See Ya, Siri: Why Apple Might Make Third-Party Voice Assistants Available in Europe

Apple is reportedly working on changes to the iPhone's operating system that will make it possible for people to choose an alternative voice assistant to Siri.

The ability to switch from Siri to another voice assistant, potentially powered by third-party companies including OpenAI, Google or Meta, could be a reality in the near future, but only for iPhone owners in Europe, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Apple is preparing the changes to Siri in anticipation of the EU demanding the company to allow European users a choice of voice assistants, Bloomberg reported. It would be similar to the policy shift Apple has already made in allowing rival app stores onto the iPhone, which was sparked by Europe's Digital Markets Act.

Apple has faced many regulatory hurdles with the EU in recent years, largely in the form of challenges to its proprietary technology and walled-garden ecosystem, which provide Apple device owners with high levels of consistency, privacy and security, but often make it difficult for smaller companies to compete.

These regulatory challenges often leave Apple with little choice but to make significant changes to the way its tech works. Some of these changes — such as switching from Lighting connectors to the universal standard of USB-C — affect Apple device owners globally. Others impact only those who live within the EU.

Siri has been available on iPhones since 2011 and has spawned many copycats. But the advent of generative of AI over the last few years has brought about a number of chatbots, perhaps most notably OpenAI's ChatGPT, that rival and surpass Siri's capabilities, to the point where Apple is now seen as lagging behind competitors.

Apple announced a AI revamp of Siri last year at WWDC, its June developer conference, but the company delayed its rollout. Apple Intelligence-powered Siri is still nowhere to be seen, and may not even make an appearance at this year's WWDC, per Bloomberg.

In light of this, it may be possible that European iPhone owners, when given the option, choose an alternative voice assistant. Unless Apple's hand is forced, there's currently no indication that people elsewhere will be given the same choice.