On Reddit, RemoveMacAI’s developer said the tool is open source and further explained how it works:

It uses a configuration profile you approve in System Settings plus Apple’s own asset service, so [System Integrity Protection] stays on and nothing in /System gets touched directly. removemacai revert removes the profile, and macOS downloads the models again when you turn a feature back on.

The dev also said that it’s possible to remove only the Apple Intelligence features that you don’t want and to keep the others.

Some users on Reddit have reported that the tool works, and it has 1,700 stars on GitHub as of this writing.

Interest in RemoveMacAI demonstrates the aversion that some users have to some or all of Apple Intelligence’s features, despite growing focus from Apple on AI-driven device and software upgrades in its computers and other devices.

“Reminds me of all the de-crufting you’ve always needed to do when you install Windows. Looks like we’ve gotten to the point on macOS too, where you need to run third-party scripts on a new OS installation to gain back control of your system resources and remove unwanted crapware,” a Hacker News user wrote in response to RemoveMacAI.

Although many users are happy to leverage Apple Intelligence in their gadgets, RemoveMacAI is a simple way for the rest to regain the amount of control they have over Apple Intelligence’s presence on their computers that Apple previously offered.