Apple is reportedly testing a new AI-powered feature called Live Notes at select retail stores that can record, transcribe, and summarize conversations between customers and the Genius Bar. The feature is currently being piloted at a small number of locations to reduce the amount of time employees spend taking notes during support appointments.
The details come from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who reports that the AI-generated transcript is saved to Apple’s internal Genius Bar system after each session. Apple believes the feature will allow employees to spend more time assisting customers instead of manually documenting everything discussed during an appointment.
Live Notes requires consent from both customers and employees
According to Bloomberg, Live Notes is an opt-in feature for both customers and Apple Store employees. A Genius Bar appointment is recorded only if both parties explicitly agree, and the audio recording itself is not permanently stored.
Instead, the AI creates a transcript and summary that employees can review, edit, and approve before saving them to Apple’s internal support system. Bloomberg reports that Apple added this workflow to address privacy concerns raised by some employees during testing.
Even with those safeguards in place, some employees are reportedly still uncomfortable with the feature. According to Bloomberg, they are concerned that AI-generated transcripts could eventually be used for employee coaching or performance evaluations, even though Apple says the recordings are deleted, managers cannot access the transcripts, and only the finalized support notes are saved to the company’s internal systems.
Apple hasn’t decided whether the feature will expand
The Live Notes system is still in the testing phase and is not mandatory for Apple Store employees. Bloomberg says it remains unclear whether Apple plans to expand the feature to additional retail locations, require employees to use it, or change how transcripts are handled as the pilot progresses.
For now, Apple is limiting the trial to a small number of Apple Stores while it evaluates the feature and gathers feedback from employees and customers. Whether Live Notes eventually becomes a standard part of Genius Bar appointments or remains an experimental tool has yet to be decided.
If Apple expands the feature more broadly, it could make support appointments faster and more consistent by automatically documenting conversations while allowing employees to focus on solving customer issues rather than taking notes.
Would you be comfortable allowing AI to transcribe your Genius Bar appointment if it resulted in faster, more accurate support? Let us know in the comments below.
