How macOS Tahoe's Spotlight upgrade sets the stage for a smarter Siri
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Apple Intelligence was not the primary focus of WWDC 2025, and I'm glad Apple took a more cautious approach this year. There are a few Apple Intelligence novelties in the updates, but Apple didn't promise any big new features like it did last year.
Apple also took responsibility for not shipping the smarter Siri. The company didn't quite apologize to users, but it did explain that the Siri demoed at WWDC 2024 wasn't 'demoware.' It worked internally, but it didn't rise to Apple's own expectations, so the smart Siri assistant that can understand context and on-device data for better assistance is still delayed.
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I explained earlier this year that I still trust Apple's vision for Siri, even though it felt like vaporware. What I saw at WWDC 2025 gave me hope that it's on the right track.
The smarter Siri isn't ready to ship, and we might have to wait until next year to see it, but the foundation that Siri needs will be available on the Mac in macOS Tahoe 26. It has nothing to do with Siri, nor is it a voice assistant, but it's the start of something big.
I'm talking about the revamped Spotlight search in macOS Tahoe 26 that blew my mind during the keynote. I'd say macOS Tahoe's Spotlight is easily one of the top 5 announcements from WWDC. In fact, Spotlight on the Mac is at least as important to me as the iPad turning into a touchscreen MacBook with the iPadOS 26 update.
As a longtime Mac user, Spotlight has never impressed me. I dreaded searching for anything on the Mac, and I've postponed getting an app like Alfred for longer than I care to admit. With that in mind, these are the ways Spotlight sets the stage for Siri's future.
Spotlight in macOS 26 is a beast. It indexes everything on your Mac, including a clipboard section containing everything you copied and pasted during the day. That might sound similar to the old Spotlight, but this time, it actually works.
What it means for the future of Siri: Indexing data correctly is a key step for having the assistant look at on-device information for better assistance.
But Spotlight does more than just index your data. Spotlight also lets you run shortcuts in the search bar by simply typing what you want the Mac to do.
Apple calls this Intelligent Actions, and Apple Intelligence powers the feature. You can tell the Mac (via Spotlight) to summarize documents, create images, and even use a Private Cloud Compute model or ChatGPT to perform a Shortcut.
What it means for the future of Siri: Imagine that instead of typing, you could use voice commands to tell Siri to perform the same Intelligent Actions.
Spotlight also lets you open apps, which isn't new, but the difference is that it can also open apps you have installed on your iPhone via the Mirroring feature.
What it means for the future of Siri: The assistant that Apple demoed last year was able to surface data from apps, but also run in-app actions. The new Spotlight shows off technology that Apple might already be using for its unreleased smarter Siri.
Spotlight also lets you run actions with Quick Keys shortcuts. Type 'se' in the search bar to send an email, and then proceed to send that email from Spotlight.
Also, the search bar will surface action suggestions based on the app you're using. They'll include Menu Bar shortcuts, and this should improve your productivity.
The demo Apple showed at WWDC 2025 showed a user working on a document while interacting with Spotlight. They used Spotlight to find an image and a graph from the Clipboard and even edit the background of the image. Spotlight is also the tool they used to send that document to a shared board.
These Spotlight interactions can significantly improve productivity. You don't have to manually navigate to apps if you can do everything from the search bar.
What it means for the future of Siri: Imagine telling the Siri assistant to send an email for you to a specific contact. The AI will probably rely on the same underlying tech. The difference is that Siri will understand natural voice commands.
Also, the AI-powered Siri will presumably be able to perform actions in apps, rather than pointing you to the right button in the app. Using your voice rather than typing shortcuts and commands in Spotlight will further improve productivity.
Spotlight surfaces results that might fit your work schedule or other routines. That means Apple is using AI algorithms under the hood to help the Mac understand your actions.
What it means for the future of Siri: Last year's Apple Intelligence reveal featured a Siri that's aware of context. The technology Apple uses in Spotlight will almost certainly come in handy for creating the next-gen Siri assistant. The AI will learn what you're doing and provide assistance tailored to your personal routines.
Remember all those rumors detailing Apple's work on search for Spotlight, and a potential interest in creating its own online search tool to rival Google Search? The Spotlight experience in macOS 26 is likely the result of that.
The Spotlight capabilities listed above will make macOS Tahoe 26 all the more exciting to use, and I can't wait to see some of them cross over to the iPhone and iPad. What I really want is to see a completely reinvented Siri that can handle voice commands in natural language to perform all the tasks Spotlight can do for you right now. That's the endgame here, and it's probably coming in the next few years.
If you didn't see Apple's Spotlight demo, check out the video below to see why Spotlight in macOS 26 is such an important development for Apple Intelligence and Siri.
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