Apple to Tap User Data for LLM Training

Apple is planning to analyze user data to improve its large language model (LLM) software while upholding user privacy.

The company has been using synthetic data to train its artificial intelligence (AI) models but has found that method to be ineffective, Apple wrote in a Monday (April 14) blog post.

Now, Apple will still use synthetic data as a starting point but will compare the generated text to a sample of emails from participating user to determine which generated output best lines up with real-world messages.

“Only users who have opted-in to send Device Analytics information to Apple participate,” Apple said in the blog post. “The contents of the sampled emails never leave the device and are never shared with Apple. A participating device will send only a signal indicating which of the variants is closest to the sampled data on the device, and Apple learns which selected synthetic emails are most often selected across all devices.”

The new technique aims to improve text-related features from the Apple Intelligence platform, like summaries in notifications, the ability to synthesize thoughts in its Writing Tools and recaps of user messages.

Apple Intelligence has struggled to provide users with accurate summaries, and senior executives said in an internal meeting last month that the company’s delays to key updates for Siri, its virtual AI-powered voice assistant, have been ugly and embarrassing.

Apple said Siri would get fresh AI updates later this year, but the Big Tech firm later told Reuters that those improvements would only come in 2026.

Siri, once a pioneer in the field of virtual assistants, is now lagging behind rivals such as Amazon’s Alexa, Google’s Gemini for Android devices, and Samsung’s Galaxy AI, all of which are ahead in offering more advanced AI features, PYMNTS reported last month.

The delays reportedly resulted in the termination of an executive, a rare move for Apple.

CEO Tim Cook removed AI head John Giannandrea, the former head of search and AI at Google, from overseeing Siri. Taking his place, Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell, who will oversee Siri’s upgrades.

“Rockwell will report to software chief Craig Federighi,” PYMNTS reported. “Giannandrea will still oversee other AI efforts at Apple.”