The Shortcuts app on iPhones has never really felt easy to use, and that might be putting it mildly. For something so powerful, it often feels clunky and outdated, almost like it hasn’t kept up with the rest of iOS. While everything else on the iPhone has evolved over the years, Shortcuts has mostly stayed the same, and not in a good way. Using it can be frustrating, especially if you’re not already familiar with how it works. It’s one of those apps that sounds great in theory but feels like a chore in practice. That might finally be about to change. With iOS 27 and Apple’s push into AI, there’s a real chance Shortcuts could become far more intuitive and actually enjoyable to use, instead of something you avoid unless you absolutely have to.
iOS 27 and AI could be exactly what Shortcuts needed
Apple seems to be rethinking how the Shortcuts app works, and this time it’s leaning heavily on its Apple Intelligence features. Instead of manually building automations step-by-step, the idea is to let you simply say what you want, and have the app figure it out for you. In the version Apple is reportedly working on, you won’t need to dig through menus or piece together actions like a puzzle. You could just use natural language, either by typing or speaking. For example, you might say, “Turn on Do Not Disturb when I open Netflix,” or “Send a message to my mom when I leave work,” and the app would automatically create that shortcut for you.
This could make a big difference for people who’ve always found Shortcuts a bit overwhelming. Right now, it’s powerful, but not exactly beginner-friendly. By bringing AI into the mix, Apple is essentially trying to make automation feel more intuitive and less like a task you have to learn. If it works well, the Shortcuts app could definitely be one of the most useful apps.
I’m really looking forward to this, mostly because it finally feels like a chance to move on from how janky the Shortcuts app currently is.