Swiftly Workspace.

How to use on-device Apple Intelligence on Mac

By Ben Van Aken ·

To use on-device Apple Intelligence in Swiftly Workspace on a Mac, click Conversations in the sidebar, click + for a new conversation, make sure the menu below the message field says Apple Intelligence, and ask. The model runs on your Mac, and any change waits for your approval.

There is no AI account or key to set up. On an iPhone or iPad instead? See how to use on-device Apple Intelligence on iPhone or iPad; the flow is the same, with taps instead of clicks.

Before you start

  • A Mac with Apple silicon. According to Apple, Apple Intelligence runs on Mac models with M1 or later. Swiftly Workspace itself needs macOS 26 or later.
  • Apple Intelligence turned on. Turn it on in System Settings, under Apple Intelligence & Siri, and give the model time to download. Set your Mac and Siri to the same supported language.

Ask your workspace a question in five steps

  1. Open Conversations. In the sidebar, click Conversations. Your earlier conversations appear in a list beside it.
  2. Start a new one. Click + in the toolbar (its tooltip says Start a new conversation). An empty chat opens with a message field that reads Ask anything.
  3. Check the provider. Below the message field, a small menu names the AI provider (Choose AI provider). Make sure it says Apple Intelligence; if it does not, click it and choose it. If Apple Intelligence is off, still downloading or not supported on your Mac, it is grayed out in that menu.
  4. Ask. Type a question such as "What is the phone number for Lindqvist Design?" and press Return, or click the send arrow. If dictation is available for your language, a microphone button lets you say it instead. The assistant looks up customers, projects or your timesheets through the app and answers.
  5. Approve or decline changes. Ask for a change, such as "Change the phone number for Lindqvist Design", and an approval card takes the place of the message field and shows what will change. Click Approve to save it or Decline to drop it. Nothing changes until you approve.

Once you send a message, the conversation keeps its provider, and a small lock appears next to the provider's name; the tooltip reads Provider locked for this conversation. Start a new chat to change. To switch, start a new conversation.

Trusting a conversation for routine changes

When you have a run of small edits to make, the approval card offers Trust this conversation for 15 minutes. Turn it on, and routine changes in that conversation, such as logging time or updating a customer's details, go ahead without a card until the time is up. Submitting a timesheet, recording a payment and finalizing a document still ask every time.

What works well on the device

The on-device model is compact, so it does best with short, concrete requests:

  • Find a customer and read back their details.
  • Log time on a project, then check the week's total.
  • Update an address or a phone number on a customer.

Keep each request to one job, and name customers and projects the way they appear in the app. The Mac's bigger screen helps too: keep Conversations open while a customer or project sits in a window of its own beside it, as our guide to working with several windows on a Mac describes.

For the bigger picture, Apple Intelligence for business explains what runs on the device and why that matters, and our explainer on Private Cloud Compute covers Apple's server-side option. If you want to know exactly where each kind of request goes, see what data an AI assistant sends, and where.

Frequently asked questions

Which Macs support Apple Intelligence?

Apple lists Mac models with M1 or later. Intel-based Macs are not supported. Check Apple's own page for the current list and the supported languages.

How do I start a new line without sending my message?

Press Shift-Return. Return on its own sends the message.

What happens when I decline a change?

Nothing is saved. The change you declined is dropped, and you can carry on in the same conversation or ask for it differently.

Run your business on Apple.

Create your account on the web, then set up your workspace in the app on your iPhone, iPad or Mac.

Create your account

Keep reading

  1. How to use on-device Apple Intelligence on iPhone or iPad

    To use on-device Apple Intelligence in Swiftly Workspace on iPhone or iPad, open Conversations, tap New Conversation, check that the chip below the message field says Apple Intelligence, and ask your question. The model runs on your device, and any change it suggests waits for your approval.

  2. Working in multiple windows on Mac: records side by side

    On a Mac, a native app can open each record in its own window, so a customer, an invoice and a list can sit side by side. In Swiftly Workspace, double-click a customer or an invoice in its list to open it in a window of its own.

  3. Apple Intelligence for business: what runs on your device

    Apple Intelligence runs a language model on your own iPhone, iPad or Mac, so a prompt is processed on the device instead of by a cloud AI provider. In Swiftly Workspace it answers questions, cleans up dictation and makes changes you approve.