In iOS 27, you can make a shortcut without touching the action list. Open the Shortcuts app, tap the Add button, and describe what you want in plain language, and the app “creates and names a shortcut based on your input,” according to Apple’s Shortcuts User Guide.
Apple lists “Describe a shortcut in natural language” among the Apple Intelligence features that come with iOS 27, on iPhone, iPad and Mac. For anyone who opened Shortcuts once, saw a blank editor and closed it again, this is the easier way in.
How to create a shortcut from a description
- Open the Shortcuts app on your iPhone.
- Tap the Add button. An empty, untitled shortcut appears in the shortcut editor.
- Describe in normal language what you’d like the shortcut to do. Apple’s example in the iPhone User Guide is “When I’m leaving work message Ashley I’m on my way with my ETA.”
- Shortcuts builds the shortcut and gives it a name.
- To test it, tap the Run button. To stop it, tap the Stop button.
Test it before you rely on it, especially if it sends messages to other people. If the result isn’t right, Apple says “you can describe a change or hit edit to modify the contents directly.”
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That second option doubles as a lesson. Describe what you want, then open the editor and look at the actions Shortcuts picked and the order it put them in. Short, specific descriptions with one clear trigger and one clear result are the easiest to check.
Using Apple Intelligence inside a shortcut
Describing a shortcut is different from the Apple Intelligence actions you can put inside one. Apple lists “Use Apple Intelligence models in Shortcuts” as a feature supported since iOS 26. With the Use Model action, a shortcut sends a prompt to a model you choose. The iOS 27 Shortcuts User Guide lists four:
- On-Device: the Apple Intelligence model on your iPhone, for simple requests without a network connection.
- Cloud: Apple’s Private Cloud Compute, for complex requests.
- Cloud Pro: Private Cloud Compute with extended context, for larger and more complex tasks than Cloud.
- Extension Model: sends the request to ChatGPT.
To add one, search for the Use Model action in the shortcut editor, choose a model, then type your prompt in the text field below it. Apple’s guide also points to an Apple Intelligence category of actions when you add them, which is a quick way to see what’s on offer.
Usage limits and which devices work
Apple marks “Describe a shortcut in natural language” with “Usage limits may apply.” Its footnote names “AFM 3 Cloud models in Shortcuts” among the server-based features with daily limits, which Apple says can vary by feature, request complexity and system demand. Apple adds that “expanded access to such features will be available for a fee in the future.” It doesn’t say whether describing a shortcut draws on the same allowance as the Cloud models.
On iPhone, you need Apple Intelligence on iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or an iPhone 16 model or later, including iPhone 18 Pro with its A20 Pro chip. On iPad, Apple names iPad mini (A17 Pro) and iPad models with M1 or later. Apple’s feature availability page lists the feature in all 16 Apple Intelligence languages, with Chinese (Simplified) not available in China mainland.
iPhones that run iOS 27 without Apple Intelligence can still build shortcuts by hand: tap the Add button, tap Add Action, then pick actions from the categories.
