Apple’s Guide Turns Off Apple Intelligence on Mac in 8 Steps

On a Mac running macOS 27 Golden Gate, you turn Apple Intelligence off one feature at a time: Apple’s guide lists eight separate settings, starting with Siri AI under System Settings › Siri. The single Apple Intelligence switch that Apple’s macOS Tahoe guide described does not appear in its macOS 27 version.

Turning features off is not the same as getting storage back. Apple says Apple Intelligence uses up to 14GB on some Macs, and none of its pages that we read says switching features off frees any of it.

This is the Mac counterpart to our iPhone guide to turning off Apple Intelligence. The ideas match; the places do not, and most of the Mac switches live in the apps’ own Settings menus rather than in System Settings.

Before you start

• Check your macOS version. The steps below are from Apple’s macOS 27 Mac User Guide. On macOS Tahoe 26, Apple’s guide gives one switch instead: System Settings › Apple Intelligence & Siri, then the button next to Apple Intelligence.
• Check your Mac. Apple Intelligence in macOS 27 runs on any Mac with M1 or later and on MacBook Neo, which covers every Mac that can install macOS 27.
• In the EU, expect Siri AI too. Apple’s footnote says Siri AI “will not be initially available in the EU on iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS”. macOS is not named in that exclusion.

Turn off each feature

1. Siri AI. Open System Settings, click Siri in the sidebar, click Turn Off Siri, then click Turn Off Siri again to confirm. This turns Siri off entirely. To keep an assistant without the AI, click Turn On Siri afterwards and select Use Siri Classic.
2. Notification summaries. In System Settings, click Notifications, then Summarize Notifications, and turn it off.
3. Messages summaries. In Messages, choose Messages › Settings and turn off Summarize Messages.
4. Mail summaries. In Mail, choose Mail › Settings, click Viewing, and turn off Summarize Message Previews.
5. Mail smart replies. In the same window, click Composing and turn off Personalize Smart Replies.
6. Voicemail suggestions. In the Phone app, choose Phone › Settings, click Calls, and turn off Suggestions in Voicemail.
7. Journal writing prompts. In Journal, choose Journal › Settings › General and turn off Get Writing Prompts.
8. Call Context cards. Apple’s table gives no switch of its own here and points to Siri’s App Access settings, covered below.

What turning it off does, and does not, give back

You turn off	What changes, per Apple’s pages
Siri AI	Siri is off, unless you then choose Siri Classic
A summary or smart-reply setting	That feature, in that one app
Any of the eight	Apple says nothing about storage being freed
Improve Siri & Apple Intelligence	Apple’s permission to store and review samples of your requests, and to train models on them

Storage

Apple’s requirements article gives two figures for the Mac:

Mac	Storage Apple says Apple Intelligence uses
M3 or later, with at least 12GB of unified memory	Up to 14GB
Other supported Macs: M1, M2, MacBook Neo (affiliate link to Amazon, opens in a new tab), and M3 or later with less memory	Up to 8GB

Those are Apple’s maximums, not a measurement of any particular Mac.

What Apple does not say is that turning features off gives the space back. Its macOS 27 turn-off page never mentions storage, though it carries the usual footnote about usage limits. The storage line on the requirements page points to Apple’s “Free up storage space on Mac” article, and that article — which covers apps, Mail, old iPhone backups and System Data — does not mention Apple Intelligence at all.

So if space is the reason you are here, we cannot tell you that switching these settings off recovers any of it, because Apple has not said so. Tools that delete the model files directly are outside Apple’s route, and outside this guide.

The settings that are about your data

Apple’s Mac guide says Siri AI “can search your photos, mail, messages, calendar, and more”. Three settings govern what it draws on and what Apple keeps:

1. Per app. In System Settings › Siri › App Access, select an app and turn off Learn from this application and Show Siri Suggestions in application. This is also where Apple sends you for Call Context cards.
2. Training. In System Settings › Privacy & Security › Analytics & Improvements, turn off Improve Siri & Apple Intelligence. Apple says opting in lets it store and review samples of your audio, transcripts and request data, and that it “can also use this data to train foundation models”.
3. A record of what left your Mac. In Privacy & Security, click Apple Intelligence Report, choose the last 15 minutes or 7 days, then Export Activity. The file, Apple_Intelligence_Report.json, lists the requests your Mac sent to Private Cloud Compute, the server side that Apple says does not store your data or make it accessible to Apple.

Apple’s Siri privacy statement adds that turning off both Siri and Dictation deletes the transcripts stored on your device for personalisation, though it gives the paths for iPhone only.

Using an assistant and letting its maker learn from you are separate agreements with separate switches, the same split we found in whether ChatGPT trains on your chats.

Locking it rather than switching it off

For a shared Mac, or to stop the settings being turned back on, Screen Time holds the controls. Go to System Settings › Screen Time › Content & Privacy Restrictions › Siri. Under Allowed Siri Version, choose Don’t Allow Siri, Siri AI (Beta) or Siri Classic; under Capabilities, set items such as Broad World Knowledge or Writing Assistance to Blocked. Apple points parents to its Apple Devices for Kids and Families guide for a child’s Mac.

Questions people ask

How do I turn off Apple Intelligence on my Mac?

On macOS 27, one feature at a time. Siri AI is under System Settings, Siri, Turn Off Siri; notification summaries are under Notifications; Messages, Mail, Phone and Journal each have the switch in their own Settings menu. Apple’s macOS 27 guide lists eight settings and no single switch.

Does turning off Apple Intelligence free up storage on a Mac?

Apple does not say it does. Its turn-off page never mentions storage, and its Free up storage space on Mac article does not mention Apple Intelligence at all. Turn features off for what they do, not on the expectation of space back.

How much storage does Apple Intelligence use on a Mac?

Up to 14GB on a Mac with M3 or later and at least 12GB of unified memory, and up to 8GB on other supported Macs, according to Apple. Those are maximums, not a measurement of your Mac.

Where is the Apple Intelligence toggle in macOS 27?

Apple’s macOS 27 guide does not describe one. On macOS Tahoe 26 it was under System Settings, Apple Intelligence & Siri, as a button next to Apple Intelligence. The macOS 27 guide instead lists each feature’s own setting.

How do I turn off Siri AI but keep Siri on a Mac?

Turn Siri off under System Settings, Siri, then click Turn On Siri and select Use Siri Classic. Screen Time can also lock the choice: Content & Privacy Restrictions, Siri, Allowed Siri Version.

Does Apple use my Siri requests to train Apple Intelligence?

Only if Improve Siri & Apple Intelligence is on. Apple says that setting lets it store and review samples of your requests and use them to train foundation models. On a Mac it is under Privacy & Security, Analytics & Improvements.