Apple Concedes Apple Intelligence Isn’t ‘Available Now’
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Last week, Apple quietly tweaked its marketing to remove some of its taglines for Apple Intelligence, a move seemingly prompted by the delays in having a more personalized Siri ready for iOS 18. However, it now looks like there may be more going on here than Apple backpedaling in the face of controversy and a few lawsuits.
The National Advertising Division (NAD) published a decision today recommending that Apple “modify or discontinue advertising claims regarding the availability of certain features associated with the launch of its AI-powered Apple Intelligence tool in the U.S.
Notably, the NAD isn’t concerned only with the lack of the more personalized and context-aware Siri that Apple promised for iOS 18. The agency also took umbrage with Apple’s decision to begin advertising Apple Intelligence with the launch of the iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Pro in September, despite knowing at the time that the first Apple Intelligence features wouldn’t arrive until iOS 18.1 in October and many more wouldn’t come until much later.
Although Apple noted this delay in several places, the NAD found that the “footnotes and small-print” disclosures weren’t proportional to the much larger marketing banners that could have led many customers to believe that Apple Intelligence features would have been available out of the box, “including Priority Notifications, Image Generation tools (Image Playground, Genmoji, and Image Wand), ChatGPT integration into Siri and Writing Tools, and new Siri capabilities.”
Although Apple launched these features in staggered software updates between October 2024 and March 2025, NAD found that these claims were not properly supported at the time they were first made. NAD further found that Apple’s disclosures—such as footnotes and small-print disclosures—were neither sufficiently clear and conspicuous nor close to the triggering claims.
BBB’s National Advertising Division
Perhaps the most prominent were the “Hello, Apple Intelligence” taglines, which appeared on September 9, 2024, the same day the iPhone 16 lineup was announced. “While these features are now available, NAD recommended Apple avoid conveying the message that features are available when they are not,” the agency states in its decision.
Apple recently replaced these with “Built for Apple Intelligence,” that move may have been prompted by the NAD investigation. It’s unclear when the agency began its inquiry, but it notes that it took exception to the lack of the “new Siri functionality, including onscreen awareness, personal context, and cross-app actions,” all of which appeared under the “Available Now” heading.
During the inquiry, Apple informed NAD that these Siri features would not be available on the original timeline and that it had updated its promotional materials accordingly and modified claims and disclosures to adequately communicate their status. Additionally, Apple also permanently discontinued the “More Personal Siri” video demonstration.
BBB’s National Advertising Division
It appears Apple made these changes before the inquiry concluded. However, NAD notes that it will treat them as though NAD recommended they be discontinued” for “compliance purposes” — even though Apple voluntarily removed them before the recommendation was published. Nevertheless, it’s unclear if the launch of the NAD inquiry prompted Apple’s decision.
“While we disagree with the NAD’s findings related to features that are available to users now, we appreciate the opportunity to work with them and will follow their recommendations,” Apple said in an advertiser statement.
The National Advertising Division is part of the BBB National Programs, an independent non-profit organization that oversees industry self-regulation programs in the US. Its mandate is to review ad programs for truth and accuracy and make decisions to help set consistent standards.
