Apple has suspended a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature that drew criticism and complaints over repeated errors in news headline summaries.
The tech giant faced mounting pressure to pull a service that sent notifications that appeared to come from newspaper 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 complaining after an alert generated by Apple’s artificial intelligence 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 Washington Post, according to reports from reporters and others on social media.
Media outlets and press groups have pushed the company to back down, warning that the feature isn’t ready and that errors generated by artificial intelligence are adding to problems of misinformation and declining trust in news.
But Apple had previously only promised a software update that would clarify the role of artificial intelligence in creating the summaries, which were optional and only available to readers with the latest iPhones.
This decision completely disables the feature for news and entertainment apps.
“With the latest software beta releases for iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS Sequoia 15.3, the News & Entertainment category notification summaries will be temporarily unavailable,” an Apple spokesperson said.
The company said that for other apps, AI-generated app alert summaries will appear using text in italics.
“We are pleased that Apple has listened to our concerns and is pausing the News Collapse feature,” a BBC spokesperson said.
“We look forward to working constructively with them on the next steps. Our priority is the accuracy of the news we deliver to our audience, which is key to building and maintaining trust.”
Apple said the feature, which rolled out to UK users in December, was meant to make users’ lives more efficient.
Aggregates and overwrites previews of multiple recent app notifications into a single alert on users’ lock screens.
The decision comes as the company faces pressure to show off its artificial intelligence developments, which investors had hoped would fuel a new wave of demand for iPhones and other technology.
The company’s shares fell more than 4% in Thursday trading after reports of poor sales in China.
