Apple accidentally reveals Google Workspace AI competitor

Update: The apps appear to be back in the stores, though without the new Intelligent Assistant feature.

Update X2: Apple has issued version 15.4.2 with bug fixes and iPhone Duo support. However, Macworld hasn’t been able to activate or use the Intelligent Assistant feature.

Earlier this year, Apple introduced its Creator Studio subscription service. For a reasonable monthly or annual fee, Creator Studio bundles some of Apple’s most popular productivity apps, including Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and Photomator, into a fully connected suite, and unlocks exclusive AI-centric perks in the free iWork suite, allowing users to choose from premium templates and generate photos in Pages, Numbers, and Keynote.

However, compared to the Gemini integration in Google Workspace, the AI offerings in Creator Studio are somewhat lackluster. That, however, is seemingly about to change. According to a Pages update that was briefly published to the App Store, Apple is about to expand the AI toolbox in iWork, providing subscribers with a Google Workspace-like experience.

Meet Intelligent Assistant

As stated in the release notes of a now-pulled Apple Pages update, Creator Studio apps will soon adopt a Gemini-like tool called Intelligent Assistant. Per the change log, the beta feature requires iOS 27 and will allow Creator Studio users to:

• Start a first draft, then edit, organize, and elevate your writing with an assistant that understands your document;
• Get guidance on where to start, learn how to use advanced features, or try a suggestion to see what’s possible;
• Draft a section, adjust your tone, or generate images and shapes using natural language
• Search for up-to-date information on a topic and incorporate it into your document.

Foundry

Based on the official description, it appears that Intelligent Assistant will significantly elevate the existing Writing Tools with deeper document context awareness, help research topics using fresh information, and more. While users can already achieve similar results using Siri AI on iOS 27, it seems Intelligent Assistant will be more deeply integrated into Pages, Numbers, and Keynote, providing a more intuitive ideation, creation, and editing flow.

Other Creator Studio perks included with the removed update include “a new collection of professionally-designed templates,” along with curated videos in the Content Hub “that add motion and depth to your document.”

Where’s the update?

I was able to download Pages version 15.4.1 right after Apple published it and before its swift removal. However, despite having an active Creator Studio subscription, I was unable to locate or use the all-new Intelligent Assistant. Even stranger, at the time of writing, Pages, Numbers, and Keynote were completely unavailable to download from the U.S. App Store—presumably as Apple resolved the matter.

Later in the day, Apple pushed version 15.4.2, which includes bug fixes and adds iPhone Duo support, skipping 15.4.1 entirely. However, I’ve been unable to activate or use the Intelligent Assistant feature. It’s also strange that Apple wouldn’t have announced the feature with a press release or some other fanfare.

So Apple either accidentally posted a change log meant for a future update or is rolling out the feature gradually to users. Whether we see Intelligent Assistant in the coming days or it’s delayed for a few weeks, one thing is clear: Apple is finally aiming to take Creator Studio to the next level for AI power users.