How to use AI with Siri on iPhone: phrases, engines, Shortcuts and the Action button

iOS does not let you replace Siri, but you can use AI with Siri by handing the question to an app that answers it. Orvena 2.0 does this: say "Ask Orvena", Siri asks for your question, and the answer comes back where you asked, written by Apple Intelligence on the iPhone, by Apple's Private Cloud Compute, or by a cloud model you chose. Ask Orvena is free, needs an unlocked iPhone, and each question starts its own conversation in Orvena.

The exact Siri phrases

Orvena registers two shortcuts with Siri. None of the five phrases contains a question, so say the phrase on its own and answer Siri's prompt.

The first time you say "Ask Orvena" on iOS 27, iOS asks once: Turn on "Orvena" shortcuts with Siri? Accept it to let Siri run them. The phrases are translated into 29 more languages: with Siri in German it is "Frag Orvena", in Danish "Spørg Orvena", in French "Demande à Orvena". Whether Siri hears them depends on Siri supporting that language.

Setup in Orvena must be finished, or Siri replies "Finish setting up Orvena, then ask again." And the iPhone must be unlocked. Ask Orvena is set to require authentication, so it only runs after you unlock the phone. If the phone's data is still locked when it starts, the reply is "Unlock your iPhone to ask Orvena."

What Siri says and what the card shows

The answer comes back as Siri's reply, cleaned up first: links become their text, and the marks for bold, italics, headings, bullets and code are removed. Under the reply, Orvena adds a card with:

• up to three of the actions it took, each with its title and icon;
• a line naming the engine that answered: "Apple Intelligence · on this iPhone", "Private Cloud Compute · cloud", "OpenRouter · cloud", or the downloaded model's name followed by "· on this iPhone" when it answers with Orvena open;
• the Apple Weather mark when it checked the weather, which opens Apple's attribution page in Safari when tapped;
• an Open in Orvena button, which opens the conversation.

The card itself holds no answer text; the answer is Siri's reply. When you run it from Shortcuts, the result card stays on screen after Open in Orvena until you tap Done.

On an iPhone 17 Pro Max with iOS 27 and Apple Intelligence, run from Shortcuts with Orvena closed, "What is 17 times 23?" took 5 to 10 seconds, and a question about a city's current weather about 8 to 14 seconds.

Which engine answers when you use AI with Siri

Orvena uses the engine you picked on its Models page (Settings in the top-left menu, then Models), with one exception. Its own downloaded model, Qwen 3.5 4B, does not answer Siri in the background in 2.0. When that is your engine, Apple Intelligence answers the Siri question in its place if it is turned on and supports the iPhone's language. Otherwise Orvena opens and answers in the app.

If Orvena is open on screen when you ask, the engine you chose answers, the downloaded model included. On iOS 26 neither Apple Intelligence nor Private Cloud Compute is available in Orvena, since both need iOS 27, so only an OpenRouter model answers inside Siri; with the downloaded model, Orvena opens.

For Apple Intelligence, language decides. Apple lists 16 languages for Apple Intelligence in iOS 27, among them English, Danish, German, French, Spanish and Japanese, and Orvena asks iOS at runtime whether Apple's model supports the iPhone's current language.

Private Cloud Compute handles requests that take several steps better than the on-device model. Asked for a day's walking tour of Rome starting at the Colosseum, it searched the web, read a page and made one travel-time card per leg. It runs within a daily limit Apple sets. When the limit is used up or the service can't be reached before any action has run, Orvena answers with Apple Intelligence on the iPhone instead, where it can, and notes why in the conversation, for example "Today's Private Cloud Compute requests are used up. They reset tomorrow, and iCloud+ raises the limit. This answer comes from this iPhone." If an action had already run, the request stops with the message, so nothing runs twice.

When Orvena opens instead

Some requests can't be finished inside Siri, and the reply says why:

Actions that need your approval

A request from Siri or Shortcuts goes through the same permissions as one typed in the app. Any action that needs your approval pauses the Siri request with "Orvena needs your OK to continue.", and anything Orvena treats as destructive or financial asks every time. Continue opens Orvena on the new conversation with the usual approval sheet, and Don't allow sends the refusal back to Siri or Shortcuts.

The cloud engines add their own consent. Private Cloud Compute asks once, when you tap Use on its card, and after that "Health and financial data still ask every time", so a Health question through Siri on Private Cloud Compute opens Orvena for that OK. An OpenRouter model asks per conversation, and every Siri question starts a new one. Choosing Always allow on its consent sheet once saves a grant for all conversations, which you can revoke in Settings under Data sharing.

The Ask Orvena action in Shortcuts

To build your own Siri shortcut around an AI assistant, open Shortcuts and find Orvena among the apps. The action is Ask Orvena, "Ask Orvena a question and get the answer back", with one text parameter, Question. In the editor it reads "Ask Orvena" followed by the Question field. Leave Question empty and the shortcut asks "What would you like to ask Orvena?" each time it runs; type a question or insert a variable to skip the prompt. The same action appears in Spotlight when you search "Ask Orvena".

The action passes the answer on as text to the next action. That text is the raw answer, with Markdown such as **bold** and links left in, while Siri's reply has them removed.

A fixed question on one tap

One Ask Orvena action with the Question typed in, for example "What's the weather in Paris tomorrow?" Put the shortcut on the Home Screen or the Action button. Siri's reply gives the answer, and the card under it shows the weather action and the Apple Weather mark. Orvena stays closed when Apple Intelligence or Private Cloud Compute answers, once you have chosen Always allow for the weather action. Until then, Siri says "Orvena needs your OK to continue." and Continue opens Orvena for that approval.

Ask about what you copied

Get Clipboard, then Ask Orvena with a Question such as "Explain this in three sentences:" followed by the Clipboard variable. Past 64 KB of text the reply is "Requests must be 64 KB or smaller. Shorten this message and try again." Long text fits better on Private Cloud Compute, whose window is 32,768 tokens, than on Apple's on-device model, which reported 8,192 tokens on iOS 27.

Shortcuts also has Apple's own models: Apple's usage-limits page lists "AFM 3 Cloud and AFM 3 Cloud Pro Models in Shortcuts" among the features that rely on server-side models, and they need no other app. Ask Orvena is for questions that need Orvena's tools, such as your calendar, maps or a connected service.

Keep the answer somewhere else

Ask Orvena, then any action that takes text, such as Copy to Clipboard. The output keeps its Markdown, so asterisks show in apps that don't read it.

An AI assistant on the Action button

The Action button can run either of Orvena's shortcuts. In the iPhone's Settings, choose Action Button, swipe to Shortcut, and pick one:

• Talk to Orvena for a voice conversation. Orvena opens and starts listening with whichever engine is ready. This is the setup Orvena's own settings suggest, and it needs Premium Unlock. See how the on-device voice assistant works.
• Ask Orvena for one question answered without opening the app. Press, answer the prompt, and the result card appears. Free.
• A shortcut of your own that uses Ask Orvena, such as the fixed weather question above.

Where the answer is saved

Every question asked through Siri, Shortcuts, Spotlight or the Action button starts its own conversation in Orvena, leaving the one you had open alone. Its title is the question, cut to 42 characters. Open in Orvena takes you there, and so does opening Orvena within two minutes of an answer that arrived while the app was in the background. Orvena skips its usual reply notification for these questions, since Siri already delivered the answer.

Because each question starts fresh, a second Siri question knows nothing about the first. To follow up, tap Open in Orvena and continue there.

You can't replace Siri on iPhone

iOS has one system assistant, and only Siri listens in the background for its wake word. Orvena has no wake word of its own; you reach it through Siri, Shortcuts, Spotlight, the Action button or the app. Siri stays better at what the system reserves for it: it answers from the lock screen and handles calls and music directly, while Ask Orvena needs an unlocked phone and asks for the question as a second step. What Siri itself sends to Apple is covered in does Siri send your requests to Apple.

In the EU, Apple's new Siri AI is not on the iPhone yet. Apple's launch notes say "Siri AI will not be available initially in the EU in iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS" (Apple Newsroom, September 14, 2026). Apple Intelligence, Private Cloud Compute and Ask Orvena in Siri were tested working in Orvena 2.0 on iPhones in Denmark running iOS 27. More in Siri AI is not available in the EU.

Common questions

Can I replace Siri on my iPhone?

Not as the system assistant; iOS does not allow that, and only Siri listens for a wake word. You can say "Ask Orvena" to Siri to hand it a question, or put Ask Orvena or Talk to Orvena on the Action button.

How do I use ChatGPT or another AI with Siri?

With Orvena, say "Ask Orvena". Siri asks "What would you like to ask Orvena?" and hands your question to Orvena. On iOS 27 with Apple Intelligence turned on, Apple's on-device model writes the answer on the iPhone and can use Orvena's tools, such as weather, maps and your calendar. With Premium Unlock you can choose Private Cloud Compute or a model on your own OpenRouter key instead.

Does the answer show in Siri, or does the app open?

It comes back in Siri when Apple Intelligence or Private Cloud Compute answers, and with an OpenRouter model once you have chosen Always allow on its consent sheet. If Orvena's downloaded model is your engine, Apple Intelligence answers in its place when it is turned on and supports your language; otherwise Orvena opens with the question. It also opens when an action or a cloud send needs your approval.

Can I ask Orvena from the lock screen?

Not while it stays locked. Ask Orvena needs an unlocked iPhone, so it only runs after you unlock. If the phone's data is still locked when it starts, Siri replies "Unlock your iPhone to ask Orvena."

Does Ask Orvena cost anything?

No. Ask Orvena and Apple Intelligence are free. Private Cloud Compute, OpenRouter models and Talk to Orvena voice conversations are part of Premium Unlock, a one-time purchase of $14.99.