Apple is working on an update for Apple Intelligence that will cut down on confusion caused by inaccurate summaries of news headlines, Apple told BBC News. In a statement, Apple said software coming soon will clarify when notifications have been summarized by Apple Intelligence.
Apple Intelligence features are in beta and we are continuously making improvements with the help of user feedback. A software update in the coming weeks will further clarify when the text being displayed is summarization provided by Apple Intelligence. We encourage users to report a concern if they view an unexpected notification summary.
The statement comes following a BBC News complaint over a pair of false notification headlines generated by Apple Intelligence on Friday. One notification claimed Luke Littler won a darts championship before the tournament had even begun, and another falsely suggested former tennis player Rafael Nadal had come out as gay. BBC News called on Apple to take action because the ongoing Apple Intelligence issue threatens consumer trust in news organizations.
Available on compatible devices in iOS 18.1 and later, Apple Intelligence notification summaries are designed to group multiple notifications from the same app together, providing a one-sentence overview of the content. These short summaries can cause problems when AI pulls the wrong details from news stories.
There have been several prior events where Apple Intelligence provided incorrect details from incoming news app notifications. In November, Apple Intelligence suggested Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been arrested, incorrectly interpreting a story from The New York Times. Last month, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urged Apple to disable the Apple Intelligence notification feature after a misleading headline suggesting murder suspect Luigi Mangione had shot himself. RSF said that "generative AI services are still too immature to produce reliable information for the public."
Apple Intelligence notification summaries are an opt-in feature and they can be disabled.
