Apple Rents OpenAI’s Brain and Bills You $12.99. Just Download ChatGPT or Claude.

Apple Creator Studio, the $12.99 a month bundle with Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro and Pixelmator Pro, now ships a beta assistant in Logic Pro, Keynote, Pages and Numbers that runs on Apple’s own models combined with OpenAI’s. In the free iWork apps it works only for subscribers and only in US English.

In this article: Yesterday it took AI from its people. Today it sells AI to us · One presentation, almost a whole month gone · What kind of business is this? · The end of the luxury era · Where does my document go? · FAQ

Yesterday it took AI from its people. Today it sells AI to us

Look at the calendar. Yesterday we learned Apple is cutting its own employees’ AI budgets, from $300 a day down to $100, and for some teams $25. Today Apple rolls out an “intelligent assistant” in Pages and Keynote and asks us to pay $12.99 a month for it. And whose brain is inside? Not only Apple’s. OpenAI’s.

Let me be clear: putting AI into its apps is fine. That alone isn’t the problem. The problem is what you get for the money.

One presentation, almost a whole month gone

In February, developer Steve Troughton-Smith found that one AI-generated Keynote presentation ate 47% of his monthly Creator Studio allowance. In OpenAI’s own Codex, building a whole app used about 7% of his limit there. And that limit is weekly, not monthly.

So the way I see it, Apple made some kind of deal with its competitors, and we are the ones who will pay for it. For God’s sake, just download ChatGPT or Claude. They can do practically everything, and to me they come out about ten times cheaper. Don’t forget one rule: wherever the apple logo sticks, it immediately becomes expensive.

What kind of business is this?

This makes no sense to me. Does Apple really think people will pay for this? Doesn’t it see that Codex and Claude can do absolutely everything you have in your head? They calmly drive Blender, DaVinci Resolve, everything. And Apple comes with an assistant for Keynote.

What is this dumb, hypocritical marketing? Who is it made for? Apple loved to sell Apple Intelligence as “AI for the rest of us.” I guess “the rest of us” meant people with huge wallets who don’t know that completely different giants exist, real professionals. And the best part: those giants sell the same product about ten times cheaper. I’m curious how Apple will defend this one. Wow.

The end of the luxury era

We pay $2,000 for a computer, and we were used to getting at least the basic office apps for free. That’s over. Apple always won us over by giving us the very top, in some sense elite things. It was not like Android, which in my opinion always looked cheap, with ads pushed everywhere. Android was simply something else.

And what do we have now? Since January the free Pages, Keynote and Numbers show Creator Studio ads, and people answered: according to users on Reddit, all three apps fell from almost five stars to around two and a half. In one word: the end of the era of luxury. We knew that when we buy Apple, we pay a bigger amount, but we had everything without ads. Now I can really say that Apple goes further and further down. It seems it only wants money from everything. It’s not about us anymore.

And the smart features locked behind a subscription? We lived to see that too. Greed. Does Apple think it’s enough to add AI features that are this far behind, and somebody will pay for them? Anthropic, OpenAI and Google, that is real AI. Not some features for Keynote, for God’s sake.

Where does my document go?

Apple didn’t say a word about where our data is stored or what the competitor running this AI will see. Honestly, that’s understandable, and we don’t even need to ask anymore. Google, OpenAI and Anthropic will know about our data: what we do with Siri AI and what we ask it. Even if Apple says the data is under control, I won’t believe it.

Fine, to be fair: MotionVFX built into Final Cut Pro is a good deal for video editors, and Generate Fill in Pixelmator Pro is useful. Those are real tools. But a real tool and a borrowed brain sold at ten times the price are not the same thing.

Also on Evolt News: Apple cuts its own people’s AI budget to $25 a day · Siri AI agents and Apple’s “security” excuse · Apple’s record quarter comes with a price tag

Featured image: Emiliano Vittoriosi / Unsplash.

This article is opinion.

Apple Creator Studio AI: FAQ

What is Apple Creator Studio?

Apple’s subscription bundle of creative apps, including Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro and Pixelmator Pro, plus premium features in Keynote, Pages and Numbers. It costs $12.99 a month or $129 a year in the US.

Which AI models does the new Creator Studio assistant use?

Apple says the assistant in Logic Pro, Keynote, Pages and Numbers combines Apple-built models with OpenAI models.

Is the AI assistant free in Pages, Keynote and Numbers?

No. The apps stay free, but the new assistant is only for Creator Studio subscribers.

Which languages and devices are supported?

At launch, US English only, on Apple Intelligence-capable devices with iOS 27, iPadOS 27 or macOS 27. The Logic Pro assistant is Mac only.

Does my document data go to OpenAI?

Apple hasn’t published where assistant requests are processed or what data is shared with OpenAI.

Are there usage limits in Creator Studio?

Yes. Apple says generative features are subject to limits that reset monthly, and you can check the remaining usage in the app.

I read this news on 9to5Mac.

Sources: 9to5Mac, AppleInsider, iDrop News, MacRumors forums.

Our Take

Putting AI into Pages and Keynote is fine. Charging $12.99 a month for an assistant that can burn almost a month of its limit on one presentation, while ChatGPT or Claude do far more for far less, is not.

Apple built its name on luxury without ads. Now the free apps carry ads, the smart features sit behind a paywall, and nobody tells us where our documents go. Download the real AI and keep your money.