Rumored AI-powered Shortcuts app aims to make complex automation intuitive for everyone.
Apple is reportedly poised to unveil a major AI-driven overhaul of its Shortcuts automation tool at next week’s Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC 2025).
According to credible sources, the new iteration, potentially branded as “AI Shortcuts” or deeply integrating generative AI, will allow users to automate complex tasks on iPhone, iPad, and Mac using simple natural language commands, significantly lowering the barrier to entry for powerful workflows.
This move signals Apple’s most significant push yet into democratizing practical AI automation for its massive user base, moving beyond the current Shortcuts app which, while powerful, often requires technical know-how or pre-built routines.
From Scripting to Speaking: The AI Transformation
The current Shortcuts app allows users to chain together actions from different apps and services, like setting a morning routine that texts your ETA, starts a playlist, and adjusts your smart thermostat.
However, creating sophisticated automations often involves finding specific actions, understanding variables, and manually building sequences – a process that can deter casual users.
The AI-powered version, sources suggest, will leverage Apple’s on-device and cloud-based generative AI models to interpret user intent directly.
Imagine saying, “Set up a shortcut that summarizes my meeting notes, emails the key points to my team, and blocks 30 minutes in my calendar for follow-up every Friday afternoon,” and the AI constructs the complex workflow automatically.
“Apple’s strength is in taking complex technology and making it feel simple and personal,” noted a source familiar with the project’s development.
“Integrating generative AI into Shortcuts isn’t just about adding features; it’s about fundamentally changing how users interact with automation, making it accessible through conversation rather than code.”
Why This Matters: Practical Power for Everyone
The implications for Apple’s diverse user base are substantial:
- Professionals & Students: Automate tedious, repetitive tasks like data entry between apps, report generation, research summarization, or managing complex communication workflows – saving valuable time and reducing errors. Students could automate research collation or study reminders.
- Casual Users: Effortlessly create personal automations previously requiring technical skill, like generating weekly family photo albums from shared folders, managing smart home scenes based on complex triggers, or creating custom health and fitness tracking routines.
- Developers: While potentially abstracting some low-level building, the AI layer could offer powerful new primitives and integration points, speeding up prototyping complex app interactions or enabling entirely new categories of user-driven automation. Apple is expected to provide robust developer APIs.
- Understanding AI: This provides a tangible, hands-on example of generative AI translating human intent into functional digital actions, helping demystify the technology through practical application.
- Affordability & Accessibility: Crucially, the core Shortcuts app is expected to remain a free, built-in feature of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. The AI enhancements will likely be included as part of Apple’s existing AI platform rollouts (like Apple Intelligence), accessible within the ecosystem without requiring separate expensive subscriptions. It will be fully available in English at launch.
The Privacy Question: On-Device vs. The Cloud
A key differentiator will be how Apple handles the processing. The company has consistently emphasized on-device processing for privacy.
Industry analysts speculate that simpler automations might be handled directly on the device using Apple’s Neural Engine, while highly complex requests requiring larger models might leverage Apple’s Private Cloud Compute framework, designed to process data securely without storing personal information.
“Apple’s commitment to privacy is a major selling point, especially for automation that often handles sensitive personal data,” commented an industry analyst tracking consumer AI.
“If they can deliver powerful generative AI capabilities within their privacy-centric model for Shortcuts, it addresses a significant ethical concern users have with cloud-based AI assistants.”
The WWDC Stage Awaits
While Apple remains tight-lipped ahead of WWDC 2025, starting June 9th, the reported AI-powered Shortcuts overhaul aligns perfectly with the company’s stated focus on “practical intelligence.”
If confirmed, it represents a significant leap towards making sophisticated personal and professional automation a mainstream reality, powered by AI that understands not just commands, but intent.
The move also intensifies competition in the personal AI assistant and automation space, positioning Apple’s ecosystem as a hub for creating deeply personalized, powerful workflows with minimal friction.
The Takeaway:
Apple appears ready to transform Shortcuts from a power-user tool into an intuitive AI assistant for task automation, potentially unlocking immense productivity gains for millions of users directly within their Apple devices.
What do you hope an AI-powered Shortcuts app could automate for you? Share your ideas below! Stay tuned to 24 AI News for live coverage and analysis from WWDC 2025 next week.
