Apple introduced its AI-powered digital assistant Siri in 2011, and people have been asking it to answer questions and perform simple tasks ever since. As Siri enters its teens, it’s getting a significant upgrade as Apple integrates Apple Intelligence into its next iOS and macOS releases, making Siri more intelligent, helpful and productive. Here is an overview of some of the new features and functionality you can expect.
All of the following features and tools can save you time — and, as the saying goes, time is money. These AI options may not all directly help you save money, but they can all make you more efficient, from your personal budget to running your business.
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Writing and Communication Tools
Whether using Apple Mail, Pages or Notes, Apple Intelligence can help you rewrite, proofread and summarize emails and documents. It can even help you change the tone of your writing or inject humor. If you need to create original content, the Compose feature of Writing Tools will use ChatGPT to do it for you. You can also use Apple Writing Tools with many third-party apps.
When taking notes during a business call or listening to a recording on your Apple device, you can record it with the Phone or Notes app and ask Siri to act as your transcriptionist — it can summarize the transcript and give you the highlights.
This could be a particularly useful tool if you have a business or side gig that includes communicating with customers or sending pitches to potential clients but aren’t confident in your writing skills. Instead of paying someone else to do it, you can have the AI write what you need.
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Image and Visuals Creation
Not only can Siri help you write better, it can generate images for you, too. Are you writing a presentation using the Notes app? Use the Image Wand feature to have Siri create visuals based on the text or a rough sketch. Or use Image Playground in your Apple apps to create images based on a concept or description.
Similarly to the writing tool, this can help you avoid paying for an artist to create images for your business if you can’t afford the personal touch they can offer.
Email and Notifications Management
If you have trouble keeping up with email, Apple Intelligence can help you stay better organized. It provides quick access to the most critical emails in the Mail app and automatically reminds you of time-sensitive emails. Apple Intelligence can also group emails by senders and create snippets for quick scanning.
Apple Intelligence can also help you manage phone notifications by prioritizing the most important ones and summarizing them for easy scanning. The Reduce Interruptions feature can determine which notifications you need to view immediately and which can wait for later.
Among other possible uses, the reminders of time-sensitive information could help you avoid missing bill payments, which would in turn save you money on late fees.
Send Later Text Scheduling
You no longer have to worry about whether it is too late at night or early in the morning to send text messages. Write them whenever it is most convenient for you and use the Send Later feature to schedule delivery at a more appropriate time.
Beyond being useful to avoid disturbing your friends and family in the middle of the night, this would allow you to use your time the way it’s most efficient for you — and possibly save you some money by leaving yourself time during the day to handle other things.
iPad Calculator
The iPad is finally getting an updated scientific calculator. You can use a keyboard or an Apple Pencil to write an equation or evaluate an expression in the Math Notes app, and the Calculator app will solve it as soon as you type or write the equals sign. You can also plot graphs via Math Notes.
This could offer you a serious budget upgrade — and having your finances laid out more clearly would allow you to see areas you might be overspending on.
Safari Reader
If you’re performing online research, Safari Reader can provide a summary and table of contents for articles or web pages as you browse to help you evaluate whether a source is worth reading. Safari can also detect and highlight pertinent information pages, allowing you to find what you need quickly.
One of the many useful money-related ways you could use this function is improving your own financial literacy — the more you understand your money, the more effectively you can use it, and Safari Reader could help you learn more efficiently.
Cross-App Compatibility
According to Apple, Apple Intelligence will eventually allow Siri to perform actions across most apps with a simple voice or typed command, such as asking Siri to find a specific document on your phone and email or text it to particular contacts. Or imagine saying, “Hey Siri, deduct $20 from the miscellaneous category of my budget, and tell me how much I have left to spend this month.”
As Apple continues improving its AI options and cross-app compatibility, Siri may eventually simplify everything from managing your household or small business to staying on top of your finances, all using voice commands.
When Can I Start Using Apple Intelligence?
Apple says Apple Intelligence is part of the iOS 18, iPadOS 18 and macOS Sequoia releases scheduled this fall, although not all AI features will immediately be available. To experience Siri’s new AI smarts, you’ll also need an iPhone 15 Pro or Pro Max, iPad or Mac with M1 and later, set to U.S. English.
Amber Barkley contributed to the reporting for this article.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 7 Ways Apple’s New AI Options Can Save You Time and Money
