On November 3, 2026, Apple opened a Developer Preview to all developers that lets Siri AI work with app-specific actions and information. The preview covers the beta versions of iOS 27.3, iPadOS 27.3, macOS 27.3, and visionOS 27.3. It allows Siri to use app features and data that developers have explicitly exposed, in response to natural-language instructions.
This is not the first time Siri has worked with third-party apps. On October 26, Apple announced Japanese-language support for Siri AI in version 27.2 and showcased integrations with apps such as Yahoo! Transit and FirstSeed Tasks. The new preview extends integration to app-specific actions and information that don't fit within the previous system-defined framework.
General availability for users is planned for several months from now, and App Store submissions are expected to open in spring 2027. For now, the feature is at the stage of developer implementation and testing. To take advantage of the new integration, developers need to properly design which features to expose to Siri, how access to information is controlled, and how steps are organized when combining multiple actions.
From Existing Integrations to App-Specific Actions
The foundation of the new integration is App Intents, which tells the system what data an app handles and what actions it can perform. According to Apple's Developer Preview documentation, the app-specific actions and information Siri can use are limited to those developers have explicitly exposed. Even though all developers can now use the new feature, an app's functionality is not automatically exposed to Siri.
Apple's implementation guide explains how to specify @AppIntent(.tool) on an app-specific action to expose it as a tool Siri can call. By defining an action's name, description, parameters, and target data, developers make it easier for Siri to connect natural-language instructions with app features. However, intents that already conform to the major schemas Siri supports do not need this annotation.
The mechanism that lets Siri find the target of an action is also important. Items an app handles, such as products or accounts, are called "entities." Developers make entities searchable by Siri through Spotlight indexing and search queries. In addition, by associating on-screen content with entities, Siri can identify the object on screen when a user says something like "this photo."
For actions that span multiple apps, data must be passed in a format the receiving app can handle. Siri can hand information from one app to another specified app and perform an action there. However, simply exposing an action does not automatically set up entity search or data handoff between apps.
Whether an instruction to Siri needs to include the app name also depends on the situation. The app name can be omitted when the app is in the foreground, when a Live Activity is running, or when the conversation is already about a specific app. When newly operating an app that is in the background, the target app's name must be specified.
Design Information Exposure and Authentication Separately
For Siri integration, developers must configure not only which actions to expose but also when authentication is required to view information. According to Apple's implementation guide, no authentication is required by default when displaying entity information. Developers can set an authentication policy for an entire entity or for individual properties.
One caveat is that authentication set on a property applies only to responses generated by Siri. If an action's result contains sensitive information, Apple asks developers to also set authentication on the intent that defines the action itself. Protecting a property alone does not necessarily protect every information path, including action results.
Setting a property to internal makes it unreadable from Siri and Shortcuts. This differs from a setting that permits viewing after authentication; it is a mechanism for excluding the property from external reading altogether. Safe integration requires thinking separately about whether to expose information and what authentication to require for the information that is exposed.
App Skills Guide Multi-Step Workflows
Beyond exposing individual actions, App Skills is the mechanism for combining them to carry out complex tasks. According to Apple's App Skills documentation, developers write metadata and procedures in a Markdown SKILL.md file. Siri first uses the metadata to judge whether a skill fits the user's request, and if so, it consults the body.
The body of a skill can describe the order in which to carry out multiple actions and steps to avoid. However, Apple states explicitly that App Skills cannot force specific behavior. Even if actions are listed in order, there is no guarantee that Siri will execute them in that order. App Skills are meant to guide Siri toward appropriate ways of operating, not to strictly control execution order.
For this reason, even as natural-language control becomes more flexible, the conditions for executing important processes and the protection of information cannot rely on App Skills instructions alone. Developers need to design the exposure scope and authentication of actions individually and verify that they behave as intended.
What Developers Can Control, and the Limits
In this Developer Preview, exposing custom actions, authenticating information, guiding multi-step actions, and distributing test builds are each managed by a separate mechanism. Apple's Preview documentation covers usage conditions and distribution targets, the implementation guide covers exposing actions and authentication, and the App Skills documentation covers how to guide multi-step actions and its constraints. The roles and limits of each are summarized below.
| Area | What it can do | Constraints and limits | What to check during development |
|---|---|---|---|
| Exposing actions | Expose app-specific actions and information to Siri | Actions and information not explicitly exposed cannot be used | Whether exposed items and descriptions match user requests |
| Information authentication | Set authentication on entities, properties, and intents | Property authentication applies to Siri responses; actions that return sensitive information also need authentication on the intent | Whether both information display and action results are properly protected |
| App Skills | Guide procedures for multiple actions and steps to avoid | Cannot force a specified order or behavior | Whether written procedures are being mistaken for execution guarantees |
| Test distribution | Verify with development-signed builds and builds for TestFlight internal testers | Preview features are unavailable to external testers or App Store releases | Whether internal testing and general release are being distinguished |
For example, describing procedures and cautions in an App Skill does not change the scope of authentication or the conditions for test distribution. These are independent mechanisms, and each one's requirements must be met. Note that this table organizes specifications published by Apple and is not an evaluation of the performance or safety of any actual app.
Apple also provides tools to support verification. Xcode's Siri Integration Advisor offers advice and suggested improvements for an implementation, while Siri Evaluations scripts natural-language requests, evaluates responses, and detects differences in behavior caused by changes. Developers can use these to verify the quality of their integrations, but in these materials Apple has not published measurements of Siri's action success rate or processing time.
General Availability in Months; Developers Start With Internal Testing
To use the new integration, developers do not need to obtain a special entitlement or join a separate developer program. However, Developer Preview features can be tried only in development-signed builds and builds distributed to internal testers through TestFlight. They are not available to TestFlight external testers or in apps already published on the App Store.
Apple plans to release the feature to general users in several months and says App Store submissions will open in spring. ITmedia NEWS reported on November 4 that submissions would open in spring 2027. However, general availability and the opening of App Store submissions are separate schedules, and specific start dates have not been disclosed. Apple also plans to publish detailed terms and policies later.
To use Siri AI, users need to enable the feature on a device that supports Apple Intelligence and set a supported language. Six languages are supported, including Japanese, and users under 13 cannot use it. In addition, Siri AI on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS is excluded from availability in the EU.
Features that use server-side models have a daily usage limit, and Apple plans to let users expand their allowance for a fee in the future. Specific usage counts and prices have not been announced. For now, developers' task is to use internal testing to confirm the scope of exposed actions and where authentication applies, and to verify what responses and actions Siri actually performs. Looking ahead to general availability, the details of App Store submission requirements and terms of use will be important factors in decisions.