Apple Store App Tests AI Shopping Assistant in Early Preview for Select iPhone Users

Apple Store App Rolling Out 'Early Preview' of New Shopping Assistant

In the Apple Store app on the iPhone, select users have received access to an "early preview" of a new AI-powered virtual shopping assistant. Once it is available, you can open the chatbot by tapping on the speech bubble with two sparkles in the bottom-right corner of the app. Then, you can ask questions about Apple products, your existing Apple Store orders, trade-in values, payment options, and more, or simply tap on one of the common topics on the page to begin. MacRumors was first to report that the Apple Store app would be getting an AI shopping assistant, based on a new privacy policy added to Apple's website. The policy states that Apple uses your personal information to personalize the chat experience, provide relevant responses, and if you opt in, to improve the assistant. Apple has yet to officially announce this feature, so it seems to be quietly testing it with a smaller number of users for now. Many of our staff members do not have access to the chatbot, so if you do not see it yet, know you are not alone.

AppleInsider.com

Apple's expected Virtual Shopping Assistant has begun to appear for some iPhone users, offering to answer questions about products or check on orders, although it won't do much about the rising prices. Apple has begun to get a reputation for leaking information in code references, but in July 2026 it did so in a public policy document. An unknown feature called the Virtual Shopping Assistant was described in a privacy statement, but now being spotted in use. It's far from a wide rollout as yet, with no AppleInsider staffers having it. Leaker ShrimpApplePro, however, has shown it off in a screenshot which includes the label "Early Preview." The screenshot also shows, as if you couldn't guess, that this is an AI feature. It will be using an LLM based on the same data given to the human sales people you have been able to contact via the Apple Store app anyway. Specifically, the feature can list products, compare them, and offer various options regarding payments, orders and trade-ins. One example use given is the suggested prompt, "Help me choose a Watch," suggesting that the app can walk a user through model types, sizes, and perhaps accessories such as bands. Just as with every Siri AI written response, though, the app also cautions that because it's using AI, it can be wrong. Presumably there are some sore ex-Apple salespeople muttering about how they never had to warn they could be wrong. The privacy notice that was spotted before included language about sharing data with partners. The app now phrases it as how "Apple may use and retain a transcript to ensure quality and system performance, and to monitor for fraud." It's not clear how extensive the rollout is, but a search for similar screenshots reveals that someone working on the feature posted about it on LinkedIn. However, that post has been removed and clicking through the search result itself leads to no LinkedIn member. Despite that and how few people seem to have the feature yet, the existence of both this other screenshot and the privacy document, seem to suggest that the Virtual Shopping Assistant is coming to us all.