Automate your Mac with ease with shortcuts and Apple Intelligence.
Shortcuts has been available on Mac since macOS Monterey, but it’s one of those utilities that many Mac users have never explored. At first it may seem too complicated. You need to know which actions to choose and how to connect them, then hope it all works.
But macOS 27 Golden Gate changes that with Describe a shortcut, which allows you to type exactly what you need and shortcuts do the hard work for you with AI. It doesn’t always work, but it makes the app much easier to use – especially if you’re not an expert.
If you’re not familiar with Shortcuts, it’s an automation tool where you create scripts to handle tasks on your devices. Apple’s own example is a shortcut that texts your husband an estimated time of arrival based on traffic when you leave work. But you can get much more complex, like a shortcut that checks your calendar and the weather to give you a summary of what to expect today.
There are many options, and now with macOS 27 it is much easier to master the app.
Creating shortcuts on your Mac is easy
Creating a new shortcut takes a few seconds. Open the Abbreviations app on your Mac and click on Plus button to submit a request. The more details you provide, the more likely the app will get your shortcut right. A command like “Clean up my downloads” might be too vague for the app to understand what you really want. Instead, try something like “Every Friday, move everything in my Downloads folder older than 30 days to a folder called Archive.” You are more likely to end up with a working shortcut if you provide clear details.
This is a good example of how shortcuts are helpful for tasks you often forget to do; no one really cleans their downloads folder unless they are trying to free up space. Plus, you can check the result immediately by opening the folder and seeing what has been moved. If the shortcut is moved too much, enter the prompt again with even more specific details.
A shortcut can also be great for summarizing long text with Apple Intelligence. Try something like “Take the text on my clipboard, summarize it in three sentences and save it to a new note.” Then copy a long article or an email, run the shortcut and you have the short version in Notes.
Make your shortcuts easier to reach
If a shortcut isn’t part of your normal routine, chances are you’ll forget about it after a while. Fortunately, you can assign a keyboard shortcut to a shortcut, or put it in the menu bar so you never forget it.
Select the shortcut you want to customize and click Edit. go to the Shortcut details Menu (the one with the information icon) and select Add keyboard shortcut. To add it to the control center or menu bar, open it Control center on your Mac (top-right) and select Change controls. There, all you have to do is add the shortcut app action, and you’re all set. Discovery of the Automation Tab is also a good idea to create a seamless workflow of shortcuts that run on their own when you need them.
Shortcuts is not the only element in macOS 27 that acts on your behalf. Visual Intelligence has its own key combination: Shift + Command + Space. After pressing this, select a window on the screen and let Siri answer questions about it or take action, like adding an event to your calendar. Try it on an email with a date buried, for example. Siri can also run your shortcuts via voice, by talking about it.
Shortcuts and Siri AI require Apple Intelligence, which means you need a Mac with an M1 chip or later — Intel Mac users are out of luck. Also, some limits may apply when using Apple’s AI models and shortcuts. More complex queries could reach a limit faster.