Apple’s top employee in charge of overhauling its Siri virtual assistant reportedly told team members a delay in releasing new AI features was ugly and embarrassing.

Bloomberg reported Robby Walker, senior director for Siri and information intelligence, told employees it is unclear when the planned new features would launch.

He also said the decision to publicly promote the features before they are ready is only making it worse.

The company typically does not promote new devices or features before they are ready.

Apple teased the features in June 2024 and earlier this month stated they would be released “in the coming year”. The functions are designed to allow Siri to tap into users’ personal information and have more control of apps.

Bloomberg reported the features will not be ready for release until 2026 at the earliest, though noted the AI technology currently works correctly up to 80 per cent of the time.

The tools are due to be part of its Apple Intelligence software as the tech giant looks to close ground on AI-enabled devices and assistants.