At WWDC 2026, Apple just announced that iOS 27 will let you create Shortcuts using natural language, all thanks to Apple Intelligence. You could finally make complex automation workflows on your iPhone without doing any scripting. The upgraded Shortcuts app can turn a plain English description into a fully built automation, so you no longer have to manually wire up every single action yourself.
No More Building iOS Shortcuts Block by Block
The Shortcuts app is quite impressive for nerdy users, while general users feel intimidated by it. You either have to piece together each step manually or download a ready-made shortcut from someone else.
However, in iOS 27, the Shortcuts app simply asks "What do you want your shortcut to do?" Now, you just type a description and Apple Intelligence assembles the workflow for you within a few seconds.
Apple showed off an impressive demo at WWDC 2026. With a prompt like "when I am leaving work, message Pedro with my ETA", the Shortcuts app brings together several actions on its own. It figures out when you have left your workplace, uses Maps to find your travel time and then messages the right contact with your estimated arrival.
This is the kind of multi-step automation that used to take hours and expertise to build, but now anyone can make it from a single sentence. Apple is also bringing this approach to the Calendar app where you can describe in natural language to create events.
Apart from that, iOS 27 brings several new features, including a new Siri AI assistant and a dedicated Siri app built for a conversational and chatbot-style experience, similar to ChatGPT and Gemini. If you want to explore the new Shortcuts app and experience Siri AI, check out our list of iOS 27 eligible devices and see if your iPhone makes the cut.
New Shortcuts App Availability
The iOS 27 developer beta is already rolling out, starting today. You can check out our step-by-step guide on how to install the iOS 27 developer beta on your iPhone. Once installed, you can try out the new Shortcuts app. By the way, the public beta is expected in July while the stable release is arriving in September.
