Apple to stop AI-generated news alerts after errors

Apple has discontinued a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature that drew criticism and complaints for making repeated mistakes in its news headline summaries.

The tech giant had faced increasing pressure to remove the service, which sent notifications that appeared to come from news organizations’ apps.

“We are working on improvements and will make them available in a future software update,” an Apple spokesperson said.

The BBC was among the groups that complained, after an alert generated by Apple’s AI falsely told some readers that Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had shot himself.

The article also inaccurately summarized headlines from the New York Times and the Washington Post, according to reports from journalists and others on social media.

Media outlets and press groups had pressured the company to withdraw, warning that the feature was not ready and that AI-generated errors were adding to problems of misinformation and loss of trust in news.

But Apple had previously promised only a software update that would clarify the role of AI in creating the summaries, which were optional and only available to readers with the latest iPhones.

This decision disables the feature entirely for news and entertainment apps.

“With the latest beta software releases of iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS Sequoia 15.3, notification summaries for the News & Entertainment category will be temporarily unavailable,” an Apple spokesperson said.

The company said that for other apps, AI-generated app alert summaries will appear in italicized text.

“We are pleased that Apple has listened to our concerns and is pausing the news summary feature,” a BBC spokesperson said.

“We look forward to working with them constructively on next steps. Our priority is the accuracy of the news we deliver to audiences, which is essential to building and maintaining trust.”

Apple had said the feature, which rolled out to UK users in December, was aimed at making customers’ lives more efficient.

Group and rewrite previews of multiple recent app notifications into a single alert on users’ lock screens.

The move comes as the company faces pressure to showcase its developments in artificial intelligence, which investors had hoped would drive a new wave of demand for iPhones and other technologies.

The company’s shares fell more than 4% in trading Thursday after it was reported that sales were struggling in China.