Apple to open up Siri to third-party apps

The battle to be smartphone users’ virtual assistants is stepping up a notch. In the wake of Amazon Echo and Google Home, Apple is reportedly working on its own physical Siri device for the home. More importantly perhaps, as part of that project it will be opening Siri up to third-party apps, with a software development kit on the way for developers who want people to be able to access their apps through Siri. This was apparently always Apple’s plan for the service, but it got sidelined, and now it’s competition from Google and Amazon that’s forcing its hand. Expect to hear more at this month’s WWDC.

Google adds AMP to iOS

The official Google app for iOS is getting a major upgrade, including support for AMP – aka Accelerated Mobile Pages – which should see a much faster user experience across the app, with a lightning bolt symbol and ‘AMP’ appearing next to supported results. The update will also add sports highlights to iOS Google Now cards. This is mostly just a case of catching iOS users up to the Google experience on Android, but it serves as another important reminder to webmasters to try and make their pages AMP-compatible.

Average search marketer pay up 16% from 2013

The latest salary survey from SEMPO reveals strong improvement in the search and digital marketing sector, with average salaries up 16% from 2013 based on 600 responses. This was driven in part by growth in salaries in the $100,000-plus range (£69,000), while the number of veteran digital marketers grew even as the pool of entry-level talent shrunk slightly. There was some consistency across the board though – 94% of the respondents said analytics were a key part of their responsibilities.