Key Takeaways
- The majority of iPhones don’t support Apple Intelligence so the Writing Tools feature isn’t available to most iPhone owners.
- You can create a shortcut for rewriting text using ChatGPT that mimic’s the Apple Intelligence writing tools.
- The shortcut can recreate similar results to Apple’s Writing Tools on older iPhones, though processing takes place on ChatGPT servers rather than locally on your device.
Apple Intelligence features require modern chips and lots of RAM, so the vast majority of iPhone models aren’t able to use them. If your iPhone isn’t supported, it’s possible to recreate the Apple Intelligence writing tools by creating a shortcut that uses the free ChatGPT app to rewrite your text.
If you have an iPhone 15 Pro, iPhone 15 Pro Max, or any of the iPhone 16 models, you can use the Apple Intelligence Writing Tools to rewrite or summarize text. Today, I’ll be focusing on the five tools for rewriting text.
Proofread corrects any spelling or grammar errors. Rewrite gives you an alternate version of your text. Friendly makes your text more informal, while Professional makes it more formal. Concise makes it shorter while still maintaining the overall meaning. Let’s go!
It’s possible to mimic the Apple Intelligence writing tools using the free ChatGPT app. You can create a shortcut that takes the text from your iPhone’s clipboard and passes it to ChatGPT, along with a prompt asking ChatGPT to proofread it, rewrite it, or make it more concise.
The shortcut takes the response generated by ChatGPT and saves it to the clipboard so that you can paste it wherever you want.
You’ll need to have the ChatGPT app (available on the
App Store
) installed and running on your iPhone for this shortcut to work.
There are five different rewriting tools available in iOS 18, so the first step is to create a menu to select the writing tool that you want to use.
Open the Shortcuts app and tap the “+” (plus) icon at the top of the screen. Tap “Search Actions”, type “Get Clipboard” and select the “Get Clipboard” action. This will bring the text that you’ve copied into the shortcut.
Search for “Menu” and select the “Choose From Menu” action. Tap “One,” delete the text, and type “Proofread.” Tap “Two,” delete the text, and type “Rewrite.” Tap the “Add New Item” button three times to add three more menu options.
Tap the first new menu option and type “Friendly.” Tap the second new menu item and type “Professional.” Select the last menu item and type “Concise.” You should now see sections for each menu item beneath the menu.
Now that you’ve created a menu, it’s time to emulate each of the writing tools. The Proofread tool can check your text for spelling and grammar errors and automatically correct them. This part of the shortcut gets the text from the clipboard and creates a prompt asking ChatGPT to fix any errors in that text. The prompt is assigned to a variable that is passed to ChatGPT at the end of the shortcut.
Tap “Search Actions,” search for “Text” and select “Text” from the results. Tap “Text” and enter the following: “Rewrite this text to correct any spelling and grammar errors. Don’t answer with anything other than the rewritten text:”
Tap “Select Variable,” scroll up to the top of the screen and select “Clipboard.” This will append the contents of the clipboard to the end of your text, ready to be sent to ChatGPT. Tap “Done” and drag the “Text” action up until it is directly beneath the “Proofread” action.
Search for and select “Set Variable.” Drag the “Set Variable” action up until it is under the Proofread “Text” action. Tap “Variable Name” and type “Prompt.”
You should make sure to include the line “Don’t answer with anything other than the rewritten text:” otherwise ChatGPT may respond with additional conversational text such as “Sure, here is your text corrected for spelling and grammar!”
The Rewrite tool generates an alternate version of your text which still maintains the same meaning. This part of the shortcut creates a prompt asking ChatGPT to rewrite the text from the clipboard.
Tap “Search Actions,” search for “Text” and select “Text” from the results. Tap “Text” and enter the following: “Rewrite this text in a similar style. Don’t answer with anything other than the rewritten text:”
Tap “Select Variable,” scroll up to the top of the screen, and select “Clipboard.” Tap “Done” and drag the “Text” action up until it is directly beneath the “Rewrite” action.
Search for and select “Set Variable.” Drag the “Set Variable” action up until it is under the Rewrite “Text” action. Tap “Variable Name” and type “Prompt.”
The Friendly tool rewrites your text in an informal style, making it sound more conversational. This part of the shortcut creates a prompt for ChatGPT asking it to make the text sound more friendly.
Tap “Search Actions,” search for “Text” and select “Text” from the results. Tap “Text” and enter the following: “Rewrite this text to make it more friendly. Don’t answer with anything other than the rewritten text:”
Tap “Select Variable,” scroll up to the top of the screen, and select “Clipboard.” Tap “Done” and drag the “Text” action up until it is directly beneath the “Friendly” action.
Search for and select “Set Variable.” Drag the “Set Variable” action up until it is under the Friendly “Text” action. Tap “Variable Name” and type “Prompt.”
The Professional tool makes your text sound more business-like. This part of the shortcut will create a prompt for ChatGPT asking to make the text sound more professional.
Tap “Search Actions,” search for “Text” and select “Text” from the results. Tap “Text” and enter the following: “Rewrite this text to make it more professional. Don’t answer with anything other than the rewritten text:”
Tap “Select Variable,” scroll up to the top of the screen, and select “Clipboard.” Tap “Done” and drag the “Text” action up until it is directly beneath the “Professional” action.
Search for and select “Set Variable.” Drag the “Set Variable” action up until it is under the “Text” action. Tap “Variable Name” and type “Prompt.”
The Concise tool can cut away the unnecessary parts of your text while still keeping the intent. This part of the shortcut creates a prompt to ask ChatGPT to make the text more concise.
Tap “Search Actions,” search for “Text” and select “Text” from the results. Tap “Text” and enter the following: “Rewrite this text to make it more concise. Don’t answer with anything other than the rewritten text:”
Tap “Select Variable,” scroll up to the top of the screen, and select “Clipboard.” Tap “Done” and drag the “Text” action up until it is directly beneath the “Concise” action.
Search for and select “Set Variable.” Drag the “Set Variable” action up until it is under the “Text” action. Tap “Variable Name” and type “Prompt.”
How to Send Your Prompt to ChatGPT
The final step is to send your prompt to the ChatGPT app. Once ChatGPT has generated your new text, it will be saved to the clipboard so that you can paste it wherever you need it.
Search for “ChatGPT” and select “Ask ChatGPT.” Tap “Message,” select “Set Variable” and choose “Prompt” from beneath one of your actions.
Tap the arrow in the “Ask ChatGPT” action and toggle “Show When Run” off.
Search for “Copy” and select “Copy to Clipboard.” Ensure this action is directly beneath your “Ask ChatGPT” action. This will copy the output from ChatGPT to the clipboard, ready for you to paste your new text. Search for “Vibrate” and select the “Vibrate Device” action.
Tap the name of the shortcut at the top of the screen and select “Rename”. Give your shortcut a memorable name. Tap “Done” to save it.
Your completed shortcut should look like the images below. Make sure that everything is in the correct place, as otherwise, the shortcut may not work as expected.
How to Create a Control for Your Shortcut
Adding your shortcut to the Control Center makes it quick and easy to access. The beauty of the Control Center is that you can access it even when you’re in an app.
Swipe down from the top right of the screen to open the Control Center. Tap the “+” (plus) icon. At the bottom of the screen, tap “Add a Control.”
Search for “Shortcut” and select the “Shortcut” control. Use the handle on the bottom right corner to resize the shortcut control. Tap the shortcut and select “Choose”. Select your newly created writing tools shortcut. Tap any empty part of the screen to save your new control.
You’re now ready to use your new shortcut. Write some text in any app. Triple-tap the text to select an entire paragraph and use the handles to select more text if needed.
Tap “Copy” to copy the text to your iPhone’s clipboard. Pull down from the top right of the screen to open the Control Center. Tap your writing tools control and select the writing tool you want to use.
There will be a short pause while ChatGPT does its thing. You’ll know when it’s finished because your iPhone will vibrate. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to close the Control Center and return to your text. Tap the selected text and select “Paste.” Your text is now replaced with the updated text created by ChatGPT.
If your iPhone can’t run Apple Intelligence, you don’t have to miss out on the AI writing tools; you can make them yourself. The method above will work anywhere that you can enter text, including your iPhone’s native apps as well as third-party apps such as Word or Google Docs.
