CALIFORNIA – Apple plans to revamp Siri later in 2026 by turning the digital assistant into the company’s first artificial intelligence chatbot, thrusting the iPhone maker into a generative AI race dominated by OpenAI and Google.

The chatbot – code-named Campos – will be embedded deeply into the iPhone, iPad and Mac operating systems and replace the current Siri interface, according to people familiar with the plan.

Users will be able to summon the new service the same way they open Siri now: by speaking the “Siri” command or holding down the side button on their iPhone or iPad.

The new approach will go well beyond the abilities of the current Siri – or even a long-promised update that is coming earlier in 2026. Today’s Siri lacks a chat-like feel and the back-and-forth conversational abilities of OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Google’s Gemini. 

The feature is a central piece of Apple’s turnaround plan for the AI market, where it has lagged behind Silicon Valley peers. The Apple Intelligence platform had a rocky roll-out in 2024, with features that were underwhelming or slow to arrive. 

The previously promised, non-chatbot update to Siri – retaining the current interface – is planned for iOS 26.4, due in the coming months. The idea behind that upgrade is to add features unveiled in 2024, including the ability to analyse on-screen content and tap personal data. It also will be better at searching the web.

The chatbot capabilities will come later in 2026, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans are private. The company aims to unveil that technology in June at its Worldwide Developers Conference and release it in September.

Campos, which will have both voice- and typing-based modes, will be the primary new addition to Apple’s upcoming operating systems. The company is integrating it into iOS 27 and iPadOS 27, both code-named Rave, as well as macOS 27, internally known as Fizz.

Other than the chatbot interface, the operating systems are ...