Will you pay for Apple Intelligence? Up to $20 a month is 'a real possibility'

Less than two weeks after news dropped that the rollout of Apple Intelligence won’t happen until October for most users, more details are here about Apple’s planned AI integration.

It’s not great news for Apple customers.

Also: I’ve tested dozens of AI chatbots since ChatGPT’s debut. Here’s my new top pick

According to CNBC, while Apple Intelligence will be free at debut, it might not stay that way – at least not for all the features. Apple itself hasn’t announced anything, but industry experts are warning customers to get ready to pay up.

Neil Shah, partner at Counterpoint Research, told CNBC that since Apple has invested a lot of money into its AI experiment, there’s a good chance that Apple will pass the cost along to customers.

This could be in the form of a subscription to access premium features, or it could be a flat fee for the AI overall.

“Software and services makes it more lucrative for Apple to pass it on with the Apple One subscription model,” Shah told CNBC in an interview last week.

The expanded AI features could be a part of Apple One, which costs $19.99 a month and grants access to Apple Music, Apple TV, Apple Arcade, Apple Fitness+, cloud storage, and other services. It could be a standalone subscription, but Apple seems to prefer bundles.

Either way, the landing point, experts say, will likely be between $10 and $20 a month. For comparison, ChatGPT Plus costs $20 a month, as does Microsoft Copilot Pro. Google’s Gemini and Galaxy AI, both tailored for specific cell phone brands, come at no charge to customers. 

Also: iOS 18.1 update: Every iPhone model that will support Apple’s new AI features (for now)

This wouldn’t be new territory for Apple. Ben Wood, chief of research at CCS Insight, told CNBC that Apple is one of the few connected devices companies that has found a way to successfully monetize value-added services and that the company has already set a precedent that premium services carry an extra charge.

Software alone brought in more than $24 billion in revenue for Apple last quarter.

Like other AIs, Apple Intelligence will be able to edit photos, create quick summaries of notes, text messaging threads, and emails, compose messages, and transcribe voice recordings. It will be available on iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices in October.