Apple is finally opening a Siri API to developers

Apple today finally did what it should have done years ago: release an application programming interface (API) that will enable third-party developers to tightly integrate their applications with Apple’s Siri virtual assistant.

Siri will work in the context of messaging (Slack, WhatsApp, and WeChat were specifically mentioned by Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of software engineering), ridesharing (Uber, Lyft, and Didi, which Apple has invested in), VOIP calling (Cisco Spark, Vonage, Skype), payments (Square Cash, AliPay), and photo search (EyeEm’s The Roll, Shutterfly, Pinterest).

The news itself, announced at the WWDC conference in San Francisco, is no surprise — last month a source told VentureBeat that Apple would be taking this step.

More information on the new SiriKit technology is available here.