This week is all about managing Apple Intelligence on iOS and iPadOS devices. Apple Intelligence is the personal AI that is built directly into iOS, iPadOS and MacOS. With that, Apple provides users with generative AI models that can directly integrate with personal data to help with writing content, creating images, organizing notifications, and more, while keeping the data private by processing it locally or by using Private Cloud Compute. On top of that, it nowadays also provides the ability to integrate with ChatGPT. And that is where it might become discussion worthy for most organizations. In general, especially in Europe, organizations nowadays want control over their data and the location of their data. That might already be a discussion for the Private Cloud Compute, but definitely should be for the external integration. This post will not be focused around that discussion, but will be focused on the configuration options that are available for managing the decisions that have been made.
Introducing Apple Intelligence on iOS and iPadOS devices
Apple Intelligence has been introduced with iOS and iPadOS 18. It provides a personal AI that is built directly integrated into the platform. One of its main strengths is the privacy aspect of it. Most of the processing is done locally on the device and for larger server-based models, the Private Cloud Compute is used. That is described by Apple with the following characteristics: “Your data is never stored”, “Used only for your requests”, and “Verifiable privacy promise”. Together those are the main selling points for using Apple Intelligence. On top of that, Apple Intelligence can nowadays also integrate with external intelligence solutions.
Within iOS and iPadOS there are nowadays many Apple Intelligence features that help user with getting the best out of the features within the platform. From writing content, creating emojis, creating images, automating replies, creating summaries, and many more. Most of these capabilities can nowadays be managed by using the Settings Catalog. That can be done per Apple Intelligence feature. However, before thinking about that, it is good to first determine the basics of using Apple Intelligence. And that is often a layered decision. First determine the whether the usage of Apple Intelligence is allowed. After that determine whether external intelligence is allowed, and determine which Apple Intelligence features are allowed. The table below provides an overview of all the possible settings.
| Apple Intelligence setting | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Allow Apple Intelligence Report | True/False | This policy settings can be used to allow Apple Intelligence Reports. |
| Allow Genmoji | True/False | This policy settings can be used to allow Genmoji. |
| Allow Image Playground | True/False | This policy settings can be used to allow Image Playground. |
| Allow Image Wand | True/False | This policy settings can be used to allow Image Wand. |
| Allow Personalized Handwriting Results | True/False | This policy settings can be used to allow Personalized Handwriting Results. |
| Allow Visual Intelligence Summary | True/False | This policy settings can be used to allow Visual Intelligence Summary. |
| Allow Writing Tools | True/False | This policy settings can be used to allow Writing Tools. |
| Allow Natural Language Editing | True/False | This policy settings can be used to allow Calendar Natural Language Editing. |
| Allow Smart Replies | True/False | This policy settings can be used to allow Mail Smart Replies. |
| Allow Summary | True/False | This policy settings can be used to allow Mail Summary. |
| Allow Transcription | True/False | This policy settings can be used to allow Notes Transcription. |
| Allow Transcription Summary | True/False | This policy settings can be used to allow Notes Transcription Summary. |
| Allow Summary | True/False | This policy settings can be used to allow Safari Summary. |
| Force On Device Only Dictation | True/False | This policy settings can be used to force On Device Only Dictation. |
| Force On Device Only Translation | True/False | This policy settings can be used to force On Device Only Translation. |
| Enabled | True/False | This policy settings can be used to enable external intelligence. |
| Allowed Workspace IDs | String | This policy settings can be used to allow external intelligence with specific workspace IDs. |
| Allow Sign In | True/False | This policy settings can be used to allow external intelligence and allow sign-in. |
Note: This table is based on the status of the Settings Catalog in Microsoft Intune on August 2026.
Configuring Apple Intelligence on iOS and iPadOS devices
When looking at the configuration of Apple Intelligence, Apple Intelligence features, and external intelligence, the experience is pretty straightforward. All settings are available within the Settings Catalog. The following eight steps walk through the steps to configure the different aspects of Apple Intelligence.
- Open the Microsoft Intune admin center portal and navigate to Devices > Apple mobile > Configuration profiles
- On the Apple mobile | Configuration profiles blade, click Create > New Policy
- On the Create a profile blade, select iOS/iPadOS > Settings catalog and click Create
- On the Basics page, provide at least a unique name to distinguish it from similar profiles and click Next
- On the Configuration settings page, as shown below in Figure 1, perform the following actions and click Next
- Click Add settings, navigate to Declarative Device Management (DDM) and the different settings are available in the categories of External Intelligence Settings and Intelligence Settings in Settings picker
- Configure the Apple Intelligence, Apple Intelligence features, external intelligence, that is required for the use cases.
- On the Scope tags page, configure the required scope tags and click Next
- On the Assignments page, configure the assignment for the required user or devices and click Next
- On the Review + create page, verify the configuration and click Create
Note: These steps provide general guidance. First it is important to determine which settings are required.
Experiencing Apple Intelligence on iOS and iPadOS devices
When the configuration of Apple Intelligence is in place, it is also pretty straightforward to experience the configuration. Of course, it does depend on the configuration that is actually set, but in the end it will come down to simply testing the impact of the applied configuration. The most common configuration is preventing the usage of external intelligence, as that might also bring the company data to an external unknown location that is out of control of the organization.
Figure 2 on the right provides an overview of blocking external intelligence on iOS. The device can still use Apple Intelligence, but the feature to use external intelligence is blocked and not configurable. These configuration options are available via Settings > Apple Intelligence & Sire. Besides that, there are also configuration options available via Settings > Screen Time > Content & Privacy Restrictions > Intelligence & Siri.
Important: Keep in mind that Apple Intelligence requires that iPhone and Siri are set to the same language.
Note: Keep in mind that at this moment not every Apple Intelligence feature is available for every language.
More information
For more information about the enhanced app inventory for Windows devices, refer to the following docs.
- Collect Device Properties With Intune Properties Catalog – Microsoft Intune | Microsoft Learn
- Registry Inventory in Microsoft Intune: Verifying What’s on Your Devices | Microsoft Community Hub
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Open the Microsoft Intune admin center portal and navigate to Devices > Windows > Configuration profiles
On the Windows | Configuration profiles blade, click Create > New Policy
Are u sure for Windows? 🙂
Thank you for keeping me sharp, Piotr!
I always try to use the same steps, written the same way. That was just too much this time. I’ve immediately updated it!
Regards, Peter