Apple готовит ИИ-помощника для покупок: раздел о нём нашли в политике Apple Store

In July 2026, Apple updated the privacy policy of its Apple Store app, adding a section called "Virtual Shopping Assistant" — this is the first time the company has officially mentioned a not-yet-released AI shopping assistant.

What changed in the policy

Apple added a new section, "Virtual Shopping Assistant," to the privacy policy of the Apple Store app — according to 3DNews. The assistant itself has not launched yet, but the legal document already states that the app will process user data to make it work. Adding such a clause before release is standard practice for Apple: legal language is prepared in advance so that by the time a feature launches, everything already complies with data-processing requirements.

"Virtual

Shopping Assistant" is the name of the new section in the updated Apple Store app privacy policy, according to 3DNews.

Why did this become known before the announcement?

Privacy policy updates often reveal features ahead of official announcements. Companies are required to describe data collection before a feature goes live, which makes legal documents a source of information about upcoming plans. In the case of Apple Store, the new section directly names the product — "virtual shopping assistant" — though as of July 2026 Apple has not disclosed a release date, details of how it works, or the model behind the assistant.

What is known about the AI assistant

So far, the only thing known about the Apple Store AI assistant is its purpose — helping with purchases inside the app. Apple has not disclosed a launch date, availability regions, or which language model it is built on. It's important not to confuse the two: Apple Store is the branded app for buying iPhone, Mac, accessories, and booking service appointments, not the App Store with games and programs. Judging by the updated policy, it is the former that will get the assistant built in.

Context: AI in shopping

AI shopping assistants are already an established trend. Amazon launched its Rufus chatbot back in 2024, which helps users choose products and answers questions about them; Walmart and other retailers are adding similar features. Conversational interfaces are gradually replacing the familiar catalog search: the user describes a task in words, and the assistant picks out the product itself. Against this backdrop, Apple's move looks like a logical continuation of the market trend rather than an independent breakthrough.

What it means

Major retailers and tech companies are building AI assistants directly into the shopping journey, and Apple, judging by its updated policy, is preparing its own. For now it's just a line in a legal document, but it confirms that a conversational shopping assistant inside Apple Store is a matter of time, not a hypothesis.