How to Enable (and Turn Off) Apple Intelligence on iPhone, iPad, and Mac

Apple Intelligence brought with it some of the most hyped new features for the iPhone, iPad, and Mac when it released with iOS 18.1. Even now, its functions are being upgraded and currently include writing assistance, an enhanced form of Siri, and AI image generation. Capabilities are limited to the iPhone 15 Pro series, all iPhone 16 models, all iPads running an A17 Pro chip and above, and all Macs with an M-series chip, but that's still a lot of options.

However, not everyone's happy with it. That's because Apple recently made the decision to turn Apple Intelligence on by default for all compatible devices. Even though the new features are exciting, not everyone wants to use artificial intelligence features on their smartphones or other devices, especially now that they take up 7GB of storage space and involve sending data to Apple's cloud.

If you're among those who are skeptical, it's good news that you can turn off Apple Intelligence on your iPhone or other compatible Apple device. Alternatively, if you do want to use Apple's AI, it's easy to turn it back on.

How to enable Apple Intelligence on iPhone or iPad

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

If you have an Apple Intelligence compatible iPhone, iPad, or Mac, the easiest way to turn Apple Intelligence on is to upgrade to iOS 18.3/iPadOS 18.3/macOS 15.3 or later. This will automatically enable Apple Intelligence on your device. Alternatively, navigate to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and flick the toggle to turn it on manually.

If enabling manually, you should see instructions to finalize your Apple Intelligence access on-screen. Just follow the outlined workflow and it'll be enabled for you.

If updating didn't turn on Apple Intelligence for you or you're still not seeing an option to enable Apple Intelligence, ensure that your device language and Siri language are set to one of the supported variations of English, as Apple Intelligence is only available in that language for now. Find device language in Settings under Language & Region in the General tab and Siri language under the Siri tab in the same app. If you still don't see the Apple Intelligence toggle, it might not be available in your region.

How to turn on Apple Intelligence's ChatGPT extension

While on the Apple Intelligence & Siri page, scrolling down will also show an option for setting up ChatGPT integration, which is not enabled by default and will allow Siri to pass on difficult questions to ChatGPT, plus will give Apple Intelligence's Writing Tools the ability to compose text rather than just rewrite it. Under Extensions, tap ChatGPT, then on the new page, hit Set Up... to get started. A ChatGPT account is optional for this feature, and Apple promises to obscure your Apple Account and IP address before passing on data to OpenAI, as well as keep OpenAI from training on your information. Note that enabling ChatGPT integration requires agreeing to OpenAI's Terms of Use.

How to turn off Apple Intelligence on iPhone or iPad

Credit: Khamosh Pathak

Using AI raises many concerns, such as high energy usage, privacy issues, or even simply the potential for unreliability that often comes with a new, immature technology. If you decide that you'd rather not use Apple Intelligence on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, you can easily disable it. Go to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri and toggle off Apple Intelligence. You'll see a confirmation pop-up—select Turn Off Apple Intelligence. That will remove the AI from your device, including any ChatGPT integration you might have also enabled.

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