Apple's AI Strategy: App Intents Unlock System-Wide Intelligence
Apple Intelligence, the company’s ambitious foray into generative AI, is poised to leverage a foundational technology: App Intents. This strategy will deeply integrate the capabilities of individual applications with Apple’s broader system experiences, combining app services with Apple Intelligence and contextual data derived from a user’s device, all processed privately on-device.
At its core, the App Intents framework allows developers to weave their app’s actions and content into system-wide features such as Siri, Spotlight, widgets, and various controls. Introduced in 2024, App Intents are technically available to all applications, though Apple is actively encouraging developers to adopt them more widely. During a WWDC 2025 session, Apple highlighted App Intents as the mechanism to expose an app’s core functionalities – what it terms the “verbs” of an application – across the operating system.
These “verbs” are designed to be composable, meaning they can be combined from different third-party applications and Apple’s own apps to execute intricate tasks. This capability opens doors for users to access functionalities from one app while operating within another, enabling features like customized Spotlight search results, tailored actions for the Apple Pencil Pro, contextually aware commands for the Action Button, and interactive widgets. For developers, App Intents offer a dual advantage: they can construct far more complex and integrated app experiences than previously possible, while also allowing their applications to reach users through diverse system interfaces.
A particularly compelling aspect of App Intents is their compatibility with both Shortcuts and Siri. This integration promises a future where complex sequences of actions can be triggered simply by voice commands. Industry observers, such as Mark Gurman, suggest that once fully realized, this technology could enable complete voice control of an iPhone, encompassing tasks from finding and editing photos to sharing them. In essence, users could string together various “Intents” or “Shortcuts” from multiple applications, executing sophisticated multi-step tasks simply by speaking to their device. This vision aligns with Apple’s 2024 promise of a more intelligent Siri, a project that, despite reported delays, is now said to be progressing well, with new tools anticipated in the spring.
The primary hurdle for App Intents lies in requiring developers to “unlock” and expose specific app functionalities via Apple’s proprietary APIs. Some developers express hesitation, fearing that making core features accessible outside their own app might dilute user engagement within their direct ecosystem. Recognizing this potential resistance, Apple has reportedly initiated collaborations with major developers behind some of the world’s most popular applications. Bloomberg’s senior Apple analyst indicates partnerships with companies like Uber, AllTrails, Threads, Amazon, Temu, YouTube, Facebook, and WhatsApp. This strategic move aims to ensure that when these new features roll out, the fundamental “verbs” of widely used apps will already be supported by the system.
However, this strategy also raises broader questions about the future of the app ecosystem. As the functionalities of major applications become increasingly pervasive across Apple’s and other platforms, the opportunities for smaller, niche third-party apps to carve out their own space might diminish. If asking Siri to perform a task becomes the ultimate convenience, what impact will this have on app discovery and diversity? The concern is that the iOS ecosystem could become as commoditized as the web, dominated by a few major brands, potentially affecting digital economies where online attention and automated AI solutions become paramount. Despite these speculative concerns, working closely with key developers will undoubtedly provide Apple with crucial insights into any software flaws, helping its teams deliver the first public beta of these new Apple Intelligence features, integrated with Siri, on schedule.