Apple Will Soon Let You Use AI to More Easily Create Automation Routines
If you’ve ever opened the Shortcuts app on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac and quickly closed it again because it felt overwhelming — you’re not alone. Apple’s Shortcuts app is one of the most powerful productivity tools available on any platform, but its learning curve has kept millions of users from ever tapping into its full potential. That’s all about to change.
With the upcoming release of iOS 27 this Fall, Apple is integrating its AI platform — Apple Intelligence — directly into the Shortcuts app. The result? You’ll be able to create complex automation routines using nothing more than plain English.
What Is the Apple Shortcuts App?
The Shortcuts app is Apple’s built-in automation hub for iPhone, iPad, and Mac. It lets you build workflows that trigger specific actions based on conditions you define.
For example, you could create a shortcut that:
- Turns on your smart lights when you arrive home
- Sends a good morning message to your family every weekday
- Automatically sets your phone to Do Not Disturb when you open a specific app
- Logs your daily water intake with a single tap
The possibilities are genuinely endless. But creating these multi-step workflows has traditionally required a good understanding of how triggers, conditions, and actions work together — which has made Shortcuts feel more like a developer tool than an everyday productivity app.
How Apple Intelligence Will Change the Way You Build Shortcuts
Starting with iOS 27, you’ll be able to describe what you want your shortcut to do in simple, conversational language — and Apple Intelligence will build it for you automatically.
Imagine typing something like:
“Message my ETA to my partner when I’m leaving work every weekday.”
Apple Intelligence will interpret that request, construct the shortcut, and even allow you to schedule it to run automatically. No dragging blocks around. No deciphering cryptic error messages. No hunting through menus for the right action.
This is a massive leap forward in accessibility for everyday iPhone users who want the benefits of automation without the technical headache.
Is It Completely Hands-Off?
Not quite — and that’s actually a good thing. You’ll still want to:
- Test the shortcut to make sure it works as expected
- Refine your prompts if the first version isn’t quite right
- Iterate through a few versions before landing on the perfect automation
Think of it like working with any AI writing or coding assistant. The first draft is rarely perfect, but the back-and-forth process is still dramatically faster and easier than starting from scratch manually.
Even seasoned Shortcuts users will benefit from this feature — especially for quickly prototyping new ideas without spending 20 minutes building a workflow from the ground up.
Why This Matters for Your Daily Productivity
Automation is one of the highest-leverage habits you can build. Every repetitive task you automate is time and mental energy returned to you — permanently.
Until now, the barrier to entry was simply too high for many people. Most users either:
- Never explored Shortcuts at all
- Relied on pre-built shortcuts shared by the community online
- Gave up after struggling with a broken workflow
With AI-assisted shortcut creation, Apple is making it possible for anyone to become a power user — regardless of their technical background. The gap between “I wish my phone could do that automatically” and “my phone actually does that automatically” is about to shrink significantly.
What Devices Will Support This Feature?
There’s an important caveat to be aware of. AI-powered Shortcuts creation requires Apple Intelligence, which is only available on compatible hardware. Currently, that means:
- iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max
- iPhone 16 and all iPhone 16 models
- Compatible iPad and Mac models with Apple Silicon
If you’re running an older device — like an iPhone 14 or earlier standard models — you won’t have access to this feature. It may be worth factoring this into your next upgrade decision if automation is a priority for you.
How to Prepare Now
iOS 27 hasn’t launched yet, but there are things you can do today to hit the ground running when it does:
- Download and explore the Shortcuts app if you haven’t already — familiarize yourself with the interface
- Make a list of repetitive tasks on your phone that you’d love to automate
- Browse community-created shortcuts for inspiration on what’s possible
- Ensure your device is compatible with Apple Intelligence
The more clearly you can describe what you want a shortcut to do, the better results you’ll get from AI-assisted creation. Start thinking in terms of triggers (“when I do X…”) and actions (“…automatically do Y”).
The Bottom Line
Apple’s decision to integrate AI into the Shortcuts app is one of the most practically useful updates to iOS in years. It takes one of the platform’s most powerful — yet underutilized — features and puts it within reach of every user, not just the technically inclined.
Whether you’re a productivity enthusiast or someone who’s never created a single shortcut, iOS 27 gives you a compelling reason to finally start automating your digital life.
You can read the original coverage of this announcement over at Lifehacker.
Ready to take your productivity even further? Explore more tools, tips, and automation strategies at myproductivetools.com — your go-to resource for working smarter every day.