Apple Just Put AI Inside Pages and Keynote — But There's a Catch

According to The Verge, Apple is rolling out an AI assistant directly inside its native productivity suite, bringing automated text drafting to Pages, slide animation to Keynote, and chart organization to Numbers.

Beyond the built-in chatbot powered by Apple and OpenAI models, the update introduces support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP) on macOS 27 or later. This addition allows external, third-party AI agents to plug directly into the apps, shifting the software from a closed environment to an open platform for automation.

How it works in practice

The new assistant operates contextually based on the active document you are working on. In Keynote, it can interpret slide content to design layouts and apply animations automatically. In Numbers, it evaluates tables to suggest and build charts without manual formatting steps.

• Open Pages, Keynote, or Numbers on a compatible device running the latest system software.
• Access the AI assistant panel from the main toolbar.
• Type a natural language prompt to draft content, reformat data, or adjust slide aesthetics.
• Connect third-party tools via MCP on macOS 27 for custom external workflows.

Is it worth it for your daily workflow?

If your routine relies heavily on Apple's native suite instead of Microsoft Office or Google Workspace, these additions remove repetitive formatting friction. However, the requirement for recent operating systems and compatible hardware means older machines will miss out entirely.