Apple has decided to suspend its AI-powered notification summaries for news and entertainment apps following criticism over the generation of inaccurate news alerts. This move is part of a broader effort to enhance the transparency of notification summaries across the platform.
In the latest developer previews for iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS Sequoia 15.3, Apple has completely disabled notification summaries for all news and entertainment apps. The feature will be reinstated in a future update after undergoing refinements to address the reported issues.
The decision was prompted by an incident involving the BBC, which raised concerns after one of its articles was misrepresented. The alert incorrectly claimed that Luigi Mangione, who is accused of murdering UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had taken his own life.
In addition to the temporary removal of notification summaries for select apps, Apple is introducing formatting changes. From now on, all notification summaries will be displayed in italics, making them visually distinct from regular notifications. Furthermore, users will have the ability to disable notification summaries for specific apps directly from the Lock Screen.
Apple is also making efforts to better inform users about the nature of this feature. A new notification within the Settings app will clarify that the notification summaries are a beta feature and may occasionally contain errors.
These updates follow Apple’s recent announcement that it would enhance the clarity around notification summaries, specifically stating that the displayed text is generated by Apple Intelligence. Although many expected a new label or badge to indicate this, no such visual markers have been implemented so far.
While the public beta of iOS 18.3 is anticipated next week, the official release date for the general public remains uncertain.
