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• Apple is rumored to be working on an AI-powered update for the Apple Support app
• Code hints at a 'Support Assistant' that will help users troubleshoot Apple products
• I used to work at the Genius Bar and think this idea could be excellent if done correctly

Apple could be about to add an AI assistant to the Apple Support app, and that would be excellent news for iPhone, iPad, and Mac users around the world.

First spotted by MacRumors contributor Aaron Perris, new code hints at an AI-powered 'Support Assistant' coming to the Apple Support app.

According to Perris, "The code states that the Support Assistant 'uses generative models,' and that it will provide answers 'related to certain Apple products and services' Apple warns that generative models can sometimes provide 'incorrect, misleading, incomplete, offensive, or harmful outputs,' and that customers should not rely on information from Support Assistant as a substitute for professional advice."

At the moment, the Apple Support app lets you talk to a real-life Genius Bar member about issues with your products, and allows you to receive troubleshooting support without the need of heading to your local Apple Store.

While there are no details on when this AI-powered assistant will launch, this could be a huge improvement in the way we access Apple Support, and as an ex-Apple Genius Bar employee, I'm going to explain why.

AI for the better

I worked at Apple's Genius Bar for nearly four years while studying journalism at university, so I've had many encounters with Apple Support behind the scenes and as a customer.

The Apple Support app is excellent, and is one of the main reasons I recommend Apple products to my family members who are looking to buy new tech. I truly believe the Genius Bar is one of Apple's best products, and AI is only going to make it better.

I can't count the number of times customers would travel long distances to come to the Apple Store, only for the issue they were experiencing to be an incredibly simple fix.

With an AI-powered assistant, Apple users could get pointed in the right direction every single time rather than relying on the customer to select the correct service path.

The Apple Support app already asks a few questions to make sure the customer gets the right support, whether that be online, at the store, or via support articles. However, adding AI chatbot capabilities would hopefully improve that experience even more, alleviating pressure on Genius Bar employees and improving the customer experience.

Adding AI chatbots to customer service might sound infuriating, but as long as Apple uses generative AI as a way to improve the customer experience, then I think this rumored feature would be genius.

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• Windows 11 could be getting 'dynamic' wallpaper driven by AI
• That's according to a leaker who's found clues in preview builds of the OS
• Microsoft has tried this idea in the past, mind, before abandoning it - but this time round, things will hopefully be different

Microsoft is supposedly thinking about introducing some kind of AI-powered wallpaper to Windows 11 (not for the first time, I might add).

Well-known purveyor of Microsoft-related gossip, PhantomOfEarth, recently posted on X to inform us of the work which is seemingly underway to produce 'dynamic' backgrounds for Windows 11.

Microsoft is working on AI desktop background stuff yet again, this time around:"Dynamic background""Your background will automatically update based on your selections"June 23, 2025

What kind of dynamic backgrounds are planned, exactly? Well, that's not clear, and we aren't given any details as to the precise nature of this feature, except that the wallpaper will "automatically update based on your selections".

This info was dug up from recent preview builds of Windows 11, and Windows Latest highlighted the above post on X, observing that it attempted to uncover toggles for the mentioned options, but couldn't. So, it looks like it's still very early days for the potential capability.

Analysis: Bringing wallpapers to life

(Image credit: Sergey Kisselev / Behance.net / Microsoft)

We must be particularly wary here, because Microsoft has worked on dynamic (also known as 'live') wallpapers in the past, and then scrapped the idea. Indeed, the concept of AI-powered backgrounds for Windows 11 has been floating around for a long time.

You may even recall that components for live wallpapers were present in Windows 11 23H2, hidden under the hood, for some time, before they were stripped out in 24H2, as Microsoft obviously thought better of the idea. Which I felt was rather a shame, as some of these concepts looked very smart (you can see one of them in the above image).

What we have here is a far more nebulous rumor, hence the need for more than the usual helping of caution. That said, Microsoft has been busy trying to jam more and more AI into Windows 11, and to me, this seems like an obvious enough area to grace with AI, having it bring some extra fanciness to your backgrounds (if you want that).

By which I mean not just fancy dynamic wallpapers in terms of animated elements, or parallax kind of effects - which may well be part of the plan - but also having AI perform nifty tricks such as changing the appearance of a wallpaper based on the time of day, for example. (Like the forest wallpaper in macOS Sequoia, where the lighting changes throughout the day).

We're told the background will update based on 'selections' you make, so there could be various options to turn on (or off), or perhaps various background themes to select from. With AI in the mix, I'm guessing that if this is the path Microsoft is intent on travelling down with wallpapers, we may get suggested backgrounds eventually based on your habits within Windows (if you allow the AI access to that data, of course).

All this remains to be seen, though, and even if this rumor is correct as of now, Microsoft may yet think better of the idea down the line, as it's done in the past. The obvious drawback with more elaborate ideas for wallpapers is the increased drain on system resources compared to static backgrounds, which will be a particular area of concern for lesser-spec PCs. On those machines, though, you can simply not use dynamic wallpapers.

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• A new mysterious mode has appeared on some users' ChatGPT accounts
• "Study together" lets you learn subjects with ChatGPT, with AI asking you questions on the subject matter
• No release date is confirmed as of yet, but the initial response seems positive

A mysterious new ChatGPT mode has appeared on some accounts this week, as many ask the question: What is "Study together"?

The new "Study together" mode is available in the "Tools" dropdown menu on some accounts, although it's unclear exactly what the new mode does.

One user on Reddit who has access to "Study together" said, "Seems kind of cool. Ask it to teach you something, and it asks you a few questions (like Deep Research does) before taking you through a topic. But it makes you give the answers, and tests you!"

It's not clear how OpenAI has selected users for this trial, as in the same Reddit thread discussing the new mode, there's a variety of Plus account users and free users who are able to use "Study together".

Considering how useful ChatGPT is as a study tool, this new feature could make learning new topics a breeze, rather than requiring a custom prompt like the one I tried last week, which can help you learn everything about a subject.

ChatGPT has the Study Together in some accounts. What is it for? pic.twitter.com/wOcPlsxtBYJuly 7, 2025

Studying, powered by AI

There's no information on when "Study together" will be made available to the wider public, but considering the positive response from testers so far, we could get access to the mysterious new ChatGPT mode sooner rather than later.

Last month, Sam Altman hinted at GPT-5 arriving during the Western Hemisphere's Summer months, and "Study together" could be part of that launch.

With a new school year fast approaching, OpenAI will want to launch "Study together" for all students just in time for the next academic semester. That said, AI is an excellent learning tool in general, so don't be put off by this upcoming feature purely because it sounds targeted at students.

"Study together" could transform the way many of us use AI, especially if ChatGPT's way of quizzing you on the subject helps to cement info in your brain. I, for one, love learning about new things on a regular basis, so I can't wait to give this new tool a try.

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