Apple is said to be developing an AI-powered feature for the Shortcuts app that would allow users to generate custom actions using natural language commands, removing the need to build workflows manually.
The Shortcuts app has long served as one of iOS’s more powerful but underutilised tools, letting users construct automated workflows that handle everything from sending messages to controlling smart home devices, with the app tracing its origins to Apple’s 2017 acquisition of Workflow before being rebranded and folded into the operating system.
The new capability goes a step further than the Apple Intelligence integration Apple added in iOS 26, which allowed AI models to be incorporated into existing shortcuts, by enabling users to generate entirely new actions through voice commands or natural language input rather than building them from scratch.
Backend code pointing to the feature was discovered by Nicolás Alvarez and subsequently confirmed by MacRumors, suggesting development is sufficiently advanced for traces of the functionality to surface in Apple’s internal builds ahead of any official announcement.
Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman first reported Apple’s work on the feature in June last year, noting at the time that delays could push the release into 2026, a timeline that now aligns with the iOS 27 development cycle currently underway at Apple.
iOS 27 is expected to bring a significantly overhauled version of Siri that operates more like a conversational chatbot and carries the ability to interact directly with third-party apps, making the Shortcuts generator a natural extension of that broader intelligence layer rather than a standalone addition.
The combination of a more capable Siri and an AI-driven Shortcuts builder would address one of the app’s longest-standing limitations, bringing automation tools that have historically required technical patience within reach of the average iPhone user for the first time.
Apple has not confirmed any details about the feature, with the iOS 27 developer preview expected to offer the first official look at what the company has planned for its intelligence and automation capabilities later this year.
The post iOS 27 Shortcuts app could write custom actions for you with AI appeared first on Trusted Reviews.