How to Turn Off Apple Intelligence in Mail
The short answer
Apple Intelligence adds several separate features to Mail, and each one is switched off in a different place. The one most people notice is the summary that replaces the first lines of each email in your inbox. To remove it, turn off Summarize Message Previews: on Mac in Mail > Settings > Viewing, and on iPhone in Settings > Apps > Mail.
Turn off summaries in your inbox
When Apple Intelligence is on, summaries appear under your emails automatically. With them off, Apple says you see the first lines of the most recent message instead.
On Mac
- Open Mail.
- Choose Mail > Settings, then click Viewing.
- Deselect Summarize Message Previews.
On iPhone
- Open the Settings app.
- Tap Apps, then tap Mail.
- Turn off Summarize Message Previews.
Hide Priority Messages
Priority Messages moves emails Apple Intelligence judges to be time-sensitive to the top of your inbox.
- On Mac: click an inbox, choose View in the menu bar, then deselect Show Priority Messages.
- On iPhone: tap your inbox, tap the More button, then turn off Show Priority.
Turn off personalised Smart Replies on Mac
- Open Mail.
- Choose Mail > Settings, then click Composing.
- Turn off Personalize Smart Replies.
Features that only run when you ask
Two Apple Intelligence features in Mail do nothing until you use them: the Summarize button at the top of an open email, and Writing Tools for rewriting and proofreading your own drafts. If you never tap them, they never touch your mail.
Turning off more of Apple Intelligence
Apple keeps a list of every Apple Intelligence switch on Mac, including Siri AI, notification summaries, and Messages summaries, in its guide to turning off and restricting Apple Intelligence features. You can also restrict access to these features for yourself in Screen Time.
If you want an inbox with no AI at all
Settings reduce what an email app does with your mail, but the features ship switched on and new ones arrive with updates. Marco is an email client that does not generate, rewrite, summarise, or reply to email with AI. It works with Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, Yahoo, and any IMAP provider, so you keep your address and leave the AI layer behind.
Read Marco vs Apple Mail for the full comparison, or see which email clients let you turn AI off.
Steps checked against Apple's macOS 27 and iOS 26 documentation in September 2026. Apple changes these menus with each release, so labels may differ slightly.