From Apple launch of its artificial intelligence features on Monday (Oct. 28) marks more than just an upgrade to Siri. Industry experts say this could change the way we shop online and in stores, while calling into question the idea that the tech giant has fallen behind in the AI race.
“Apple may be late to the AI wave compared to Google and Amazon, which have been adding AI to products for years,” Steven AtwalCEO of The big phone storetold PYMNTS. “But with Apple it has always been about timing and refinement. While others rushed to bring the latest in AI technology to market, Apple focused on privacy, security and user experience.”
The new features, called Apple Intelligencecoming via a software update that works on recent iPhones, iPads and Macs. It’s the company’s most significant push yet in AI – and specifically includes integration with ChatGPT from OpenAIwhich marks an unusual departure from Apple’s usually closed ecosystem.
The new system can summarize long email conversations, prioritize urgent messages such as same-day invitations and boarding passes, transcribe and summarize phone calls and voice recordings, and search natural language for photos and videos to find specific moments or objects. A new “Clean” tool removes unwanted elements from photos while trying to preserve the image’s original composition.
Apple’s new Write feature, integrated across all operating systems, lets users rewrite, proofread, and summarize text in any app, with options to adjust tone and style, from formal business language to friendly informal writing. The AI features require newer devices with Apple’s latest processors – specifically iPhone 15 Pro and later models, iPads with A17 Pro or M1 chips and newer, and Macs with M1 chips or newer.
Impact on retail
Apple Intelligence’s potential impact on retail has caught the attention of industry observers.
“Apple isn’t just upgrading Siri, it’s redefining the shopping experience,” Kaveh Vahdatfounder of AI marketing company RiseOpptold PYMNTS. “Imagine AI-powered shopping where Siri becomes a real-time stylist, inventory checker and payment assistant, all wrapped in Apple’s signature Privacy Shield.”
Imagine walking into an Apple Store, Vahdat said, and your iPhone immediately alerts you to personalized offers or checks to see if the MacBook you’re looking at is in stock. “This could transform Apple’s retail strategy from reactive to predictive, making the iPhone the personal shopping assistant of the future.”
The App Store, Apple’s digital marketplace, could see similar changes. Gone would be the endless scrolling through apps. Instead, Vahdat said, “Siri could act as a concierge, curating recommendations based on user context, past downloads, or real-time needs. This would make the App Store feel less like an overwhelming digital marketplace and more like a personal assistant.”
The most significant changes could come Unpleasant Apple Pay, the company’s mobile payment system. “Imagine an iPhone that knows you’ve entered your favorite store, highlights items on your wishlist, and lets you complete a purchase with a nod to your payment history and budget — all with Apple’s strict privacy controls intact,” Vahdat said.
These privacy controls are central to Apple’s strategy. Craig Federighi, Apple’s senior vice president of Software Engineering, emphasized a “groundbreaking new approach that extends iPhone privacy and security to the cloud to protect users’ information.”
The focus on security extends to fraud prevention. “It is possible that Apple could integrate AI to analyze transaction patterns created using things like FaceID,” Athwal said. “By doing this, they may be able to flag unusual or fraudulent activity.”
Chat available soon
The features will be rolled out in phases, starting with US English support and later expanding to other markets. The ChatGPT integration arrives in December, giving users access to the AI service without creating an account, potentially giving millions of Apple users their first taste of generative AI.
Apple’s move comes at a time when tech giants are rushing to integrate AI into their products. But while others rushed to market, Apple took its time. The question is whether that patience will pay off in transforming the way customers shop online.
“This could make mobile checkout faster and more intuitive and likely be a model that the entire industry can follow,” Vahdat said. But first Apple must proving that the AI features work as seamlessly as promised – and that consumers are willing to let artificial intelligence drive their shopping decisions.
For now, those are the features limited to newer devices like the iPhone 15 Pro, creating potential incentives for hardware upgrades. Additional features are promised for December and throughout 2024.
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