Apple AI adds natural language creation to Shortcuts

Apple is significantly redesigning its Shortcuts automation app, allowing users to create complex workflows by simply describing what they want in plain English. The update, announced on June 8, 2026, during the company's Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC), leverages Apple Intelligence to interpret user requests and automatically assemble the necessary steps, aiming to make the powerful tool accessible to a much broader audience.

Previously, creating a shortcut required manually linking individual actions and configuring triggers through a visual interface, a process that often appealed more to technical power users. With the new system, a user can type or speak a request such as "message my partner my ETA when I leave work," and the app will generate an automation that uses location data, mapping, and messaging services without any manual setup. Users can also refine existing shortcuts by describing changes in natural language.

During the announcement, company officials demonstrated several practical examples. These included a shortcut that sets a morning alarm based on a user's first calendar event, another that opens a specific workspace layout when an iPad connects to a...