Apple's Pages, Keynote and Numbers get an AI assistant that reads the whole document before it opens its mouth
By Brett Gavaghan, Founder of Adaptd ·
Apple announced an AI assistant for its iWork apps on 27 October. It's in beta in US English only for now, with connections for outside AI agents on Mac.
The short version
- Apple is adding an AI assistant to its iWork apps that drafts text, designs slides and organises spreadsheet data.
- It arrives in November as a beta in US English only, on Apple Intelligence devices running iOS 27, iPadOS 27 or macOS 27.
- Australian Mac users can't use the assistant yet, so note it and keep your current AI tools for now.
Plenty of small businesses run on Pages quotes and Keynote pitches, mostly because they came free with the Mac. Apple has now put an AI assistant inside them.
What is Apple's new AI assistant for iWork?
Apple's new assistant is built into its iWork apps and works from the context of the document you have open. Apple announced it on 27 October 2026 and says it's built on Apple's own models and OpenAI.
In Keynote it helps design and animate slides. In Pages it drafts and restructures writing. In Numbers it calculates, suggests chart types and builds tables. On Mac, the apps also support Model Context Protocol, so outside AI agents can read and edit your documents if you allow it.
Who can use it, and when?
The assistant reaches the App Store in November as a beta, in US English only. It needs an Apple Intelligence device running iOS 27, iPadOS 27 or macOS 27 or later.
Apple lists the new intelligence features under Apple Creator Studio, its subscription bundle, at US$12.99 a month or US$129 a year in the US with a one-month free trial. The free versions of the apps stay free.
Should your business use it?
Your business can't use the assistant in Australia yet, so there's nothing to switch on. When it does arrive, it'll suit teams who already live in Pages and Keynote more than anyone thinking of moving across.
My take: the agent connections on Mac are the sleeper feature. If your AI tools can work inside your quote template, that's less copying and pasting between windows.
Until then, your proposals will have to keep being built the old-fashioned way: in a hurry, at 10pm.
Sources
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