It is repeatedly argued that because some organizations won’t allow generative AI installations, they won’t even buy new Macs due to macOS Golden Gate. So, we looked into the complaint and spoke to IT managers and real buyers.
Here’s the thought: Apple removed the setting to turn off Apple Intelligence, so you can’t turn it off. Therefore, organizations that refuse to use AI cannot use macOS Golden Gate and Apple Intelligence, QED.
Imagine John Ternus with a sandwich halfway through his mouth, suddenly shocked when he realizes that Apple has prevented companies from buying hundreds of thousands of Macs.
The truth is that people can remove Apple Intelligence, although not particularly easily. But companies can disable it completely and remotely, with the click of a button.
That’s because organizations that deploy IT to their staff do so using mobile device management (MDM) systems like Jamf. At the very least, that’s so they can install updates on a few thousand Macs or iPhones without going to each device separately.
But its real strength lies in how the company can decide what is and isn’t allowed on these devices. AppleInsider has tested whether this is still the case by speaking off the record with a number of organizations that have policies against the use of generative AI.
Total indifference
“We can do enough with Jamf to disable what we want and prevent third-party installations [AI] apps,” an IT manager at a Fortune 500 company with an office in Metro DC told us Thursday morning. “Also. Most of Apple’s tools I wouldn’t call security threats. This isn’t something like OpenAI going rogue and pillaging networks if you let it. Writing instruments, for example, are fine.”
A second IT manager in the Austin, Texas area, also from a Fortune 500 company, echoed the above observations. They too saw the news in the last few days about it and said from a business perspective that “if you don’t have MDM to control what you want to install or use, you’re an idiot” and that the existing tools were enough to handle Apple’s intelligence.
A military IT manager also told us there is no real threat from Apple’s intelligence. As they watch it evolve, they’ve been discussing it with Apple in Reston, Virginia.
There are no DOD bans on purchasing new Apple hardware for secure facilities due to Apple’s intelligence as of October 2026. Some uses, however, still require hardware modifications that remove Wi-Fi chips by third parties.
A fourth IT manager at a large Defense Department contractor scoffed at the idea that Apple’s intelligence would be a problem. He said there are so many controls on both Apple’s hardware and software, that there was no issue preventing him from purchasing it.
However, they also have MDM profiles from an anonymous vendor that prevent the installation of models from other companies.
We told them there were apps and command-line tools to remove Apple Intelligence models from their computers, saving space. The first three were already using them and the fourth thanked us for letting him know they existed.
Simply nonsense
None of these IT managers had the slightest concern about Apple Intelligence. No one is going to change their hardware purchases because of this. We have more questions to ask more potential buyers, so we’ll update if we hear different things.
Nobody should be surprised by this. It’s unclear how many companies have anti-AI policies, and of course Apple never releases information about its sales to enterprise companies.
Or almost never. Way back in 2015, Tim Cook revealed that Apple had earned $25 billion from corporate sales in the previous 12 months.
It’s been 11 years. There’s a chance that Apple’s sales to businesses have grown just a little since then, and no chance that this will intentionally jeopardize it.
