Apple Hits Pause on AI Notification Summaries for News and Entertainment Apps

Apple’s AI ambitions hit a snag as the company temporarily disables its AI-powered notification summaries for news and entertainment apps in iOS 18.3, following backlash over inaccurate alerts.

What Happened?

The pause comes after high-profile complaints from outlets like the BBC, which highlighted how Apple Intelligence-generated summaries twisted news content into misleading notifications. The issue drew significant attention, forcing Apple to address concerns and refine its approach.

With the latest beta update for iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS Sequoia 15.3, notification summaries for all news and entertainment apps have been disabled. Apple promises they’ll return in a future update after further improvements.

What’s Changing in iOS 18.3?

The update introduces several tweaks to notification summaries aimed at improving transparency and user control:

• New Labeling: Notification summaries now appear in italics to help users distinguish them from regular notifications.
• User Controls: You can now disable summaries for specific apps directly from the Lock Screen or Notification Center by swiping and selecting "Turn Off Summaries."
• Beta Disclaimer: A new warning in the Settings app informs users that notification summaries are still in beta and may contain errors.

Apple has also clarified that all AI-generated content in summaries will explicitly indicate that it’s provided by Apple Intelligence, although no visual badge has been added yet.

For now, beta users will notice the absence of summaries in apps like The New York Times and BBC News, with iOS 18.3 set to reach public beta testers soon, though no final release date is confirmed.