Apple Intelligence—no longer “available now”

A watchdog has accused tech giant Apple of using false advertising in its campaigns promoting the latest iPhone.

After reviewing Apple’s promotional materials, including an “available now” label on Apple Intelligence’s webpage, the National Advertising Division (NAD)—a nonprofit that reviews ad campaigns for truthfulness/transparency—recommended the company discontinue or modify that specific claim because many of its AI-powered features weren’t available with the iPhone 16’s September launch.

• Some features, like Priority Notifications, Genmoji, Image Playground, and a ChatGPT integration, became available in recent months.
• But one of Apple’s biggest claims—a major Siri update showcased in a Bella Ramsey-led ad campaign—still has yet to be released.

The response: After receiving the NAD’s critiques, Apple discontinued its Bella Ramsey ad campaign and removed the “available now” headline from its website (among other changes), per a press release published this week.

Big picture: The situation marks the latest blow to Apple’s reputation with AI technology. In addition to facing multiple class-action lawsuits over Apple Intelligence ads, the tech giant was forced to turn off its AI news summary feature earlier this year after users and the BBC discovered it sometimes twisted headlines to display false information.