SEOUL— Samsung Electronics Co. is looking to give its Siri-like virtual assistant a big promotion.

The South Korean smartphone giant is considering a hardware revamp for its next flagship smartphone that could add a dedicated button for an improved artificial-intelligence feature, people familiar with the matter said, as it seeks to woo smartphone users after a disastrous product recall last month.

The latest internal prototypes of the premium Galaxy S8 handset include a button on the side edge of the smartphone that would be used to launch a beefed-up virtual assistant based on artificial intelligence, akin to Apple Inc.’s Siri, according to these people, who cautioned that the prototypes aren’t final and could change.

Samsung will have more time than usual to tinker with the Galaxy S8 after it was forced to discontinue its premium Galaxy Note 7 smartphone last month, following reports of phones catching fire. The embarrassing fiasco damaged the company’s brand and engineers still don’t know exactly what caused the devices to overheat.

Executives are now looking to delay the announcement of the Galaxy S8 until after the Mobile World Congress trade show in late February next year, the people said. One of these people said the unveiling could come as late as April. That would mark a break from the past three years, when Samsung used the tech showcase in Barcelona to unveil its newest top-of-the-line Galaxy S smartphones.