Apple just made their AI impossible to turn off, so someone built a tool to rip it out entirely.
The Summary
- macOS 27 removed the toggle to disable Apple Intelligence, forcing the AI models to stay on disk even if you don't use them
- Developer Om Lahore released RemoveMacAI, an open-source command-line tool that deletes the models and disables all AI features while keeping System Integrity Protection enabled
- Apple's models claim 12GB but can actually consume over 30GB of storage, and the tool is fully reversible
The Signal
In previous macOS versions, you could flip one switch to disable Apple Intelligence. macOS 27 Golden Gate killed that toggle. Now the AI features are scattered across a dozen different settings panes, several buried under Screen Time. The models stay on your disk whether you want them or not.
This isn't a 2GB nuisance. Apple says the models take "about 12GB," but they can balloon past 30GB depending on what gets downloaded. On a 256GB MacBook, that's a meaningful chunk of storage held hostage by features you might never touch.
"RemoveMacAI turns off Siri, Writing Tools, Genmoji, Image Playground, the ChatGPT extension, and all the summaries, then deletes the models and stops macOS from downloading them again."
Developer Om Lahore's response: RemoveMacAI, a command-line tool that does what Apple used to let you do with one click. It disables Siri, Writing Tools, Genmoji, Image Playground, the ChatGPT extension, and all the AI summaries. Then it deletes the models and prevents macOS from re-downloading them. The tool works without touching the /System/ folder and keeps System Integrity Protection enabled, which means it's not breaking macOS security fundamentals.
The tool is fully reversible. You can bring it all back if you change your mind. And dictation still works because it's handled separately from the Intelligence stack.
What's notable here isn't just that someone built the tool. It's that they had to. Apple removed user choice and replaced it with scattered settings and mandatory storage allocation. The company that built its brand on "it just works" now forces users into a command-line workaround to reclaim disk space from features they don't want.
The Implication
This is the pattern now. Companies deploy AI features as infrastructure, not options. They're baked in, always on, consuming resources whether you engage or not. The assumption is everyone wants this, or will eventually want it, so why offer an off switch.
Watch for more tools like RemoveMacAI. When platforms remove user agency, developers build it back. If you're running macOS 27 and need the storage or just don't want Apple's AI layer active, this is your current best option. Just know you're using a third-party workaround for something that used to be a settings toggle.