Apple considered eliminating about 5,000 AppleCare customer-service positions and using artificial intelligence to take over some of the work performed by human advisers before putting the proposal on hold.
The plan, first reported by Bloomberg, was developed over the summer as Apple explored whether improved AI-powered phone and web agents could handle some of the responsibilities currently performed by AppleCare employees. Apple is no longer pursuing the cuts, according to the same report.
What remains unclear is why Apple stopped.
Apple Is Already Using AI for Customer Support
While the 5,000-job proposal has been shelved, Apple's attempt to automate parts of customer support has not.
Customers calling Apple's support line in the United States and Canada can already encounter a generative AI-powered voice assistant. The system can answer questions and provide step-by-step troubleshooting instructions before transferring customers to a human adviser if it cannot resolve the problem or if the customer asks to speak to one.
Apple has also been developing AI assistance through its Apple Support app. The company's support assistant can provide product-specific help and assist with diagnostics while allowing customers to escalate conversations to human support.
That makes the abandoned 5,000-position proposal particularly significant. Apple was not merely considering an experimental chatbot. According to the reporting, the company explored whether improvements to AI phone and web agents could absorb enough work to justify eliminating thousands of customer-service positions.
AppleCare itself spans considerably more than basic troubleshooting. Apple describes its support operation as providing assistance through chat, phone, digital content, email and the Apple Support app, covering customers' hardware and software needs.
For now, however, Apple appears to be keeping humans in that equation.
John Ternus Wants a Leaner Apple
The shelved AppleCare proposal also comes as Ternus begins reshaping the company after succeeding Tim Cook as chief executive on 1 September.
Ternus has pushed for Apple to operate with fewer management layers, release products more frequently and place a greater emphasis on engineering, according to Bloomberg. Apple has already made smaller staff reductions across teams including Siri, Vision Pro and AI software engineering.
The company has also dismissed a number of engineering programme managers in its hardware division, including roughly half a dozen directors. Those affected were reportedly given several weeks to find other positions within Apple, with employees who fail to secure new roles facing layoffs later this year.
Ternus has reportedly advocated for a leaner organisation for years. Bloomberg's reporting says he has argued that Apple should hire fewer people, demand more from its existing engineers and reduce organisational bloat.
Artificial intelligence forms part of that wider effort. Ternus has reportedly explored how AI could accelerate product development and perform work currently handled by employees. The AppleCare proposal shows how far that thinking had progressed.
Are 5,000 Jobs Safe?
Apple's decision to put the proposal on hold does not mean AI has disappeared from its customer-support operation.
Instead, the company's current approach combines automated assistance with access to human advisers. Its generative AI phone system can handle questions and troubleshooting before escalating customers to a person when necessary, while Apple continues developing AI features elsewhere in its support ecosystem.
What's unclear is whether concerns over AI reliability, customer experience, or costs contributed to Apple's decision to stop short of eliminating the roughly 5,000 positions. Apple hasn't publicly commented on this development, chalking all of this up to mere speculations.
For now, the proposed AppleCare cuts appear to be on hold, while Apple's AI support systems continue operating and evolving.
