This may be Tim Cook’s last big moment as Apple’s CEO CNN Business

For one of his final major public moments as Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook may deliver something Wall Street has long been waiting for: answers about the company’s artificial intelligence strategy.

Apple is expected to unveil a new version of Siri at its Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, bringing the roughly 15-year-old virtual assistant up to speed with OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.

The tech giant will also announce software updates that affect billions of iPhones, iPads, Macs and Apple Watches around the world. But as more people use chatbots and AI agents for everyday tasks, the new Siri could be the biggest sign of how Apple is reinventing its products. Many will look to see if Apple’s history of turning new technologies into popular products can apply to AI.

Apple lags behind in AI race; Its Siri upgrade has faced delays, and some features announced in 2024 have yet to arrive. Its existing AI tools for iPhones, iPads and Macs, called Apple Intelligence, aren’t unique enough to stand out from the competition.

Apple has built features that allow users to translate speech, search content displayed on their iPhone screen, and create custom emojis. But companies like Google and OpenAI are introducing AI agents that can handle entire tasks on behalf of a user.

“(Apple) hasn’t really done anything that has attracted people,” said Gene Munster, co-founder and managing partner of technology investment firm Deepwater Asset Management.

An improved Siri will help Apple catch up. According to Bloomberg, Apple’s digital assistant will soon be able to handle multiple tasks with a single command and get a dedicated app with a chatbot-style interface, among other changes.

According to Anurag Rana, senior equity analyst for software and IT services at Bloomberg Intelligence, Apple is partnering with Google on its new Siri-powered models, which the companies announced in January, which will significantly improve the digital assistant’s performance.

“Gemini models are in tears,” Rana said. “They’re doing great now.”

Investors and analysts have grilled Apple about its AI strategy in earnings calls last year. Even if iPhone sales are booming, Wall Street wants to know how AI plays into the company’s long-term vision.

Apple CEO John Dernes, who currently oversees Apple’s hardware engineering, will take over as CEO in September. Cook will transition to a new role as executive chairman of the board of directors.

But Apple’s large market share — more than 2.5 billion Apple devices are in use worldwide — may give it an edge.

This could be Apple’s biggest opportunity. According to Rana, more than half of the iPhones in use worldwide, or about 1 billion iPhones, do not support Apple Intelligence, as the technology is only available on the iPhone 15 Pro and later, according to Rana.

“They’re not going to mess it up,” Munster said. “They’re too vulnerable to drop the ball.”