Apple appears to be preparing an AI powered shopping assistant for the App Store, according to new language added to the app’s privacy policy. The feature, referred to as the Virtual Shopping Assistant, is not currently available in the App Store, and Apple has not announced when it will launch. According to the policy language, the assistant is expected to let users ask questions about Apple products and receive personalized recommendations through a chat interface.
Apple’s privacy policy states that the assistant will collect and store users’ account information, device identifiers, carrier information, and chat data, and may also collect location information when users have enabled location access. The company said it will use this data to personalize the chat experience and provide relevant answers. Chat transcripts will remain accessible when users return to the App Store, and Apple will retain them for business analytics and, when users opt in, to improve the shopping assistant over time.
According to the policy, Apple says it will remove personal identifiers from conversations before sharing them with unnamed partners, who would use the information only to help provide conversational responses. The reference to partners suggests an outside company could be providing at least part of the underlying AI technology, though Apple has not identified any provider. Users will not be able to stop the assistant from processing information required to answer a specific question once they use it, but they can prevent Apple from using their conversations to improve the system through a control located in the App Store under Account, Settings, and Chat Improvements.
The Virtual Shopping Assistant would follow the Support Assistant already introduced in the Apple Support app, which uses a similar conversational interface to answer questions about Apple products and services, though it has not yet reached every user. A shopping assistant represents a relatively controlled use of conversational AI, since it would primarily answer questions about products sold directly by Apple, though incorrect specifications or unsuitable recommendations could still create problems for customers. The level of data collection outlined in the policy may draw scrutiny given Apple’s longstanding emphasis on privacy as a core part of its brand, and AI generated product advice could face legal questions if the assistant provides inaccurate information, an issue that has already surfaced elsewhere in the industry, including a recent case in which a German court ruled Google could be held responsible for false statements generated by its AI Overviews feature. Apple has not confirmed the shopping assistant publicly or provided a launch date, though its inclusion in the App Store’s privacy policy suggests the company is preparing to introduce the feature in select markets.
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