Do I need another AI app?

Dan's phone keeps showing him the same ad. A shiny “AI Assistant” app, with a big Get button. Then it shows up again in another app. And again.

“This AI app keeps following me around,” he says. “Should I just buy it?”

Liz looks up from her own phone. “What do you want it for?”

Start with the problem

It's the question that saves the most money, and it isn't about AI at all.

Dan knows exactly what he wants: “To sum up my boss's giant emails. He writes novels.”

That's a real, specific problem. And once you can name the problem, you can check whether something you already have solves it.

“Lots of phones and email apps can already do that,” says Liz. “Look for a summarize button.”

Where to find the summarize button

The big email apps have added AI summaries, usually as a button at the top of the message. Who gets it depends on your phone, your email app and sometimes your plan:

• Apple Mail on iPhone: with Apple Intelligence turned on, short summaries appear under each email in your inbox. Open an email and tap Summarize to get a summary at the top; for a thread, it sums up the whole conversation. Apple Intelligence only works on newer iPhone models, and not in every language or region.
• Gmail (Android and iPhone apps): look for a summary card at the top of a long thread, or the Summarize this email chip. Google listed this for some Google Workspace plans and its paid AI plan, for emails in English, so you may not see it on a free account.
• Outlook (Windows, Mac, web, Android and iPhone): open a conversation and select Summary by Copilot (or Summarize) at the top. On the phone app, tap the Copilot icon.

These features change often, so if you don't see the button, check for an app update first. And a summary is a shortcut, not a guarantee: for anything important, like a date, an amount or a decision, read the original.

If you do want an app

“And if I do want an app?” asks Dan.

Fair enough. Maybe you want something your phone doesn't do. Liz has been down this rabbit hole, and two tricks keep coming up.

Copycats borrow famous names. When an AI app gets famous, look-alikes show up with nearly the same name and icon. In 2023, the security company Sophos found apps that “played off the ChatGPT name” to climb the app store rankings. Apple's own rules ban copying another app's name or pretending to be it, but copycats still slip through, and new ones keep appearing.

Some charge you every single week. The same Sophos report found an AI app charging $6 a week after a three-day free trial. That's $312 a year, often for an app that barely worked without paying. Weekly prices look small on the button and add up fast.

So before you tap Get:

• Check who made it. The maker's name is right under the app's name in the store. Is it the company you think it is?
• Check what it costs. Look for the price and how often it repeats (“/ week”), and when any free trial turns into a paid subscription.

Deleting the app doesn't cancel it

If you already signed up for something you don't use, deleting the app isn't enough. Google says it plainly: “When you uninstall the app, your subscription won't cancel.” Cancel the subscription itself:

• iPhone: open Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions, choose the app and tap Cancel.
• Android: go to your Subscriptions in Google Play, choose the app, tap Cancel subscription and follow the steps.

Three lines

Back at the office, Dan opens the giant email on his phone and taps Summarize.

“Three lines!” he says. “And it was already on my phone.”

His sum-up: start with the problem. What you already have may do the job.

What you can do

• Name the problem first, then check whether your phone or email app already solves it.
• Look for a summarize button at the top of a long email in Apple Mail, Gmail or Outlook.
• Before buying an app, check the maker's name under the app's name, and the price and how often it charges.
• Don't paste private emails into an app you don't know. Whatever you paste, the app can read.
• Cancel subscriptions in your phone's settings, not by deleting the app.