Apple's Siri overhaul and AI agents hit roadblocks as developers worry about future fees

Apple Courts Developers Amid Fee Uncertainty

Apple is actively working with developers to integrate with Siri ahead of its major overhaul announcement scheduled for June 8 at WWDC 2026, but the effort is running into significant resistance over money concerns1

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. According to The Information, the company is courting major Chinese developers including Baidu, Alibaba, and Tencent to integrate their apps with the new Siri in iOS 27, but these companies are dragging their feet due to fears about future commission fees2

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The core issue centers on Apple's refusal to commit long-term. While the company has told developers it won't charge a commission in the early stages of the partnership, it has also made clear that it hasn't ruled out introducing one later1

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. This ambiguity creates a troubling dynamic for developers who worry that if Siri becomes the primary assistant through which users complete tasks in their apps, they're essentially handing Apple a new chokepoint over their customer relations2

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How App Intents Will Transform In-App Actions

The mechanism powering the overhauled Siri is App Intents, an API that enables Siri to execute in-app actions and cross-app actions inside third-party apps without users needing to actively open them2

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. Apple previously announced this app intents feature for Siri but never shipped it1

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. The new capability would give Siri the ability to perform hundreds of new actions, fundamentally changing how users interact with their devices.

However, developer concerns about overhauling Siri integration aren't purely technical. The fee ambiguity represents Apple's own making, as one report notes. The company built the App Store on clear commission terms that developers understood, even if they didn't like them. Leaving Siri integration commercially undefined is an invitation to stall, which Apple can't afford right now2

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AI Agents Present Even Bigger Security Issues

Beyond Siri, Apple faces an arguably more complex challenge with AI agents on the App Store. The company is reportedly working to incorporate AI agents into the App Store ecosystem itself, but this creates serious control problems2

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. AI agents can spin up unapproved mini-apps on the spot to complete tasks, which means the App Store publishing process might approve a parent agentic app but have no visibility into what the agent creates inside it.

One example cited involves OpenClaw, an agentic system where agents went haywire and deleted all of a user's emails, highlighting the security issues at stake2

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. Engineers at Apple are believed to be working on a security system that prevents AI agents' freewheeling behavior while keeping agents within its privacy framework. While the company might announce the integration of AI agents at the WWDC 2026 keynote, it might not be entirely ready with the implementation2

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What This Means for Apple's AI Strategy

The dual challenges facing Apple reveal a company caught between wanting ecosystem benefits and maintaining control. Apple has spent years building the world's most controlled app marketplace, and now it's planning to integrate AI agents that spin up apps on the fly2

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. During the last earnings call, Tim Cook acknowledged the AI agent trend, noting people are buying Mac mini and Mac Studio to run local agents on them. Apple knows the wave is here, but it hasn't figured out how to create a product or service that generates profits without breaking everything else2

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At WWDC 2026, Apple needs to answer critical questions for both stakeholders and end users. The company wants the ecosystem benefits of deep Siri integration, but it isn't committing to the commercial terms that would actually encourage developers to participate2

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. Whether Apple can resolve these developer concerns while maintaining its trademark control over the App Store will determine if its AI ambitions can match the competition.