A Complete Guide to Apple Intelligence: 10 Essential Features You Need to Know

Apple Intelligence is your personal AI assistant for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, designed to make your devices smarter, more creative, and easier to use. From summarizing messages to creating custom emojis, Apple Intelligence helps you get things done faster and more effectively.

This guide breaks down the top 10 features of Apple Intelligence and shows you how to use them:

1. Enabling Apple Intelligence
2. Summaries in Messages
3. Writing Tools for Grammar, Summaries, and Rewrites
4. Web Page Summaries in Safari
5. Phone Call and Audio Summaries
6. Smart Search, Movies, and Object Removal in Photos
7. Notifications Summaries and Focus Mode
8. Siri Enhancements (Voice & Text Input)
9. Genmoji Creation for Custom Emojis
10. Image Playground for Fun Image Design

Let’s dive into how these features work and how to start using them today.

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1. Getting Started with Apple Intelligence

Apple Intelligence is available on devices running iOS 18.1, iPadOS 18.1, or macOS Sequoia 15.1 (or later). Here’s how to enable it:

1. Update your device to iOS 18.1 (or later), iPadOS 18.1, or macOS Sequoia 15.1.
2. Check language settings (both device language and Siri language) are set to a supported language (e.g., English (U.S.)).
3. On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri > Get Apple Intelligence.
4. Keep your device connected to Wi-Fi and power while Apple Intelligence downloads.

2. Summaries in Messages

What It Does

• Shows a conversation summary under each message thread.
• Provides Smart Reply suggestions in the keyboard.

How to Use

1. Open Messages: You’ll see a short summary of each conversation below the thread name.
2. Smart Reply: Tap a conversation, tap the text field, then tap a suggested reply on the keyboard.
3. Turn Summaries On/Off: Go to Settings > Apps > Messages and toggle Summarize messages on or off.

3. Writing Tools (Grammar, Summaries, Rewrites)

What It Does

• Offers text editing tools for grammar checks, rewrites (professional, informal, or brief style), and summarizing.
• Works in most apps where you can type.

A) Grammar and Style Checks

1. Select text, tap the (…) button or the tool icon, then select Writing Tools.
2. Tap Edit to see grammar and typo suggestions.
3. Review or undo changes (use Original and Revert).

B) Rewriting Text

1. Select text → (…) → Writing Tools → Rewrite.
2. Choose a style: Informal, Professional, or Brief.
3. Tap Repeat to try another rewrite or compare with Original.

C) Summaries and Organization

1. Select text → (…) → Writing Tools.
2. Choose Create notes or Main Ideas to turn the passage into bullet points or a condensed summary.
3. For advanced organizing, tap List (outline) or Table (grid).
4. Replace your original text with the summary, or Copy/ Share it.

4. Summaries for Web Pages in Safari

What It Does

• Generates quick summaries of web articles—even paywalled or private pages—using Safari’s Reader Mode plus Apple Intelligence.

How to Use

1. Open Safari on iPhone.
2. Tap the Reader Mode icon (the AA button), then choose Show Reader.
3. Tap Create Summary at the top of the page.
4. Tap Hide Reader to go back to normal view.

5. Phone Call and Audio Summaries

What It Does

• Transcribes and summarizes recorded phone calls or voice memos in the Notes app.

How to Use

1. Record a call in the Phone app (the call recording is automatically saved in Notes under “Call Recordings”).
2. Open Notes, select the recorded call, then tap Summary to see a condensed version.
3. Copy or Share the summary using the icons at the bottom.

Summaries of Other Audio

• For an audio note (e.g., a lecture recording in Notes), open the note → tap Summary → copy, replace, or share.

6. Photos: Smart Search, Custom Movies, and Object Removal

A) Smart Search

1. Open Photos, tap Search.
2. Type a normal description: e.g., “Maya skateboarding in a bright shirt.”
3. Tap Select to choose specific photos and videos from results.

B) Creating a Movie Memory

1. In Photos, scroll to Memories → tap Create.
2. Enter a descriptive title (“Vacation Ski Trip Movie”).
3. Apple Intelligence picks the best footage and music for you.

C) Remove Unwanted Objects

1. Open a photo → tap Edit → tap Clean Up.
2. Tap or brush over any objects to remove them.
3. Done to finalize your edits.

7. Summaries in Notifications and Focus Mode

What It Does

• Condenses long or stacked notifications into short summaries.
• Focus mode “Fewer Notifications” only shows critical alerts.

How to Enable

1. Open Settings > Notifications.
2. Toggle Summaries in Preview on or off.
3. Tap individual apps to decide which ones get summarized.

Focus Mode: “Fewer Notifications”

1. Open Settings > Focus.
2. Select Fewer Notifications, then choose People or Apps that can bypass summary rules.

8. Siri Integration (Voice & Text Input)

What It Does

• Enhanced Siri with Apple Intelligence for more fluid, context-aware conversations.
• Type requests if you can’t speak aloud.

How to Use

1. Activate Siri (double-tap the bottom of the screen or use voice activation).
2. Type or speak your request (e.g., “Set an alarm—wait, sorry, make it a timer for 15 minutes”).
3. Context-Aware: Follow up with multiple queries; Siri keeps track of context (e.g., sports scores, next game, add to calendar).

Turning Off Typing to Siri

• Go to Settings > Apple Intelligence & Siri → turn off Type with Siri.

9. Create Genmoji for Fun, Personalized Emojis

What It Does

• Lets you create custom Genmoji by typing a description or using a photo for inspiration.
• Personalize with accessories (like hats or sunglasses), themes, or activities.
• Share Genmoji inline in messages, as a sticker, or as a Tapback reaction.

How to Use

1. Open the Emoji Keyboard in Messages or any app that supports emoji input.
2. Type a description (e.g., "Happy face with sunglasses and a party hat").
3. Browse the generated Genmoji and select your favorite.
4. Add a photo: Choose an image from your photo library to create a Genmoji inspired by a friend or family member.
5. Customize: Add accessories, themes, or activities to make the Genmoji unique.
6. Use the Genmoji in one of three ways:
   • Inline: Add it to a message like any emoji.
   • Sticker: Share it as a separate sticker.
   • Tapback: Use it as a reaction to a message.

10. Design Creative Images with Image Playground

What It Does

• Generates unique images based on text descriptions or photos.
• Offers themes, costumes, accessories, and backgrounds for custom designs.
• Supports two styles:
  • Animation: A modern 3D-animated look.
  • Illustration: Simple shapes, clean lines, and colorblocking.
• Works directly in Messages and apps like Freeform, Keynote, and a standalone Image Playground app.

How to Use

1. Open Messages, Freeform, Keynote, or the standalone Image Playground app.
2. Enter a description: Type what you want (e.g., “dog wearing a superhero cape on a mountain”).
3. Choose a style:
   • Animation for a 3D look.
   • Illustration for simple and clean visuals.
4. Add a photo: Use your photo library to personalize the image with a family member or friend as the subject.
5. Customize: Add costumes, accessories, or thematic elements.
6. Save or Share: Use the image in conversations, presentations, or creative projects.

Wrapping Up

You’ve got all the main Apple Intelligence use cases and their short instructions in one place.

Ready to explore? Start by enabling Apple Intelligence and dive into these features!

Valeriia Kuka

Valeriia Kuka, Head of Content at Learn Prompting, is passionate about making AI and ML accessible. Valeriia previously grew a 60K+ follower AI-focused social media account, earning reposts from Stanford NLP, Amazon Research, Hugging Face, and AI researchers. She has also worked with AI/ML newsletters and global communities with 100K+ members and authored clear and concise explainers and historical articles.