Apple Intelligence in Mail, explained

Apple Intelligence added a set of AI features to Apple Mail. They're free, built in, and more private than most AI email tools. Here's what each one does, what you need to use them, and where they stop.

What you need

• A Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later)
• A recent version of macOS with Apple Intelligence turned on in System Settings
• A supported language setting

The features

Summaries in the inbox

Instead of the first line of each email, the message list can show a short AI summary of what the email is about. Useful for scanning a busy inbox without opening every message.

Summarise a message or thread

Open a long email or thread and use Summarise to get the key points. Good for catching up on a long back-and-forth.

Categories

Mail sorts incoming email into Primary, Transactions, Updates and Promotions, so receipts and marketing don't bury the mail from people.

Priority Messages

Mail pulls time-sensitive email, like a boarding pass or a same-day invitation, to the top of the inbox.

Smart Reply and Writing Tools

Smart Reply suggests quick responses based on the email you're replying to. Writing Tools can proofread, rewrite or change the tone of anything you write.

How private is it?

Apple Intelligence runs on your Mac where it can. Some requests are handled by Apple's Private Cloud Compute, servers Apple designed so your data isn't stored or made available to Apple. That's more private than most AI email apps, which send your mail to general cloud AI providers.

Where Apple Mail stops

Apple Intelligence makes Mail smarter, but Mail is still built for everyone rather than for people who live in email:

• Categories sort by type, not by action. A receipt and an important contract can both look "Primary". There's no Needs reply or Waiting view.
• No sense of whose turn it is. Mail doesn't track which threads are waiting on you and which are waiting on someone else.
• Not built for the keyboard. Mail has shortcuts, but it isn't designed to be driven entirely from the keyboard.
• Replies aren't written in your style. Smart Reply gives short generic responses.

Where Dusk fits

Dusk uses the same Apple on-device model, but only on your Mac, never the cloud, and builds a mail app around getting through email fast. Every email is sorted into Important, Needs reply, Waiting, Newsletters or Screened, with a one-line summary and a reason. Threads show "Waiting on you" or "Waiting on them". Tab gives three suggested replies written in your style. It's $49 once, for Gmail, Google Workspace and iCloud. See Dusk vs Apple Mail.

Questions

Is Apple Intelligence in Mail free?

Yes. It's built into Apple Mail on Macs that support Apple Intelligence.

Which Macs support Apple Intelligence in Mail?

Macs with Apple silicon, M1 or later, with Apple Intelligence turned on in System Settings.

Does Apple Intelligence send my email to the cloud?

Most processing happens on your Mac. Some requests use Apple's Private Cloud Compute, which Apple says doesn't store your data or make it available to Apple.

Can Apple Mail show only emails that need a reply?

Not directly. Its categories sort by type. Apps like Dusk add a Needs reply view.