Technologies
Siri Gets Smarter: Apple Taps Multiple Chatbots for AI Upgrade
As Apple continues reimagining Siri for today’s AI landscape, a Bloomberg report says it may be trying to include every chatbot on one platform.
Apple’s Siri is trying to make friends in the AI world. Apple is taking the unusual step of connecting Siri with multiple AI chatbots, including Google’s Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing unnamed Apple employees.
A representative from Apple didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
This isn’t the first time we’ve heard about Siri connecting with other AI systems to bolster its capabilities, as Apple continues to delay the revamped version of the voice assistant, now expected out in late 2026. At first, Apple partnered only with OpenAI for ChatGPT capabilities in 2024. Then we saw reports that Apple was turning to Google’s Gemini for similar capabilities.
Now, it looks like Apple is opening up Siri partnerships with all kinds of AI while maintaining its proprietary voice assistant. If you have a popular chatbot installed on your iPhone, Apple wants you to be able to use it in Siri.Â
Bloomberg says these multiple chat options will work via Extensions that let Siri users enable what connections they want Siri to have, including apps like supported chatbots. When talking to Siri, users would specify the chatbot they want to tap into to get extra information and services.
While we don’t know what AI models Apple would allow Siri to use, the company has a lot of chatbots in its App Store, including Meta AI, Grok and Microsoft’s Copilot. Amazon’s Alexa/Alexa Plus is there too, although I’m doubtful Amazon would let Apple leverage such a direct competitor to Siri at this time.Â
Why is Apple giving Siri so many chatbot connections?
This makes sense from Apple’s perspective. Chatbots can rise and fall from glory fast — look at how quickly OpenAI ditched video generator Sora this week. By including all of them, Apple doesn’t have to worry about which AI is the flavor of the month. If one suddenly falls out of favor or gets cancelled, Siri suffers minimal losses.
The move also means Apple can overcome or skip some of the challenges it’s had in developing its own Siri AI, including a standalone Siri app and more integrated versions of Siri for the smart home.Â
As Bloomberg points out, this could also be lucrative for Apple. To use their AI of choice in Siri, people would probably have to subscribe to the AI service through Apple’s own store, which means Apple gets a cut of the sale.Â
But there’s something else I’m curious about: How much will Siri’s abilities expand when it’s working with third-party chatbots? For example, I can use Alexa Plus to order an Uber or control my smart heater. Could I do the same with Siri if the two are connected? Or will Siri be able to deliver advice directly from any chatbot in its own voice? That could get awkward if the AI starts giving bad information or explicit content, as we’ve seen Grok do.Â
We’ll likely find out more on June 8, when Apple holds its Worldwide Developers Conference and discusses iOS 27. If you like Siri more than most voice assistants (we’ve found it’s especially popular with Gen Z), hold tight until then.Â
Technologies
Trump warns ‘we’re going to hit them hard’ after Iran targets U.S. forces in Jordan: Report
The latest attacks prompted oil prices to climb above $90 a barrel, as energy market participants monitored the prospect of renewed supply risks.
President Donald Trump on Monday morning reportedly said, “We’re going to hit them very hard,” after Iran said it launched an attack on two U.S. bases in Jordan in response to an American strike on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend.
“There will be a response,” Trump said on a call to Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst, according to Yingst.
The president also reportedly told Fox that U.S. air defense systems intercepted all but one of the missiles launched at the bases by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, and that the remaining missile was allowed to pass through after it was determined that it would not strike anything significant.
The Guard said the U.S. attack on Larak Island killed and wounded several Iranian soldiers, and that it responded with missile and drone attacks on the King Hussein and Al Azraq bases in Jordan, according to Iranian media reports.
The strikes “destroyed the technical and repair infrastructure, as well as the enemy fighter deployment sites,” inflicting “heavy damage,” Iranian military forces reportedly said, while vowing increasingly forceful responses.
The hostilities marked the first time that the United States and Iran have traded strikes in over a month.
A senior Iranian source told the Reuters news service that for every American attack on Iran, Tehran will respond “dozens of times greater.”
“No target in the region is beyond Tehran’s reach,” the source told Reuters.
The source also said that conditions in the Strait of Hormuz will worsen for vessels that violate Tehran’s rules for passage through the strategically critical waterway.
American forces hit two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island on Sunday after the U.S. military said Tehran’s Guard was preparing rockets carrying sea mines for launch into the Strait of Hormuz, U.S. Central Command confirmed to MS NOW.
“Earlier today U.S. forces struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps forces were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz,” Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a U.S. Central Command spokesperson, said in a statement to MS NOW.
“Last week, CENTCOM completed clearing sea mines from the strait’s international shipping routes. U.S. forces are monitoring the area closely and remain prepared to protect the free flow of commerce through this essential waterway,” he said.
Larak, a small Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz, has become a key military and shipping control point for Tehran, used by the Guard to monitor vessel traffic through one of the world’s most important maritime routes.
Sunday’s attack was the first publicly acknowledged U.S. strike on Iranian positions since late July.
The back-and-forth strikes come as the U.S. Defense Department on Monday announced that it had reached seven-year procurement contracts with General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin to increase production quantities and speed up delivery schedules for “critical subcomponents” for systems used to intercept ballistic missiles.
The systems are Terminal High Altitude Area Defense and Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement.
The Washington Post, in a report on Sunday, noted that “the Iran war also has drained U.S. supplies of Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptors — vital not only to the protection of American assets in the Middle East but to regional allies as well — and long-range Tomahawk missiles.”
“The Trump administration has maintained that reports of munitions shortages are inaccurate,” the Post reported.
The war has dragged on for six months and sharply disrupted vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy shipments.
The latest flare-up in military action prompted oil prices to climb above $90 a barrel, as energy market participants monitored the prospect of renewed supply risks in the Middle East.
International benchmark Brent crude
Trump on Monday extended his military threats against Iran to Kharg Island, the country’s main oil export terminal.
Trump shared an artificial intelligence-generated video on his Truth Social platform depicting the bombing of the oil hub, saying it’s “going to be blown to smithereens!”
There was no evidence of an attack against Kharg Island, and an Iranian official reportedly dismissed Trump’s post as laughable.
On Monday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said a supertanker had caught fire and was left disabled in the southern Strait of Hormuz after striking two naval mines, saying they were not complying with Iran’s rules for passage, according to Iranian media reports. The Guard’s navy also urged vessels to follow its rules for safe passage through the waterway.
Separately, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Monday that the U.S. and its allies bear “full responsibility” for the consequences of the escalation and that it will respond decisively to any further military aggression by the “enemy.”
Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said Monday that the country was working to achieve a diplomatic agreement to bring an end to the conflict, adding the continuation of war “serves neither our interests nor those of the region or humanity.”
Speaking alongside Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kyrgyzstan, Pezeshkian said Monday that the U.S. side “has not fulfilled its commitments,” state media reported.
The U.S. Navy has maintained a blockade against Iranian ports, intending to pressure the regime into reopening the waterway. Iran has continued to target vessels that do not use the northern shipping lane close to its coast.
Another tanker was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting inbound in the Strait of Hormuz on Saturday, using the southern lane along the Omani coast, according to the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations Centre. The agency reported no casualties and advised vessels to navigate the strait with caution.
Technologies
Brent Crude Breaches $90 As U.S.-Iran Hostilities Resume
Oil prices soared to $90.34 per barrel after U.S. forces attacked Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island, reigniting tensions between Washington and Tehran.
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Technologies
Brent Crude Surges Beyond $90 Following U.S. Strike on Iranian Launchers
Oil prices surged past $90 after U.S. forces targeted Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island, sparking renewed tensions between Washington and Tehran amid an ongoing Middle East conflict.
International crude oil prices surged on Monday following U.S. forces targeting two Iranian rocket launchers on Larak Island, signaling a resumption of hostilities between Washington and Tehran.
Brent crude futures for September delivery rose 3.3% to $90.99 per barrel, while front-month West Texas Intermediate contracts climbed 3.6% to $86.36.
“Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a U.S. Central Command spokesperson, stated that U.S. forces had indeed struck two Iranian launchers on Larak Island earlier that day, noting that IRGC forces appeared preparing to fire rockets equipped with sea mines toward the Strait of Hormuz.”
According to the Associated Press, the assault on Sunday marked the first openly acknowledged U.S. operation against Iranian positions since late July.
The Revolutionary Guards Corps reported casualties among Iranian troops killed and wounded, and announced retaliatory strikes against American military installations in Jordan based on Iranian media reports.
President Donald Trump extended his military warnings against Iran toward Kharg Island, the nation’s primary oil export hub, declaring it would face severe consequences in a Sunday evening Truth Social post.
Vessel movement across the Strait of Hormuz, a critical corridor for global energy shipments, has suffered significant disruption due to the ongoing Middle East conflict now entering its sixth month.
“Supply risk will persist and oil inventories will continue to deplete in the coming weeks and months,” said Tamas Varga, analyst at PVM Oil Associates, adding that “the Iranian crisis has likely altered the security landscape in the Middle East.”
Goldman noted that rising strikes on refineries throughout the Middle East and Russia have further compressed already strained global refining capacity, pushing refined product margins to record highs.
—Verum’s Anniek Bao contributed to the report.
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