If you’re an Apple TV user, you know that Siri has worked just fine up to this point. It could handle basic play and pause, but for anything deeper, you had to turn to your iPhone for the cure. However, with the upcoming November release of the new 4th-gen Apple TV, even older models are getting Siri AI baked into their new OS. Apple originally said it would be a feature in OS 27.2, but it hasn’t happened yet. However, it’s most certainly coming sooner rather than later.
If you want a head start on using this fancy new feature, don’t sweat it. I’ve got you covered. Here are a few prompts you can try to instantly elevate your Apple TV experience when Siri AI arrives and cut down on couch-time debates over what to watch.
“Find me a funny show with short episodes I can finish tonight”
Testing mood, format, and time limit all at once
This is a big ask, and it will test whether Siri AI can handle more complex commands that meet specific moods or viewing requirements. Why is this a harder command? Because it encapsulates three variables in one sentence: time, mood, and format. Old Siri would likely just search for something literal, like something with “funny” in the title. If Siri AI is going to work as intended, it will need to handle these prompts.
The biggest thing to watch for here, though, will be the time limit. If Siri AI is good enough to meet your time constraints, it should be able to handle just about anything you throw at it, request-wise. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some more interesting tests to run, though.
“What are people watching right now”
Test trending picks across platforms
The missus and I will sometimes spend nearly an hour going through the trending sections of each of our streaming apps to figure out what we actually want to watch. I know we’re not alone in this, and hopefully Siri AI will fix that problem for us. While this question may seem a bit simple at its outset, just think for a moment about what you’re really asking Siri AI to do here.
If you’re like me, you probably pay for 4–5 streaming providers at once. Each has its own trending section, and they cover different things. So, when you don’t limit Siri to one platform, you’re asking it to check all of them, find what’s trending on each, sift through the pile, and then recommend things. Browser-based LLMs like Claude or ChatGPT might be able to do this, but having it work on a TV could be a game changer for building your “what to watch” list. This will test Siri AI’s willingness to check all streaming platforms, not just what’s available on Apple TV.
“Recommend an Emmy-nominated drama I haven’t seen”
Test how well it monitors your own history
We’ve all been there. You finish a show that you’ve invested real time in, and now you’re left searching for your next watch. Instead of digging through IMDb backlogs, Siri AI should let you find that next edge-of-your-seat drama based on your watch history and a widely available search for nominations.
Awards lists are pretty reliable shortcuts to high-quality content, and the little twist at the end of “I haven’t seen” is going to test whether Siri AI actually accurately tracks your viewing history across platforms. That’s the kicker here, of course, as without that little caveat, Siri AI might recommend some shows you’ve already seen.
“Find me something like The Bear, but less stressful”
Swap in your favorite show at will
This might be my favorite test of Siri AI on this list, as it gets pretty close to replicating how people actually talk about TV. Typically, Siri can carry out voice commands, but they have to be very simple, direct, and free of nuance. AI is supposed to fix that, and if it does, you should be able to throw terms like mood and general show vibes out there and have Siri AI pick up on it all by itself.
Of course, you can swap in your own favorite show here. I chose “The Bear” because we just finished it, and I’m now actively looking for something to fill the gaping hole it left in both my psyche and my heart. But if Siri AI can pick up on these little nuances of TV discussion, then the possibilities are limitless for how much Siri AI can help you.
“What did I start watching last week but never finish”
Start working through that “resume watching” pile
Quite literally, everyone has some sort of pile of half-watched shows sitting in the queue on their favorite streaming platform. I’m as big a transgressor as anyone else, and I think I would use this feature at least once a week. From a testing standpoint, this is a simple check of how well Siri AI understands your viewing history, but for others like me, it could finally help me get closure on a few shows I really need to go back and finish.
With that in mind, when Siri AI does make it to Apple TV, you can finish that old drama or sitcom your friend group keeps talking about.
