--- title: "Introduction to AI Assistant | Nutrient iOS SDK" canonical_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/ai-assistant/introduction/" md_url: "https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/ai-assistant/introduction.md" last_updated: "2026-05-14T16:53:43.860Z" description: "Learn how to integrate Nutrient AI Assistant with Nutrient iOS SDK to enable conversational document interactions, AI-powered summaries, and intelligent text comparisons — all within your iOS-based document viewer." --- # Introduction to AI Assistant There are two variants of the AI Assistant feature in Nutrient iOS SDK: the AI Assistant server and the on-device AI Assistant. Both options enable users to ask questions about documents with a chat interface. The difference between these variants lies in where the AI-powered document processing takes place: - When connecting to our separate [AI Assistant server product](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ai-assistant.md), documents are processed on your instance of the server. You have the [option to either provide your own large language model (LLM) to run on your server or use a hosted model from a provider like OpenAI](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ai-assistant/service-configuration/selecting-right-llm-hosting-strategy.md). - When using [on-device AI Assistant](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/ai-assistant/on-device.md), documents are processed on the users’ devices. The LLM comes from Apple’s [Foundation Models](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/foundationmodels) framework, which powers Apple Intelligence. Nutrient’s retrieval pipeline enables AI Assistant to search and reference large documents without being restricted by Foundation Model’s 4096 token context window. ## Choosing between AI Assistant server and on-device AI Assistant | | AI Assistant server | On-device AI Assistant | | ---------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | AI capability | More advanced AI pipeline with your choice of server-scale model. Better at finding information. Superior inference and reasoning. | Device-scale model from Apple’s Foundation Models. Still capable of handling large documents with Nutrient’s retrieval pipeline. | | Ease of integration | More complex setup requiring AI Assistant server and your own backend for authentication. | Simple setup. Just add a button. | | Document ownership | Ideal if you have a centralized backend store for documents. | Ideal if users bring their own documents. | | Privacy | You’re responsible for your users’ data. Documents are sent to your instance of AI Assistant server. If you use a hosted model, questions and relevant parts of documents are sent to the model provider. | Best for privacy. Documents and questions are processed on the user’s device without being sent to a server. Document contents are copied into a local database to improve loading time. | | Network | Requires a connection to the server. | Works offline. | | Cross-platform compatibility | Works across [Web](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/web/ai-assistant/integrate-with-ai-assistant.md), [Android](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/android/ai-assistant.md), iOS, macOS, and visionOS. | Only on iOS, macOS, and visionOS. | | Apple compatibility | Works on any device [supported by Nutrient iOS SDK](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/announcements/version-support.md). | Requires a device [compatible with Apple Intelligence](https://support.apple.com/en-us/121115) on iOS 26 or later. Users must have Apple Intelligence enabled in the Settings app. | | Nutrient licensing | Requires licenses for both AI Assistant and Nutrient iOS SDK. No extra license feature needed on iOS client. | Requires the on-device AI Assistant license feature for Nutrient iOS SDK. | ## Integrating AI Assistant with Nutrient iOS SDK For detailed instructions on setting up the AI Assistant server and configuring Nutrient iOS SDK for integration, refer to our guide for [getting started with AI Assistant](https://www.nutrient.io/sdk/ai-assistant/getting-started/ios.md). For on-device configuration, see [on-device AI Assistant](https://www.nutrient.io/guides/ios/ai-assistant/on-device.md). --- ## Related pages - [Customize AI Assistant appearance](/guides/ios/ai-assistant/appearance-customization-swiftui.md) - [Add AI capabilities to Nutrient document viewer](/guides/ios/ai-assistant.md) - [Work with multiple documents in AI Assistant](/guides/ios/ai-assistant/multiple-documents-uikit.md) - [Work with multiple documents in AI Assistant](/guides/ios/ai-assistant/multiple-documents-swiftui.md) - [Customize AI Assistant appearance](/guides/ios/ai-assistant/appearance-customization-uikit.md) - [On-device AI Assistant with Apple Intelligence](/guides/ios/ai-assistant/on-device.md)