Apple Launched Invite-Only 'Siri Speech Study' App to Improve Siri

Apple recently launched an invite-only iOS app called "Siri Speech Study" to improve and provide feedback on the Siri voice assistant, it has emerged (via TechCrunch).

The app, which first appeared on the App Store on August 9 without fanfare and was updated on August 18, allows users to voluntarily share their ‌Siri‌ interactions and feedback with Apple so that it can gain data to improve ‌Siri‌.

The app is reportedly available in the U.S., Canada, Germany, France, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, and Taiwan, but does not show under the Utilities category where it is published, on the ‌App Store‌ charts, or via search. Users must have a direct link to the app to be able to find it on the ‌App Store‌.

The sparsely designed app simply provides a link to a license agreement and a field to enter a valid participant ID number to begin.

Speaking to TechCrunch, Apple said that the app is being used to improve ‌Siri‌ across various products by providing a way for participants to share feedback directly with Apple. Apple added that participants have to be invited to the study and there is no way for consumers to volunteer to sign up for the app.

When signed into the ‌Siri‌ Speech Study app, participants must provide explicit feedback on a per request basis, according to Apple. For example, if ‌Siri‌ mishears a request or identifies a user incorrectly, users can explain what they were trying to ask or that they were identified wrongly, which will be fed back to Apple.

No participant data is automatically shared with Apple and users can see a list of the ‌Siri‌ requests that they have made in the app, and then select which of those to forward to Apple with their feedback. Apple told TechCrunch that no user information is collected or used in the app except for the data directly provided by participants.