Apple's iOS 27 Agent Layer Arrives Before Siri Can Carry It

Frequently asked

What does Apple's third-party agent SDK actually let developers build?

The SDK lets third-party apps register as agents that Siri can invoke on a user's behalf — meaning an app can receive structured requests from Siri rather than requiring direct user interaction. In practice, this is the architecture that would let a travel app book a flight when a user asks Siri, not just open the app. Whether developers build for it depends on whether the Siri integration they are targeting ever ships fully functional.

Why does Apple keep announcing AI features that don't work at launch?

Apple's on-device AI strategy requires the foundation model, the OS integration layer, and the Siri rewrite to ship together — and that is a harder coordination problem than releasing a cloud API. Each layer depends on the one below it, so when the lowest layer (the model) is still stabilizing, everything above it ships as a placeholder. The pattern has repeated across every Apple Intelligence release since 2024.

What should developers do with the iOS 27 agent SDK if Siri features aren't live yet?

Build the integration against the SDK spec now and treat the Siri activation layer as a phased release. Apple has shipped the API surface; the trigger mechanism is what is pending. Developers who delay adoption entirely will be behind when the Siri features complete — but developers who build solely around Siri-triggered flows need a fallback experience for the gap period.

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