Apple is preparing to introduce a virtual shopping assistant within its Apple Store app, as indicated by an update to the app's privacy policy. This AI-powered feature aims to personalize the shopping experience by collecting user account information, device identifiers, chat content, and location data (if enabled).

Apple states that personal identifiers will be removed from chat data before it's shared with unnamed partners who will assist in providing conversational responses. Transcripts will be saved for users to revisit, for Apple's business analytics, and to improve the assistant if users opt in via a new "Chat Improvements" setting.

The virtual assistant is expected to launch initially in select regions, likely English-speaking markets, before a broader rollout. This move follows Apple's recent integration of an AI chatbot into its Sales Coach app and testing of an AI-powered "Live Notes" system in retail stores.