Apple’s next Siri overhaul is shaping up to be more than a prettier assistant. According to Bloomberg, iOS 27 will introduce a system-wide ”Search or Ask” gesture, letting users swipe down from the top center of the screen to summon Siri from anywhere and jump between Apple’s assistant and third-party services such as ChatGPT or Gemini.
The iOS 27 Siri update hints at how Apple wants Siri to work in the age of AI: less like a one-shot voice command tool, more like a front door for search, apps, and conversation. That is a pretty sharp pivot for a company that spent years letting Siri feel like the intern who keeps saying ”I found this on the web.”
How the new Siri search gesture works
Bloomberg says the new interface will place a ”Search or Ask” bar in the Dynamic Island after the swipe gesture. Users will also be able to tap a microphone icon for voice input, or press the search bar to switch between Siri and outside options like ChatGPT or Gemini as the search engine.
That sounds a lot like Spotlight on the surface, but Bloomberg says the upgraded system can surface richer results and data pulled from inside apps. In other words, Apple is not just polishing search; it is trying to make Siri the place where search, actions, and app data all meet.
- Invoke it by swiping down from the top center of the screen.
- Use ”Search or Ask” in the Dynamic Island.
- Tap the microphone icon for voice mode.
- Switch between Siri, ChatGPT, and Gemini from the search bar.
Chatbot mode and file uploads are coming too
Apple also appears to be building the kind of chatbot experience users already expect from modern AI assistants. Bloomberg reports that the Siri app and chatbot view will support image and document uploads through a ”+” button, while a swipe down on Siri’s transparent results card will take users into a text-message-like conversation mode.
That view will reportedly include mini app cards for things such as weather, upcoming appointments, and notes. It is a sensible design choice, because a chatbot without quick-glance actions tends to become a very chatty dead end.
Apple is also touching Camera and Liquid Glass
The Siri changes are not arriving alone. Bloomberg says iOS 27 will also bring an upgrade to the Camera app and wider improvements to Liquid Glass, suggesting Apple is using the release to tidy up both its AI layer and the rest of the interface at the same time.
That broader cleanup matters because Siri has spent years being the punchline in a room now crowded with faster, more flexible assistants. Apple does not need Siri to become the loudest bot on the planet; it needs it to stop feeling like the least useful one on the iPhone.
The real question is whether the new gesture and chatbot-style interface will make Siri feel genuinely useful, or just more visible. If Apple nails the handoff between search, voice, and app actions, this could be the first Siri redesign that feels built for AI instead of retrofitted around it.