Apple’s AI updates and the missing ad blocker—what marketers need to know about WWDC 2024

Apple hosted its annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) on Monday, ushering in a slate of new features for millions of users—and a host of implications for marketers active in the tech giant’s ecosystem. As expected, AI made a huge presence at WWDC 2024, replete with a newly powerful Siri, text-to-emoji generation (dubbed “Genmoji”) and a partnership with OpenAI to integrate the startup’s renowned ChatGPT bot on Apple devices. The features mark Apple’s biggest official push into the world of generative technology, potentially changing how developers, including brands, design user interface (UI) on their apps. But not all news Monday afternoon was good news for marketers. Updates around how mail and notifications are categorized may threaten brands phoning in their marketing on these channels. And while some in the industry may be quietly relieved that an expected ad blocker was omitted from the new operating system, experts warn that now is not the time for celebration—especially given Apple’s track record of making advertisers’ lives more difficult. AI = Apple Intelligence Apple spent much of WWDC promoting its new generative AI system, dubbed “Apple Intelligence,” which differs from other AIs in that its focus is on performing tasks based on personal context, rather than general context. Because the system has access to personal information in Notes, Messages, Mail, Photos and other apps, it can answer questions like “When does my mother’s plane land today?” and cater to requests such as “Write a response to [blank’s] most recent email.” Siri is the entry point for much of these capabilities, and can even extend its reach into third-party apps. While Apple did not spend much time demoing this capability, herein lies the main use case for brands. The newly powerful Siri “lends itself to a UI overhaul” for app developers, said an agency executive who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Brands will want to enable an interaction with Siri in whatever they can, the exec said, allowing for easier and faster navigation on their apps. For example, a shopping brand that feeds into Apple Intelligence could potentially allow users to leverage Siri in order to discover items and make orders. More news: GroupM predicts 7.8% global ad spending growth in 2024 Because Apple Intelligence is focused on personal context, Siri could learn specifically what the user is looking for, and then coordinate with the app’s interface in order to surface those products. A brand that makes this coordination as easy as possible will thus be streamlining the shopping process for the user. However, because Siri’s new capabilities effectively allow users to circumvent typical search journeys, the impact on search data could be noteworthy, the exec said. That is, brands may acquire less information on how consumers are finding their websites and products because all of that data is concealed within Siri. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the issue. See Ad Age’s Tech Power List honoring marketing leaders Perhaps the most buzzworthy announcement at WWDC was Apple’s partnership with OpenAI, through which ChatGPT will be available to Siri in order to strengthen AI-powered tasks on Apple devices. For example, Siri may use personal context to help a user pull together old emails and texts about a wedding, and then consult ChatGPT if the user wants to know some general context, such as outfit ideas for a reception. The integration represents an even more powerful AI system now available to Apple users, without having to leave their screen. But in contrast to Apple’s efforts to protect users’ privacy, OpenAI has come under fire for doing quite the opposite. The startup has been sued by celebrities, authors, publications and others for allegedly capturing data from queries and using it to train its models. The agency exec said they weren’t too concerned about potential data privacy issues stemming from the Apple-OpenAI partnership, as long as no information is stored in the systems—which, at WWDC, Apple insisted was the case. “If Apple made the partnership with OpenAI, [OpenAI] passed the tests,” they said. Likewise, Dipanjan Chatterjee, VP and principal analyst at Forrester, said, “Apple feels it has enough safeguards in place with the on-device AI, plus tightly controlled cloud compute to avert any privacy slip-ups.” Still, in the immediate aftermath of WWDC, viewers expressed concern on social media, with some suggesting that the partnership contradicts Apple’s attempts to be privacy-compliant. “Real tough for Apple to say a whole privacy story and then just put all of OpenAI a tiny tap away,” wrote David Pierce, editor-at-large for The Verge. Missing ad blocker While WWDC introduced new AI features available to brands, the omission of an expected update may have a more immediate impact on marketers. Web Eraser, which allows users to block unwanted sections of web-pages including some ads, was scrapped from iOS 18 and therefore not presented at WWDC, despite its inclusion in the operating system’s beta. After Web Eraser was first reported by AppleInsider in late April, publishers and advertisers represented by a French trade association signed an open letter to CEO Tim Cook, urging him to drop the feature, per Business Insider. The gesture, over concern that Web Eraser would hurt online advertising, followed a similar letter signed and sent to Cook from a group of U.K. news outlets—also upset with Web Eraser—earlier last month. However, marketers may want to think twice before rejoicing, because even if not specifically in the form of Web Eraser, a similar solution could very much still be coming, said Vegard Johnsen, chief product officer of Eyeo, which owns ad-blocking services such as AdBlock Plus. Apple is doubling-down on handing users more control over their app experiences, he said, even if that means repercussions for advertisers. And the likelihood is improbable that the letters signed by the trade groups and sent to Cook swayed Apple’s decision to omit Web Eraser this time around, he said. “I don’t think this warrants any sign of relief.” Potential brand deprioritization Though spared from Web Eraser, advertisers may be facing a new set of problems thanks to Apple Intelligence. The AI system has vast functionality within the Mail app, including being able to sort emails based on the predicted preference of the user. What this means is that outreach that the AI deems non-preferential, such as a piece of brand promotion, could get buried in a user’s inbox. The same concern applies to notifications through a new feature dubbed “Reduce Interruptions,” which surfaces only those notifications that the AI expects the user will care about—an inference the system can make based on troves of data it has on the user. These updates may be par for the course for Apple, said Forrester’s Chatterjee, but brands can still avoid being deprioritized on a consumer’s mobile device by more clearly proving their value and “[making the good list].” For example, Lowe’s uses short-form video to showcase DIY and fix-it ideas, as opposed to more basic methods of outreach that could potentially skimp on the level of engagement they offer. “It’s a paradigm shift from advertising as attention-grabbing to building useful experiences,” said Chatterjee. Another feature, called “Highlights,” uses machine learning to bring desired web-page content to the foreground and push undesired content to the background. As with email and notification marketing, web-page marketing will now need to emphasize valuable content as a protection against Apple’s new features, Eeyo’s Johnsen said. “Reduce Interruptions'' and “Highlights'' come just a few years after Apple’s ATT tracking updates rocked the ad industry. If WWDC 2024 proved anything, it’s that the tech giant is only more willing to put the brunt of the burden on marketers’ plates.

Apple’s AI updates and the missing ad blocker—what marketers need to know about WWDC 2024

Featured Stories