Apple patents assistant that pauses when you are talking to someone
Apple describes a system for its digital assistant that checks if you are having a face-to-face conversation. It uses the device's sensors to detect if you are looking at another person and hearing their voice, then temporarily stops sending notifications or other outputs so it does not interrupt your chat.
In the filing’s own words
This relates generally to intelligent automated assistants and, more specifically, to provide real-time social intelligence. An example method includes while providing one or more outputs to a user of the electronic device, determining whether the user is in an engaged state based on: detecting a human in a near-field scene of the user, determining that the user is gazing at the human, and detecting a speech input from at least one of the user or the human while the user is gazing at the human. In response to determining that the user is in the engaged state, foregoing providing the one or more outputs to the user while the user is in the engaged state.
What exactly they claim (claim 1)
1. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to: determine one or more outputs to be provided to a user of the electronic device; determine whether a user is in an engaged state based on at least one of: detecting a human in a near-field scene of the user; determining that the user is gazing at the human; detecting a speech input from at least one of the user or the human while the user is gazing at the human; and determining context of the speech input, wherein determining the context of the speech input includes determining user intent based on the speech input; in response to determining that the user is in the engaged state: forego providing one or more notifications to the user while the user is in the engaged state.
Facts
- Company
- Apple (Apple Inc.)
- Official title
- DIGITAL ASSISTANT FOR PROVIDING REAL-TIME SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE
- Publication number
- US20260290341A1
- Application number
- 19685402
- Filed
- May 22, 2026
- Published
- Sep 24, 2026
- Inventors
- 3
- Claims
- 16
Classified under
G10L 15/22 Physics & computingG06F 3/013 Physics & computingG06F 3/017 Physics & computingG10L 15/1815 Physics & computingG10L 25/78 Physics & computingG10L 2015/226 Physics & computingMore from Apple in AI & software
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Summaries are simplified from the filing’s own abstract and first claim. A patent filing is not a product announcement.
Patent data and drawings: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Nebula is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USPTO.