Apple Intelligence Writing Tools: Proofread, Rewrite and Summarize Any Text on iPhone
Imagine having a writing assistant built into every text field on your phone. That’s what Apple Intelligence Writing Tools delivers. Select any text — an email draft, a message, a note, a social media post — and tap Writing Tools to proofread it for grammar mistakes, rewrite it in a different tone, condense it into a summary, or transform it entirely. It works system-wide, it’s free, and everything is processed with your privacy protected.
What Are Apple Intelligence Writing Tools?
Writing Tools is one of the flagship features of Apple Intelligence, the company’s on-device AI system. It gives you a set of text transformation options that appear wherever you can select text on your device. The tools understand context, maintain your meaning, and produce natural-sounding results that don’t feel robotic or templated.
Unlike ChatGPT or similar tools that require opening a separate app or website, Writing Tools lives inside the text selection menu — the same popup that appears when you highlight words. It’s one tap away from any email you’re composing, any note you’re editing, or any message you’re about to send.
How to Use Writing Tools on iPhone, iPad, and Mac
1
Select Your Text
In any app, long-press on a word to start selecting, then drag the handles to highlight the text you want to improve. Or tap Select All to grab everything.
2
Tap Writing Tools
In the popup menu above the selection, tap Writing Tools. If you don’t see it immediately, tap the right arrow (>) to reveal more options. On Mac, right-click and choose Writing Tools from the context menu.
3
Choose an Action
The Writing Tools panel slides up with options: Proofread, Rewrite, Friendly, Professional, Concise, Summary, Key Points, List, and Table. Tap the one you want.
4
Review and Accept
The tool shows a preview of the changes with differences highlighted. Tap Done to replace the original text, or Revert to cancel. You can also tap Rewrite again to generate a different variation.
Every Writing Tool Explained
Each tool serves a specific purpose. Here’s what they do and when to use them:
Proofread
Fixes grammar, spelling, and punctuation while preserving your voice. Underlines each correction so you can review changes individually and accept or reject them one by one.
Best for: Emails, cover letters, important messages — anywhere a typo would be embarrassing.
Rewrite
Completely rephrases your text while keeping the same meaning. Useful when your writing feels clunky or repetitive. Tap Rewrite multiple times to get different variations.
Best for: Breaking writer’s block, improving flow, finding better phrasing.
Friendly
Rewrites with a warm, approachable tone. Adds conversational language, softens formal phrasing, and makes the text feel more personal and engaging.
Best for: Casual emails, social media, messages to friends and family.
Professional
Elevates the tone to be polished and business-appropriate. Removes slang, tightens sentence structure, and adds formal vocabulary where appropriate.
Best for: Work emails, LinkedIn messages, client communication, reports.
Concise
Trims unnecessary words and tightens your writing without changing the meaning. Shortens verbose paragraphs into punchy, direct statements.
Best for: Slack messages, text replies, bios, anywhere brevity matters.
Summary, Key Points, List & Table
These tools transform long text into structured formats. Summary gives a short paragraph overview. Key Points extracts the most important facts as bullet points. List converts prose into a bulleted list. Table organizes data into rows and columns.
Best for: Meeting notes, articles, research, long emails you need to digest quickly.
Where Writing Tools Works
Writing Tools appears in virtually every text field across the system. Here are the apps where it’s most useful in daily life:
Mail: Proofread emails before sending. Switch a casual reply to Professional tone for client communication.
Notes: Summarize long research notes into key points. Rewrite rough drafts into polished prose.
Messages: Make a reply more Friendly, or use Concise to trim a rambling message.
Safari: Select text on a webpage and summarize it into Key Points for quick reference.
Pages and Keynote: Polish presentations and documents with Professional tone.
Third-party apps: WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Notion, Google Docs mobile — any app using standard text fields.
Privacy: How Apple Handles Your Text
Apple takes a layered approach to privacy with Writing Tools. Simple tasks like proofreading run entirely on-device using the Neural Engine — your text never leaves your phone. More complex rewrites that need additional processing power use Private Cloud Compute, where your text is sent to Apple Silicon servers, processed, and immediately discarded. Apple cannot access, read, or store your text. It’s never used for training AI models.
This is a meaningful distinction from cloud-based AI tools like ChatGPT or Google Gemini, where your text is processed on shared infrastructure. With Apple Intelligence, your private emails, medical notes, and personal messages stay private.
Devices That Support Apple Intelligence Writing Tools
Apple Intelligence has specific hardware requirements because it relies on the Neural Engine for on-device processing:
iPhone: iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, all iPhone 16 models, all iPhone 17 models
iPad: Any iPad with M1 chip or later (iPad Air M1+, iPad Pro M1+)
Mac: Any Mac with M1 chip or later
If your device isn’t listed, you won’t see the Writing Tools option in the text selection menu. There’s no software workaround — the feature requires the newer Neural Engine hardware.
Tips for Getting Better Results
Select more context. Writing Tools works better with more text. A single sentence gives less material to work with than a full paragraph. When possible, select at least 2–3 sentences.
Try multiple variations. Tap Rewrite repeatedly. Each tap generates a different phrasing. The third or fourth attempt often produces the best result because the model explores different angles.
Chain tools together. You can apply multiple Writing Tools sequentially. For example: first Rewrite your email, then switch to Professional tone, then use Proofread for a final polish. Each tool builds on the previous result.
Use Summary for reading, not just writing. Select a long article in Safari, hit Key Points, and get a bullet-point digest in seconds. This is a legitimate time-saver for research and news reading.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, completely free. No subscription or Apple One membership needed. It’s included with iOS 18.1+, iPadOS 18.1+, and macOS Sequoia 15.1+ on supported devices.
iPhone 15 Pro, 15 Pro Max, and all iPhone 16/17 models. Also iPads and Macs with M1 chip or later. Older devices don’t have the required Neural Engine hardware.
Yes. Any app using standard iOS text fields supports Writing Tools, including WhatsApp, Telegram, Slack, Notion, and more. Custom text editors may vary.
Most tasks run on-device. Complex tasks use Private Cloud Compute on Apple Silicon servers where data is processed and immediately discarded. Apple never stores, reads, or trains on your text.