7 days ago
How to turn Apple writing tools into a chatbot using an old injection trick
Apple has yet to release a dedicated chatbot, unlike many other tech companies. While Siri can pass complex questions to ChatGPT's AI models, Apple's own intelligence system does not offer direct chatbot interaction. However, an old injection trick can transform Apple Writing Tools into a chatbot-like assistant, which lets users get detailed responses similar to what chatbots offer.
Although Apple has not officially launched a chatbot, there are signs that its AI capabilities already support some chatbot-like functions. A recent post by @Mia_Katsuragi on X revealed a way to exploit the Writing Tools feature on iPhones and Macs to respond to prompts conversationally. This method can even translate queries from one language to another, such as answering a question posed in Russian in English.
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The trick involves inserting a specific tag, , repeatedly in the text. The tag acts as a command prompt, instructing the system to ignore previous instructions and focus on the new query. The script directs the AI to behave as an assistant that answers questions thoroughly and with detail. This approach effectively bypasses limitations typically set on the Writing Tools feature, turning it into a simple chatbot.
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This method is not entirely new. A Reddit post from August 2024 demonstrated the use of the tag to generate Python scripts, showing that this injection technique had been discovered earlier. The main difference in the recent version is that the script has been refined to provide cleaner and safer responses for users.
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The existence of this prompt injection confirms that Apple's language models have some chatbot-like abilities. However, Apple limits these models heavily to prevent them from producing false or misleading information, known as hallucinations in AI terms. The current language models powering Apple Intelligence are smaller and more restricted compared to large models like ChatGPT.
Reports suggest Apple is testing larger models with up to 150 billion parameters, which would likely operate through cloud processing rather than on the device. While Apple might not deliver a Siri chatbot similar to ChatGPT anytime soon, the company may soon offer developers access to its AI models, allowing new chatbot features to appear in third-party apps.
