Apple is rolling out AI-generated app review summaries as part of its iOS 18.4 update, currently available in public beta. This new feature uses Apple Intelligence, the company’s built-in AI, to generate short summaries of user reviews on the App Store.
By analyzing existing reviews, the AI creates a brief overview that highlights key points, giving users a quick way to assess an app’s overall feedback. These summaries, powered by large language models, will be updated weekly for apps and games that meet Apple’s review threshold, although the company has not disclosed the exact number of reviews required.
Users can report issues with a summary by tapping and holding the review, while developers can use App Store Connect to flag any concerns. Initially, AI summaries will only be available in the U.S. in English, with plans to expand to more countries and languages later this year. The feature will also be included in iPadOS 18.4.
Despite its convenience, the AI-powered summaries raise concerns about potential misuse. Some developers may attempt to manipulate ratings by generating fake reviews to influence the AI-generated summaries. This type of review manipulation is already a known issue across digital marketplaces, but the introduction of AI-generated overviews could make it even easier for misleading information to gain visibility. Consumers might also rely too heavily on AI summaries rather than reading full reviews to get a more balanced perspective.
Apple’s AI system will need to accurately process both positive and negative reviews to ensure that critical feedback is not overlooked. It remains to be seen how well Apple Intelligence can identify and summarize concerns, as well as whether the company will implement additional safeguards to prevent abuse.
Apple is not alone in using AI to enhance review systems. Amazon introduced AI-generated summaries for product reviews on its platform in 2023, and Google followed with similar AI-powered summaries in Google Maps. Google’s Gemini AI also provides review summarization capabilities, showing that tech giants are increasingly leveraging AI to simplify user experiences.
