Apple quietly brings back a controversial AI feature in iOS 26

Apple’s latest iOS 26 update has quietly reinstated one of its most debated artificial intelligence tools — notification summaries for News and Entertainment apps. The feature, part of Apple Intelligence, returns after being disabled last year following backlash over several inaccurate and misleading AI-generated summaries.

This was reported by 9to5Mac.

Apple aims to rebuild user trust as it fine-tunes its AI tools

When Apple first launched Apple Intelligence, the company largely avoided the kind of controversies that have plagued other tech firms. But one early misstep involved news notifications, where AI summaries sometimes distorted headlines. BBC News even criticized the system after an incorrect alert falsely attributed a serious event to its reporting. In response, Apple suspended the feature for media-related apps.

Now, with iOS 26, notification summaries are back — and Apple appears confident that major improvements have been made. According to reports, the underlying AI models have been retrained to reduce factual errors, and the interface has been redesigned to make AI involvement clearer. Users now see a "Summarized by Apple Intelligence" label and a red-text warning when enabling summaries, emphasizing that the content may contain inaccuracies.

So far, early feedback from beta testers and users suggests that the revamped system performs significantly better. No major incidents or false summaries have surfaced since its reintroduction. Many users report that Apple’s summaries now provide more reliable and concise notifications, helping them stay updated without constant app checks.

The return of this feature also coincides with the growing number of Apple Intelligence-compatible devices, driven by strong iPhone 17 sales. Analysts believe Apple’s renewed focus on trustworthy AI tools signals the company’s commitment to balancing automation with accuracy — a crucial step as AI becomes a bigger part of the iOS experience.

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