Apple Store App Getting AI Shopping Assistant

Apple's privacy policy for the Apple Store app suggests it will soon get a virtual shopping assistant to help users decide what to purchase.

The app will have a chat interface where users can ask questions about Apple products, with Apple using data like account information, device identifiers, chat information, carrier information, and location data to offer a personalized experience. Transcripts of chats are saved for later reference.

Apple says that information is sent to its "partners" to help Apple provide a conversational response, which suggests Apple might be using a third-party AI model for the virtual assistant.

Where the Apple Store app virtual shopping assistant is available, Apple collects and stores your account information, device identifiers, carrier information, chat information, and where enabled, location data to personalize the chat experience, provide relevant responses, and if you opt in, to improve the virtual shopping assistant. Before sharing the chat with our partners, Apple scrubs personal identifiers from it. These partners will use this information only to help Apple to provide a conversational response. Apple will save these transcripts to make them available when you return to the Apple Store app, for our business analytics, and if you opt in, to improve the virtual shopping assistant.

The virtual shopping assistant interface is not live in the ‌Apple Store‌ app yet, though it is possible Apple is testing the feature with some users. Apple also added a virtual assistant to its Apple Support app, but that feature still hasn't rolled out to everyone.