Apple has discontinued a new artificial intelligence (AI) feature that had drawn criticism and complaints for repeated errors in its summaries of news headlines.
The tech giant was facing mounting pressure to pull the service, which sent notifications that appeared to come from within news organizations' apps.
An Apple spokesperson said: “We are working on improvements and will make them available in a future software update.”
The BBC was among the groups that complained, after an alert issued by Apple's artificial intelligence wrongly told some readers that Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had shot himself.
The feature also inaccurately summarized headlines from The New York Times and Washington Post, according to reports by journalists and others on social media.
Media and journalism groups pushed the company to withdraw, warning that the feature was not ready and that errors generated by artificial intelligence were increasing problems of misinformation and declining trust in news.
But Apple previously only promised a software update that would clarify the role of artificial intelligence in generating summaries, which was optional and only available to readers with the latest iPhones.
This decision disables the feature entirely for news and entertainment apps.
“With the latest software betas for iOS 18.3, iPadOS 18.3, and macOS Sequoia 15.3, Notification Summaries for the News and Entertainment category will be temporarily unavailable,” an Apple spokesperson said.
For other apps, AI-generated app alert summaries will appear using italic text, the company said.
A BBC spokesperson said: “We are pleased that Apple has listened to our concerns and has temporarily turned off the news summary feature.”
“We look forward to working constructively with them on the next steps. Our priority is the accuracy of the news we provide to the public which is essential to building and maintaining trust.”
Apple said the feature, which was rolled out to users in the UK in December, aims to make customers' lives more efficient.
It brings together and rewrites the previews of multiple recent app notifications into a single alert on users' lock screens.
The decision comes as the company faces pressure to showcase its advances in artificial intelligence, which investors had hoped would lead to a new wave of demand for iPhones and other technology.
The company's shares fell more than 4% in trading on Thursday after reports of sales difficulties in China.
