AirPods beep during announcements after iOS 26 update

After installing iOS 26 a few months ago, when my Airpods (Siri?) read announcements, my Airpods make beeping noises.

i.e. "Let me know if you'd like to start a walking workout." Then it alternates beeping noises between the left and right ear while waiting for me to say yes or no.

It's so strange.

I don't even think they're perfectly timed in the sense of spaced evenly at 2 seconds or something. I always get annoyed by it and just click the airpods to stop it from waiting for an answer.

Anyone else notice this?

I'm not sure if it does the same with an incoming text message. I need to test that.