or they could ask, “When is Mom’s flight landing?” and Siri will find the flight details and cross-reference them with real-time flight tracking to give an arrival time.”

iOS 18.3 itself highlights some of Apple’s struggles with AI. For example, the company has temporarily disabled notification summaries for news and entertainment alerts due to repeated inaccuracies that misled users. Other summaries will now appear in italicised text to differentiate them from the original notifications.

FAQS

Q1. Who has Apple appointed to improve Siri and its AI capabilities?

Answer. Apple has appointed Kim Vorrath, a company veteran known for fixing troubled products and bringing major projects to market, to improve Siri and its AI capabilities.

Q2. What roles has Kim Vorrath played in Apple’s past projects?

Answer. Kim Vorrath has played significant roles in Apple’s past projects, including the original iPhone software team and the Apple Vision Pro.

Q3. When is the AI-enhanced version of Siri expected to launch?

Answer. The AI-enhanced version of Siri is expected to arrive in beta with iOS 18.4, following the public rollout of iOS 18.3 in the coming days.