According to information on Google’s developer site, an app function is defined as a specific piece of functionality that an app can offer to the system, which can then be integrated into various system features. Rahman highlights a practical example from the documentation where app functions could enable actions such as ordering food to be exposed to the system. With this capability, Gemini Assistant might facilitate placing an order at a local Thai restaurant without needing to launch the DoorDash app.

Apple is also exploring ways to empower a more intelligent assistant. The upcoming improvements to Siri in iOS 18 include the ability to perform actions within apps. Through updates to the app intents framework, developers will have the option to expose functions like “order food” to Siri. However, these enhancements are not expected to be available until around the spring of 2025 based on current speculations.

“Doing things for you” was kind of the whole promise of smart assistants from the beginning, but that hasn’t started materializing until very recently. Gemini can access information in certain apps with your permission, but currently it’s mostly limited to searching things like Gmail and Google Maps. And Siri’s biggest update in iOS 18 so far added a ChatGPT extension so you can ask more complicated questions, but it still falls short on “taking action.” Now, both platforms appear to be laying the groundwork for better assistants — and 2025 could be a very interesting year for AI on smartphones.