A full inbox wastes time – and the truly important message gets lost among newsletters and advertisements. Apple Intelligence, on the other hand, brings several tools directly into the Mail app: It highlights urgent emails, summarizes long conversations, and suggests appropriate replies. This overview shows each feature, where it's located, and how to control it.
Mail features are among the areas where Apple Intelligence is most visibly at work in everyday use. They aren't a separate program, but rather integrated directly into the Mail app and are available as soon as Apple Intelligence is set up and activated on a compatible device. Important for users in Germany: Unlike the new Siri AI assistant, which is currently unavailable on iPhones and iPads in the EU, Mail features have been available in Germany and in German since iOS 18.4.
Requirements and Availability
The AI features of the Mail app require an Apple Intelligence-enabled device:
- iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max, as well as all iPhone 16 models and newer (including iPhone 16e, the iPhone 17 series and iPhone Air)
- iPad mini with A17 Pro and all iPad models with M1 or newer
- all Macs with Apple Silicon, i.e., M1 or newer
- Apple Vision Pro running visionOS 26
In addition, Apple Intelligence is active, and the device language, including Siri's language, is set to the same supported language. With iOS 26, AI is an integral part of the system, and with iOS 27, it is enabled by default. The features described here—Summaries, Priority Emails, and Smart Reply—are also available in the EU and in German; the EU restriction applies only to the new generation of Siri, more on that below.
Priority emails
One of the most useful features highlights time-sensitive messages. Apple Intelligence recognizes urgent emails - such as boarding passes, appointment confirmations, or delivery notifications - and displays them at the top of the inbox, marked in the "Important" category. This prevents them from getting lost among less important messages. On a Mac, this display can also be enabled via the "View" menu and "Show Priority Emails."
Intelligent answer
Smart Reply lets you quickly respond to an email. Tap "Reply": Appropriate reply suggestions appear on the keyboard, which Apple Intelligence then expands into a complete response. The feature also recognizes questions in the original message and ensures that none go unanswered. You can freely edit the draft before sending it.
Email summaries
For long messages and complex conversations, summaries save time. A short summary automatically appears at the bottom of each email in your inbox instead of the first few lines. To view the complete message or an entire thread, tap the email and select "Summarize" - the summary will appear above the content. On an iPad, you may need to scroll all the way to the top of the screen to see it.
The same automatic summaries are also available in the messaging app, where they appear under active conversations.
Summaries and suggested answers control
Both features can be turned off. You can control the automatic preview summaries under Settings > Apps > Mail via the "Summarize email previews" option. If you prefer to see the first few lines of a message again, you can disable it there.
The suggested replies are somewhat hidden: they're linked to the keyboard settings, not the Mail menu. You can disable "Show suggested replies" via the input/keyboard settings, while the rest of Apple Intelligence remains active.
Composing with writing tools
For outgoing emails, Mail uses Apple Intelligence's writing tools: Selected text can be corrected, rewritten, or its tone adjusted, and the "Compose" function can create a completely new draft. This allows you to create a reply or a new message without leaving the app.
What iOS 27 brings to the Mail app
With iOS 27, the writing experience in Mail changes significantly. The classic writing tools menu is replaced by Write with Siri: a dedicated button above the keyboard that allows users to compose, edit, and rewrite text using natural language or speech. In Mail and Messages, Siri AI adapts to the user's writing style, punctuation, and tone, and suggested replies are more tailored to personal style than to standard phrases. Additionally, there's a continuous spell and grammar checker that displays suggestions as you type.
Crucially for the EU: These new writing features are tied to Siri AI, and Siri AI will not be launched on iPhones and iPads in the EU for the time being. Therefore, the functions described above, including the existing writing tools, will remain the primary focus on iPhones and iPads in the EU. Siri AI, and thus Write with Siri, is available on Macs and Apple Vision Pro in the EU, as well as in regions outside the EU. The reading features—summaries, priority emails, and Smart Reply - remain unaffected and will benefit from each new generation of devices.
Keeping your inbox under control
The email features are most effective when used together: priority ensures urgent messages appear at the top, summaries speed up review, and suggested replies reduce the number of routine emails. Because the summaries are based on generative models, it's still advisable to check the original email for details such as dates, amounts, or names before relying solely on the summary. Users who don't need specific features can disable them selectively, maintaining control over what's in their inbox at all times.
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Frequently Asked Questions: Apple Intelligence in the Mail app
An Apple Intelligence-enabled device is required: iPhone 15 Pro and 15 Pro Max, as well as all iPhone 16 models and later (including iPhone 16e, iPhone 17 series, and iPhone Air), the iPad mini with A17 Pro and all iPads with M1 or later, all Macs with Apple Silicon, and the Apple Vision Pro. Apple Intelligence must be enabled, and the device language must be set to the same language as Siri.
Yes. Summaries, priority emails, and Smart Reply have been available in the EU and in German since iOS 18.4. The known EU restriction applies exclusively to the new Siri AI assistant on iPhone and iPad – not to the email functions described here.
Under Settings > Apps > Mail, you can turn the "Summarize email previews" option on or off. If it's disabled, Mail will show the first few lines of each message instead of the summary.
When you tap "Reply," suggested replies appear on the keyboard, which Apple Intelligence then expands into a complete answer. You can disable this feature in the keyboard settings under "Show Suggested Replies," while the rest of Apple Intelligence remains active.
Apple Intelligence recognizes particularly urgent messages – such as boarding passes, appointment confirmations, or delivery confirmations – and displays them at the top of the inbox in the "Important" category. This prevents time-sensitive content from getting lost among less important emails.
iOS 27 replaces the traditional writing tools with Write with Siri: a dedicated button above the keyboard that allows users to create and rewrite text using natural language input, tailored to their writing style. Because this feature relies on Siri AI, it's not yet available on iPhones and iPads in the EU – however, the reading functions like summaries and priority remain unchanged.
Apple Intelligence processes requests directly on the device whenever possible. If the device's performance is insufficient, it uses Private Cloud Compute, but the requests are not stored and are not accessible to Apple or any third party. Therefore, the content of emails never leaves the device for advertising or analysis purposes.
