Apple is working to simplify the way users interact with its flagship virtual assistant, Siri. According to Bloomberg, Apple has spent the last few months training the artificial intelligence-based assistant to respond to “Siri” instead of “Hey Siri.”
Training Siri to recognize the one-word trigger phrase across all devices in several different accents and dialects takes a “significant amount of AI training and underlying engineering work,” reports Bloomberg.
Changing the wake command from “Hey Siri” to “Siri” will also make it easier for users to string together commands for Siri to follow, similar to Apple competitors Google and Amazon. Both of those companies have their own flagship virtual assistant programs.
Apple has been working on the change for several months and hopes to debut the one-word phrase in 2023 or early 2024.
Bloomberg also reports that Apple is working to integrate Siri into more third-party apps and services, allowing users to utilize their virtual assistant in a wider array of circumstances.
Apple launched the voice-activated assistant in 2011 and it’s available across all Apple products and understands more than 100 distinct commands.
