Apple Intelligence Shortcuts on Mac: Use Model vs an Agent
Apple Intelligence Shortcuts on Mac means an LLM sits inside a shortcut you already built. It does not mean Siri, and it does not mean a wake word that plans Finder work from a blank sentence.
Use Model shipped with macOS Tahoe 26. Apple’s Mac User Guide (Tahoe 26, checked 2026-09-30) lists three targets: On-Device, Private Cloud Compute, and ChatGPT (the Extension Model). What’s new in Shortcuts for 26 is the same action on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Apple Intelligence has to be on. The guide still says it is not available on all Mac models or in all languages or regions.
Dottie is the other object: a native Mac AI agent for Apple Silicon and macOS 15.4+. You ask; it calls 134 system tools. You did not drag those tools into a canvas first. Cumulative downloads are 1,584 as of 2026-10-12 (api.dottie.ai). Latest desktop 2026.9.14. What the agent is, in one page: What Is Dottie Desktop.
This page is the how-to for Use Model and the Mac automations Tahoe added around it. The ten-item tour is 10 things your Mac can do with AI. The voice-agent how is automate your Mac with AI. Deterministic macros: Keyboard Maestro alternatives.
TL;DR
| Job on a Mac | Use |
|---|---|
| LLM step inside a shortcut you designed | Shortcuts Use Model (On-Device, Private Cloud Compute, or ChatGPT) |
| Same shortcut every morning, folder drop, Wi-Fi join | Personal automations on macOS Tahoe |
| Rewrite or summarize text you already have | Writing Tools actions in Shortcuts |
| One-off Finder, Mail, calendar, Terminal | Dottie |
| Pixel-identical macros | Keyboard Maestro |
What Use Model actually is
Apple’s Tahoe guide: intelligent actions can summarize text, create images, or tap Apple Intelligence or ChatGPT so the response feeds the rest of the shortcut. Use Model is that tap. It is an action in the editor, next to Get Current Weather or Show Content.
Three models, in Apple’s words:
| Model | What Apple says it is for |
|---|---|
| On-Device | Simple requests. No network. The on-device Apple Intelligence model. |
| Private Cloud Compute | Complex requests on Apple’s servers, with Apple’s privacy framing. |
| Extension Model (ChatGPT) | ChatGPT handles the request. Leaves Apple. |
I am not claiming On-Device can do every prompt, or that Private Cloud Compute never leaves the Mac. Apple’s own labels put the first on-device and the second on Apple’s compute. ChatGPT is the extension. Turn on ChatGPT with Apple Intelligence is the companion page.
Use Model is not a Hugging Face picker. It is not Ollama. Local open weights are a different stack: run local AI models on Mac. When to stay on-device vs escalate: local AI vs cloud AI on Mac.
Build one on Tahoe
Apple’s steps, condensed (Shortcuts app, Mac, Apple Intelligence on):
- Open Shortcuts. Gallery → Apple Intelligence category if you want a finished example. The + on a gallery shortcut adds it.
- For a custom flow: + in the toolbar. Tip from the guide: click the Apple Intelligence category, then pick an intelligent action.
- Add a producer action. Apple’s example is Get Current Weather (allow location if asked).
- Search Use Model, add it, pick On-Device / Private Cloud Compute / ChatGPT.
- Type the prompt under Use Model. Apple’s weather example: “Write a concise, funny summary of today’s weather with emoji.”
- Open the arrow next to Use Model if you want Follow Up. That shows the model’s reply at run time so you can refine it before the next action sees the final text.
- Add a consumer. Apple’s example is Show Content with Response selected.
- Press Play. Shortcuts saves automatically. Run it later from the app, Spotlight, or a trigger.
The guide’s extra rules that matter:
- Prompt text can include variables, outputs from earlier actions, calendar events, reminders, and photos.
- Output is “automatically optimized for the actions they’re passed to.” You can also set the Output pop-up on the action.
- How to fire it after you build it: Run a shortcut.
That is an LLM inside a graph you drew. The graph is the product.
What Tahoe added around the model
What’s new in Shortcuts (Apple Support, checked 2026-09-30) is the inventory. Use Model is one line. The Mac-specific half is the rest of the page.
Personal automations on macOS. Shortcuts on Mac can now run from events. Apple’s list: time of day, alarm stopped, email from a person, message from a person, files added to a folder, a file modified, external drive connected, Wi-Fi join, Bluetooth (AirPods example), display connected, Stage Manager, app opened or closed, battery level, charger, Focus. That is the Mac catching up to iPhone automations, not an agent.
Spotlight. A shortcut run from Spotlight can take input such as selected text from an open document.
Control Center and the menu bar. Run Shortcut, Open App, and the Menu Bar collection can sit as controls.
Writing Tools actions (Apple Intelligence, iOS / iPadOS / macOS): Adjust Tone, Make List from Text, Make Table from Text, Proofread, Rewrite, Summarize. These rewrite text you already have. They do not pick a folder in Finder.
Create Image (Image Playground, Apple Intelligence) is also on macOS. Visual Intelligence’s “Open Visual Intelligence” action on that same page is listed for iOS, not Mac.
26.4 on that page adds Set Battery Charge Limit (iOS, iPadOS, macOS) and Set Multitasking Mode (iPadOS and macOS). I am not dating the 26.4 ship beyond what that article shows.
Siri AI is a macOS 27 feature, not a Tahoe Shortcuts action. Apple Support dates the public Siri AI note to 2026-09-14. Head-to-head: Siri AI on macOS 27 vs a native agent.
I am not claiming iOS 27’s “Describe a Shortcut” exists in the Mac Shortcuts editor. Apple’s iOS 27 notes list it; the Mac User Guide Use Model page I fetched today does not.
Where Shortcuts ends
Use Model will not:
- Invent the rest of the shortcut. You still add Get Weather, Show Content, Move File, or Mail.
- Offer Ollama, LM Studio, or a model you downloaded.
- Give you a wake word that plans a new Finder job.
- Call an open tool list the way a Mac agent does.
If the job is “every weekday at 8, summarize yesterday’s notes into a Reminders list,” build that graph once. On-Device if the prompt is small. ChatGPT if you already turned the extension on and accept that path.
If the job is “the PDFs that landed this morning are the wrong ones, put the invoices in Accounting and trash the rest,” you will not have built that graph. That is Dottie. Agent vs assistant: which Mac AI agents actually run tasks. First 10 minutes: Getting Started with Dottie on Mac.
Keyboard Maestro still wins when the macro must be identical every time. Shortcuts Use Model is the LLM step inside Apple’s editor. KM is the deterministic engine. They stack.
You can run both. A folder automation files the predictable drops. Dottie handles the sentence you have not seen before.
Related reading
- What Is Dottie Desktop — agent, 134 tools, three model paths
- Automate your Mac with AI — agent vs Shortcuts vs scripts
- 10 things your Mac can do with AI — Tahoe Use Model as item 1
- Keyboard Maestro alternatives — deterministic macros
- Siri alternative for Mac — Siri AI on macOS 27
- Apple Intelligence alternatives — the wider field
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Apple Shortcuts have AI on Mac?
Yes on macOS Tahoe 26, if Apple Intelligence is on. Use Model is an action in the Shortcuts editor. Apple's Mac User Guide lists On-Device, Private Cloud Compute, and ChatGPT as the Extension Model. What's new in Shortcuts for 26 lists the same action on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Older roundups that say Shortcuts has no AI are false on Tahoe.
What is Use Model in Shortcuts on Mac?
Use Model is the action that sends a prompt to an Apple Intelligence model or ChatGPT and passes the reply into the next action. Apple's Tahoe guide says you can use it to feed a later action, parse an earlier action, and optionally Follow Up at run time. You still build the rest of the shortcut.
Does Use Model run on-device on a Mac?
On-Device is one of the three targets. Apple says it handles simple requests without a network connection, using the on-device Apple Intelligence model. Private Cloud Compute is Apple's servers. ChatGPT is the extension. Apple Intelligence is not available on all Mac models or in all languages or regions.
Can Shortcuts personal automations run on a Mac?
Yes on macOS Tahoe. Apple's what's-new article lists time of day, email, messages, folder and file events, external drive, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, display, Stage Manager, app open or close, battery, charger, and Focus. That is a trigger. It is not an agent inventing steps.
Is Use Model the same as Siri AI on macOS 27?
No. Use Model is a Shortcuts action on Tahoe 26. Siri AI shipped with macOS 27 Golden Gate (Apple Support, 2026-09-14). Tahoe keeps older Siri plus Writing Tools and Use Model. Siri AI is Apple's system assistant. Use Model is an LLM step inside a shortcut you built.
Does Use Model replace Keyboard Maestro or a Mac AI agent?
No. Keyboard Maestro is still the tool for macros that must fire the same way every time. Use Model writes or classifies text inside a graph you designed. A Mac agent like Dottie picks tools from a spoken or typed job you did not pre-wire. Keep Shortcuts for the repeatable flow. Use the agent for the one-off.
Can I use Ollama or a local open model inside Shortcuts Use Model?
Apple's three targets are On-Device Apple Intelligence, Private Cloud Compute, and ChatGPT. The Tahoe Use Model page does not list Ollama, LM Studio, or a Hugging Face picker. Run those weights in Ollama or MLX, or point Dottie at a local model. That is a different stack from Use Model.