Apple was quick to tout its AI-powered Apple Intelligence features in iOS 18 a year ago, but it's not until this year's iOS 26, iPadOS 26, and macOS 26 updates that the company is putting all of that power directly in the hands of its users via a surprising source: the built-in Shortcuts app.
Starting in these newest platform updates, which are all currently available as public betas, users can take advantage of Apple Intelligence features like Writing Tools and Image Playground when assembling workflows in Shortcuts. And in a first for Apple, Shortcuts also enjoys direct access to large language models—ranging from the company's On Device and Private Cloud Compute to ChatGPT.
