(Credit: Tyler Hayes)
Apple Intelligence hasn't quite lived up to the hype. Writing Tools, ChatGPT integration, Genmoji, and Image Playground have added supplementary improvements to iOS, but notification summaries for news were temporarily paused for hallucinations, and Siri's promised AI revamp has been significantly delayed. And yet, Apple Intelligence was turned on by default in iOS 18.3. Thankfully, Apple makes it relatively easy to turn off in Settings. But what if you want to keep some Apple Intelligence features and ditch others? Your options are limited, but here's what you can do.
How to Turn Off Apple Intelligence
The simplest approach to dealing with Apple Intelligence features is to disable them. Open Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and turn the toggle next to Apple Intelligence to off.
(Credit: PCMag/Apple)This turns off all AI capabilities throughout the operating system, but some features will still be visible. For instance, the Image Playground app for image generation stays on the phone but won't work. Previously created images will remain, but a message will tell you that future creation is disabled until Apple Intelligence is turned back on. Similarly, Genmoji creation will disappear but previously created emoji will still be available to send.
How to Turn Off Apple Intelligence Notification Summaries
Notification summaries are intended to help people quickly catch up on lengthy chat threads, putting only the most important information on the screen (date and time for a meet-up, for example). That can be useful—unless it incorrectly summarizes a news alert. If you'd rather parse the group chat yourself, Apple offers a way to turn off these summaries without disabling other Apple Intelligence features like Writing Tools and Genmoji.
(Credit: PCMag/Eric Griffith)Go to Settings > Notifications > Summarize Notifications. When you first turn this on, Apple will let you pick which notifications to summarize—News & Entertainment, Communication & Social, and All Other Apps. So, in this setting, you can choose to turn off summaries completely or pick and choose based on an app.
If you're running iOS 18.4 and up, you have a Priority Notifications option, which will show you the notifications that Apple Intelligence deems most important on a separate part of the Lock Screen. You can enable or disable it via Settings > Notifications.
(Credit: PCMag/Eric Griffith)Use Screen Time to Block Apple Intelligence Features
To block elements of Apple Intelligence on your device, or any that you manage, turn to Screen Time. Apple recommends that image creation tools be used by kids 12 and older, while the ChatGPT extension be used by kids 13 and older. To manage these features, open Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions, and tap Intelligence & Siri. Here, you can allow or block Image Creation, Writing Tools, and ChatGPT Extension. (You can also axe Math Notes if you don't want Apple doing your kids' homework.)
(Credit: PCMag/Eric Griffith)