Apple will let you build workflows using AI in its new Shortcuts app
Apple is rebuilding its Shortcuts app so people create automations by describing what they want in plain language instead of wiring each step together by hand. Apple Intelligence reads the request, picks the right app actions, and assembles the full workflow in the background. Apple showed the feature at its WWDC 2026 developer event on June 8, and the updated app ships with iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and the next macOS release in fall 2026.
Key Takeaways
- Shortcuts gets an AI upgrade, letting you describe the workflow you want in a prompt.
Apple has leveraged AI to make its visual-scripting tool, Shortcuts, easier to use in iOS 27, in a reveal shown at its WWDC 2026 event.
- The new feature is powered by Apple Intelligence, which helps to determine what a natural language description means so it can build out the required steps.
"While super powerful, the process of creating these shortcuts can feel, well, complicated," admitted Cecilia Dantas, senior manager of Home Software Product Marketing during Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote on Monday.
- Instead of having to figure out how to build this type of automation, users could just type in a request, and Shortcuts would then pull together whatever system and app actions are needed.
In this case, it would create an automation that runs the shortcut once the user leaves work - accessing a stored address - then calculates their ETA using Apple Maps, and sends the alert via Messages.
- The updated version of Shortcuts will roll out with iOS 27 later this fall.
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Stats & Key Facts
- #Apple showed the feature at its WWDC 2026 developer event on June 8, and the updated app ships with iOS 27, iPadOS 27, and the next macOS release in fall 2026.
Shortcuts gets an AI upgrade, letting you describe the workflow you want in a prompt. Apple has leveraged AI to make its visual-scripting tool, Shortcuts, easier to use in iOS 27, in a reveal shown at its WWDC 2026 event. The Shortcuts app was largely built for power users who wanted to automate repetitive tasks, create workflows, or set up multi-app actions.
The new version of Shortcuts will instead allow users to write a prompt and simply describe what they want to do. The new feature is powered by Apple Intelligence, which helps to determine what a natural language description means so it can build out the required steps. "While super powerful, the process of creating these shortcuts can feel, well, complicated," admitted Cecilia Dantas, senior manager of Home Software Product Marketing during Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference keynote on Monday.
The AI update makes the Shortcuts app more approachable and expands what non-technical people can do, as they'll no longer need to worry about finding the right app actions or variables. Dantas also offered an example of how this feature could be put to real-world use, suggesting that users could design a shortcut that would automatically notify their partner when they leave work and give them an expected ETA for their arrival at home. Instead of having to figure out how to build this type of automation, users could just type in a request, and Shortcuts would then pull together whatever system and app actions are needed.
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