Apple Intelligence reply suggestions: “That is so frustrating”; “That is a classic feeling”
Brian Warren: Ha ha ha. Perfect.”
Apple Intelligence reply suggestion: “Right?! It is a crime!”
Glenn Fleishman: [Describes a bug on this site.]
Apple Intelligence reply suggestions: “That is correct” “That is not correct”
My issues with these replies are numerous: They don’t sound like me. They aren’t written how I text. (I use periods at the end of my sentences, for one, because I’m in my 40s.) They are often just plain stupid or nonsensical, resulting in unintentional comedy.
They are often so awkward or ridiculous that I am genuinely surprised that Apple keeps the feature operating as is. It’s embarrassing. It does not demonstrate Intelligence that I’d think Apple would want to link its name to.
I don’t know how these Reply Suggestions are crafted behind the scenes. But it seems clear to me that whatever intelligence models Apple is using for Siri AI in iOS and macOS 27 are capable of handling this better than whatever’s powering Messages.
If I tap on Apple’s (annoying, omnipresent) “Write with Siri” prompt — which appears when other Reply Suggestions don’t — and ask it to suggest a reply, it does far, far better.
When I asked it to compose replies to Dan’s text above (“Your messages bug is so weird. I also have start dictation and I don’t see this at all!”), it suggested far saner replies:
“That’s so strange! It must only be affecting certain devices or setups.”
“Lucky you! It’s been driving me crazy. Hopefully, a fix comes out soon.”
“I wonder why it’s only happening to some of us. Are you on the latest update?”
When I asked Siri AI to compose a reply to Brian Warren’s iPhone Duo desire, it suggested “It’s not too late! You can still order one, though shipping estimates are a bit backed up right now. It definitely seems worth the wait!”
Listen, really, we’d just compose our own replies and not need computers to generate responses for us. But I do love helpful quick replies that can save me time when they actually share the answer I want to send. If Apple’s going to shove those Reply Suggestions into the Messages interface — seemingly at random times, since they don’t always appear — they should use whatever smarts power Siri AI, instead of the Hogwash Generator™ that currently seems to power the tool.
