Apple Introduces AI-Powered Support Assistant in Limited Preview

Apple Launches Early Preview of ChatGPT-Like Support Assistant

We've been seeing signs of an upcoming chatbot-based support feature in the Apple Support app, and it turns out it's already in testing. Some iPhone users have access to an early preview of the feature. In the Apple Support app, the Support Assistant early preview can be accessed by tapping on a dedicated "Chat" button that's been added to the navigation bar. Only a select number of iPhone users will see the chat option at this time. Tapping on the Chat button launches the new Support Assistant. It opens with a splash screen that gives you insight into how to use it. The Support Assistant is able to answer questions about your Apple products and services, providing troubleshooting information, answering questions about device features, and more. If the AI can't solve your issue, there is an option to escalate a chat to one of Apple's support staff for additional help. Apple warns that the Support Assistant is an experimental feature that "may make mistakes." The company recommends that users verify important information. It is not clear how long the early preview will last, and Apple hasn't provided details on when the Support Assistant will launch for all users.

While Siri waits for a reboot, Apple's new chatbot starts quietly fixing iPhones behind the scenes

Support Assistant handles routine Apple issues while escalating unresolved cases to human representatives Apple has begun testing a new AI-driven support feature in its customer service app, quietly introducing what appears to be the company's first step into chatbot-based assistance. The new Support Assistante feature rolled out in early preview form on August 5, 2025, but is currently accessible only to a small number of iPhone users in the United States. Users who see the new "Chat" button in their Apple Support app can initiate a conversation with the assistant, which is designed to handle routine troubleshooting for Apple products and services. Despite its limited availability, the experiment signals Apple's entry into a rapidly evolving field dominated by more established AI tool providers. It can explain features, walk users through fixes, and answer specific support-related questions. However, the AI writer behind the assistant has significant limitations, as it cannot answer queries about unreleased products or respond to topics unrelated to Apple's ecosystem. If the assistant cannot resolve the issue, users have the option to escalate the conversation to a human representative. The system is clearly labeled experimental, and Apple openly warns the assistant "may make mistakes", and encourages users to verify any critical advice the tool provides. This disclaimer reflects a broader caution within Apple's approach, especially as it integrates large language learning models (LLMs) into customer-facing applications. While Apple has confirmed generative models are in use, it has not clarified whether the assistant is powered by in-house technology or by external AI partners. Current evidence suggests a hybrid model, enabling Apple to acquire AI capabilities without relying solely on its still-developing Apple Intelligence initiative. A key point in Apple's rollout is its deliberate restraint. Unlike most general-purpose AI tools, the Support Assistant is tightly scoped to avoid misleading or speculative answers. This aligns with the company's longstanding emphasis on privacy and control. According to Apple, all conversations with the assistant are anonymized, not linked to personal data, and used strictly for service improvement. This privacy framing is consistent with how Apple has historically positioned itself in contrast to competitors, more willing to leverage user data to train AI systems. The timing of this preview coincides with other Apple AI initiatives, including revamped Siri capabilities, which have faced delays. By introducing the Support Assistant first, Apple is testing how users interact with a focused AI tool before expanding into more general-use applications.

Apple Has Relegated Its First AI Chatbot to Customer Support

You cannot talk to the chatbot about anything other than tech support. When ChatGPT officially launched in late 2022, it kicked off a historic AI race we're still living through today. The following year saw most of the biggest tech companies launching their own AI products: Google released Bard (now Gemini), Microsoft debuted Copilot, and Anthropic dropped Claude, even as OpenAI only continued to iterate on ChatGPT. One of the biggest players was infamously absent from this roster, however: Apple. Despite being among the most valuable companies in the world, Apple has had a rough go of it when it comes to AI. Its big push into the space didn't come in 2023 at all, but in 2024. Even then, Apple Intelligence has been a bit of a disaster. The company's ostensible show-stopping feature, an overhauled, AI-powered Siri, was supposed to debut with iOS 18, but we're still waiting -- and it won't arrive with iOS 26 this fall. Apple does have generative AI features you can use today, including an image generator, a writing assistant, and an image editor. But what Apple Intelligence lacks is a dedicated chatbot: Siri will not engage in a conversation with you, and ChatGPT integration with iOS 18 is skewed more towards assisting you with tasks than holding a dialogue. If you want a chatbot experience on your iPhone, you need to use one of the dedicated third-party services available on the App Store or on the web. That's now changing, however -- at least, as long as you only want to chat about technical issues. Apple recently updated its Apple Support app with a new "automated chat feature." Indeed, if you tap on the "Chat" tab, you'll be greeted by a "Chat with Support" splash screen that confirms the feature is experimental and in early preview. MacRumors originally spotted the update, as well as a change to the company's Terms of Use for the Support Assistant, which now reads: "Support Assistant uses generative models...You understand and agree that generative models may occasionally generate incorrect, misleading, incomplete, offensive, or harmful outputs." When you start a chat, you'll see a similar warning at the top of the page: "You are chatting with Apple's automated Support Assistant. This experimental feature may make mistakes. Verify important information." From here, it's like any chatbot experience you've probably had before -- only much more limited in terms of topics. As advertised, the bot is really only concerned with helping you with your tech issues, and to that end, it actually seems to work well. I struck up a conversation with it, pretending my iPhone was running hot, and it listed some scenarios in which that could happen, and asked whether I received a temperature warning or whether it was just warm to the touch. I went with the latter, which prompted the bot to ask if the phone was experiencing any other issues, like screen dimming or slowdowns. I reported my iPhone was running slow as well, and the bot suggested it could be an app running haywire, and offered specific instructions for force-quitting an app. In another attempt, I acted like my MacBook Pro's fans were running too fast. I was surprised to see the bot ask which of the two MacBook Pros attached to my Apple Account was having the issue (it noted the newer Pro was still covered under AppleCare+). I decided to say my older MacBook Pro was the one with the issue. After I told the bot the fans were not blocked, it offered detailed instructions on resetting the System Management Controller (SMC), a common piece of advice for resetting functions like fan speed on Intel Macs. These are simple tests, but I'm honestly kind of impressed. Apple has a huge backlog of support articles to lean on, and it makes sense to be able to share these pieces of advice as customers ask relevant questions in real time, and the experience is pretty smooth. Throughout the exchange, the bot offers links out to different apps and services: If you're asking about a broken iPad display, it'll offer you an in-app setup experience to book a repair appointment. If you're asking about a buying decision, it might offer a link to the Apple Store app. I don't have a real tech issue to test the bot's usefulness, so I can't really put it through its paces, but I'd definitely try it the next time I have a serious problem with one of my Apple devices. If you try to talk to the bot about anything other than Apple tech support, you'll be hit with the following: "I cannot help with that. I can answer questions or offer help with certain Apple products and services." All of my attempts to chat with the bot about things you might ask ChatGPT failed. The bot doesn't appreciate levity, either: When I told it my iPhone was running hot again, and it asked what I was doing just before I noticed it, I said "putting it in the microwave." The bot told me to call 911 if this was an emergency, and gave me the option to talk to a human representative. Apple seems to have implemented this bot with serious guardrails to prevent misuse, as I can't get it to take the bait for anything outside the scope of tech support. Maybe someone out there with more experience in manipulating LLMs can engineer a prompt clever enough to bypass these restrictions, and I'd love to see how Apple's bot would fare. But for now, the only way to experience Apple's first generative AI chatbot is to ask it about your Apple devices. How fitting.

Apple's Reportedly Rolls Out AI-Powered Support Chatbot on iPhone

The AI-powered chatbot can assist users with common issues It can also assist with issues in Apple services Apple's new chatbot is said to be available to some users Apple's first artificial intelligence (AI) support chatbot is reportedly being rolled out to some users. According to a report, the chatbot is available within the Apple Support app, and is called the Support Assistant. It is designed to help users with common issues around users' devices and the company's services. The feature is aimed at providing users with immediate resolution to their issues, which could lead to less time spent waiting to be called by a live support agent. According to a MacRumors report, select iPhone users are now seeing this feature in the Apple Support app. The AI-powered chatbot appears as a separate tab next to the Activities option within the app's navigation bar. MacRumors community member Gaitlyn told the publication that when opening the app, a new splash screen opens when tapping on the Chat tab for the first time, providing users with a brief description of the feature. As per screenshots shared by the user, the splash screen shows a message titled "Chat with Support," followed by the disclaimer that the chatbot is available in early preview. Apple says, "Try our automated chat feature, a new way to find solutions fast." Highlighting its use case, the tech giant mentions that the Support Assistant can solve common issues pertaining to users' Apple products and services. Additionally, when the chatbot cannot find a solution to the issue, it will automatically connect users with Apple Experts. Further, the company also mentions that the chatbot is an experimental feature, and it can get things wrong. Apple also adds a disclaimer that it can use information from the conversation with the chatbot, as well as device and account information to better understand the issue, provide "relevant responses," and to improve the chatbot. It is not clear whether users can turn off this data collection. The chatbot reportedly does not answer user queries that are outside of Apple support. If users feel unsatisfied with the responses, they can escalate the issue to a live support agent, as well, MacRumours said. Currently, it is not clear how long this early preview will last, and when more users will get access to the Support Assistant.

Apple finally launched something AI - but it's not what you think | Stuff

While we're waiting for the new Siri to arrive, the Apple Support app is getting an AI-powered chatbot to answer your product queries Last year, at WWDC 2024, Apple made a lot of noise about Siri finally getting a brain as part of Apple Intelligence. The smart assistant was due to get Personal Context capabilities to better understand you, your life, and your device. But, much to my disappointment, these features have been delayed until 2026. In the meantime, Apple is launching a different AI-powered tool. You'll find this feature in the Apple Support app, of all places. There's a new AI-powered chatbot coming soon, with the ability to answer any product related queries you may have. First spotted by MacRumors, the new AI tool is quietly tucked inside the Apple Support app. It's available to answer questions about why your iPad won't update or where the Bluetooth settings have gone. It's called the Support Assistant, and it's currently being tested with a small group of iPhone users who've found a new Chat button in the bottom navigation bar. Once tapped, this AI-powered assistant pops up with a splash screen that tells you how to use it. The screen makes it clear that there's no human interaction involved. It'll then happily help you troubleshoot problems, explain how your device works, and generally do the job of someone at the Genius Bar. Minus the lanyard and questionable small talk. But you won't be able to grill it about when the next MacBook Pro is arriving or whether it can fix your router. It's been trained with a very tight leash. The AI only deals with Apple support topics. Anything outside that bubble and you're out of luck. It's unclear if Apple is using one of its own AI models, or if it's piggybacking off a partner, like OpenAI's ChatGPT. To cover bases against any fumbles, Apple makes it clear that the feature is still "experimental" and "may make mistakes." That's not exactly confidence-inspiring, but at least there's an option to bump the conversation to a human if the bot goes off the rails. I think that's the most important aspect, as you're not forced to talk to AI. Rather, you can pick to do so before attempting to contact the support team for faster help. There's no word on how long this preview will stick around, or when everyone else will get a go. Right now, it's just a limited rollout to select iPhone users through the Apple Support app.

The Apple Support App is Getting an AI-Powered Chatbot

There is no word as to when this will be rolled out for everyone. Some iPhone users are reporting that they are getting an AI-powered chatbot in the Apple Support app, as part of an early preview testing, which could roll out sometime later. Users noticed a new "Chat" button that was added to the Apple Support app, which lets you talk to the AI chatbot support assistant in the app itself. The AI chatbot can help you troubleshoot your Apple devices, and answer questions related to Apple products or services. Since the chatbot is powered by AI, it can make mistakes so tread cautiously if you are following its advice. In case the chatbot is unable to provide a resolution to your issue, there is an option to escalate the problem to an Apple Support staff member. Apple is well aware that the AI assistant is an "experimental feature" and it can make mistakes. So for such instances, Apple advises its users to "verify important information." As of now, that is all the information we have on Apple Support's AI chatbot. There is no word on when the chatbot will be rolling out widely for everyone. However, it shows that despite the poor reception of Apple Intelligence, the company is not shying away from using AI and integrating it into its products.