Then you cannot definitively state that humans ARE apes. You could state that they appear to be apes, or that they appear to be related to apes, but you cannot make any statement of fact as if it were true, written in stone, settled science.
The classification of species into taxonomic groups is a man-made construct. Someone had to decide that man was an ape to put us there. That was a human decision, not at all binding (for lack of a better word) or authoritative.
So if you want to consider that you are an ape, by all means, you are free to do so, but don't go including the rest of us.