iOS 18.1 and macOS 15.1 introduced a new Focus Mode called Reduce Interruptions, which lets you use Apple Intelligence to reduce distractions without turning off notifications entirely. This has been a lifesaver for my workflow, as it allows me to focus on writing but still see pressing updates that I need to address right away. If you have an Apple Intelligence-compatible device, like an iPhone 15 Pro or later, here’s how to configure this focus mode to your liking.

Reduce Interruptions automatically enables Apple’s Intelligent Breakthrough & Silencing feature (I don’t even have the option to disable it here), which uses Apple’s AI to determine which notifications are important and which aren’t. It’s a handy way to reduce your pinging, but as with all AI things, there’s no guaranteed success.

Once that’s done, we’re on to the final stage: controlling which apps and people are allowed to send you notifications. Use this to ensure that you always see messages from a particular app or person while this mode is active. Select People to configure which of your contacts can get in touch when Reduce Interruptions is enabled. Then, head over to the Apps tab and select the apps you want to allow notifications from when you’re in this focus mode. To keep things simple, I set it to let time-sensitive notifications through, but nothing else. My iPhone does a pretty good job of determining which notifications are time-sensitive, and that’s good enough for me. That’s all you need. You may have to tweak a few options in this focus mode every now and then, but this should be good enough to get you started.

It’s worth noting that other focus modes now also have the Intelligent Breakthrough & Silencing toggle, but you’ll need to enable it to use it with those modes. It shouldn’t be enabled automatically, like it is with the Reduce Interruptions mode. Keeping it limited to Reduce Interruptions will allow you to toggle AI notification filtering on and off the go.