The privacy policy for the Apple Store app suggests that a new feature called Virtual Shopping Assistant could be implemented soon. It may function similarly to the Apple Support Assistant.
Apple has been slowly increasing its use of AI tools both internally and in public-facing apps. While Apple still relies on humans for some support inquiries, AI is being offered in more locations.
It seems Apple may have let slip that a new feature is coming to the Apple Store app. The Virtual Shopping Assistant feature is called out in the Apple Store app privacy policy, which was first spotted by MacRumors.
It mentions the Virtual Shopping Assistant, what data it collects, and a specific setting toggle that doesn't yet exist within the Apple Store app. The Apple Store app was updated on July 22, but there is no sign of this new AI chat tool.
Here is what the privacy policy says about the Virtual Shopping Assistant:
Where the Apple Store app virtual shopping assistant is available, Apple collects and stores your account information, device identifiers, carrier information, chat information, and where enabled, location data to personalize the chat experience, provide relevant responses, and if you opt in, to improve the virtual shopping assistant. Before sharing the chat with our partners, Apple scrubs personal identifiers from it.
These partners will use this information only to help Apple to provide a conversational response. Apple will save these transcripts to make them available when you return to the Apple Store app, for our business analytics, and if you opt in, to improve the virtual shopping assistant.
You can control whether your use of the virtual shopping assistant will be used to improve the experience by going to Account > Settings and tapping Chat Improvements within the Apple Store app.
The "partners" could be referring to a third-party AI tool that is parsing user requests. It isn't clear why Apple wouldn't just use Apple Foundation Models for this system, though it could be a part of some other partnership.
A similar feature is available in the Apple Support app. It has an "Ask" tab where users can ask questions about their device, though it is very specific and draws from Apple documentation.
It isn't clear exactly how Apple's Virtual Shopping Assistant might help users. The included data is rather generic, so the tool is likely going to function little better than the existing search option.
At the least, given your current device list, the Virtual Shopping Assistant might help you find compatible accessories. Or, it may help users decide on device upgrades and configurations through the chat mechanism.
