Apple says new Siri will refuse romantic chatbot role
Craig Federighi said Apple designed Siri to help users complete tasks, not to build emotional or romantic relationships.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
2 min read
Apple’s upgraded Siri is being designed to avoid the kind of emotional attachment that some AI chatbots try to build with users. Craig Federighi, Apple’s software chief, told Mostly Human that Siri will be focused on practical help rather than prolonged engagement.
The comments outline a clear boundary for Apple’s AI assistant as chatbots from OpenAI, Google and other companies compete for user attention. Federighi said many current chatbots are built around engagement and can become sycophantic, encouraging people to share personal details and using those details to create a sense of connection.
Federighi said Apple has taken a different approach with Siri. He described the assistant as a tool meant to help people get things done and learn about the world, rather than as a companion designed to keep a conversation going.
Siri will draw a line at romance
Asked about more intimate uses of chatbots, Federighi said Apple does not intend for Siri to serve as a romantic partner. “Siri’s 100 percent not into that,” he said in the Mostly Human interview.
Federighi’s remarks match early testing described by The Verge, which reported that the new Siri AI tends to stop talking rather than stretch a conversation. The Verge said that restraint appears to be a deliberate part of Apple’s design.
Apple’s framing separates Siri from AI products that court longer, more personal exchanges. Federighi said those systems may try to pull users in by inviting them to disclose information about themselves, then relying on that information to deepen the interaction.
By contrast, Federighi said Siri is meant to tell users, in effect, that it is there to assist them. He said the assistant can help with tasks and answer questions about the world, while declining attempts to treat it as a romantic presence.
Privacy and child safety also discussed
The Mostly Human interview also included Greg Joswiak, Apple’s marketing chief, according to The Verge. The discussion covered Apple’s privacy stance and its new child safety protections, though the reported comments centered on how Apple wants Siri to behave as an AI chatbot.
Apple has not positioned the new Siri as a personality-led companion in Federighi’s description. His comments point to an assistant that limits emotional engagement even as Apple adds more AI capabilities to one of its best-known software products.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.