Los Angeles, California – Apple is facing a lawsuit for purported false advertising surrounding the delayed rollout of its artificial intelligence (AI) technology. The legal action, initiated in federal court last week, is seeking unspecified damages on behalf of customers who purchased Apple products marketed with the AI capabilities labeled as “Apple Intelligence.”
According to the lawsuit, Apple’s aggressive promotional campaigns across various platforms like the internet and television created a deceptive consumer expectation that the innovative AI features would be readily available upon the release of the iPhone. This generated significant anticipation in the market, leading to consumer upgrades at premium prices to set Apple apart from competitors in the AI sector.
The lawsuit alleges that Apple’s products only featured a limited or nonexistent version of the advertised Apple Intelligence, ultimately misleading consumers with exaggerated AI capabilities. Despite pulling a YouTube ad campaign highlighting Siri’s AI features, Apple has not retracted other misleading representations made in the market since the summer of 2024.
Amidst this legal battle, Apple is facing challenges in keeping up with rivals like Amazon and Google who are introducing more advanced AI functionalities. Amazon recently announced Alexa+, an updated version of its home voice assistant equipped with generative and agentic AI, while Apple has postponed Siri improvements until 2026.
The shift in leadership within Apple’s AI division involved demoting the executive overseeing Siri’s upgrades, John Giannandrea, to make way for Mike Rockwell, the creator of Vision Pro. Despite Apple’s struggle to enhance Siri, co-designer Luc Julia suggested that a fear of imperfection may be hindering progress in introducing a better version of Siri.
Overall, the legal battle against Apple reflects the growing demand for transparency and accuracy in advertising claims, highlighting the importance of delivering on promises made to consumers, especially in the competitive landscape of AI technology development.