what's app intent?

An app intent is a way to define specific tasks that your app can perform, which can be used in various system experiences like Shortcuts. An app intent consists of a summary of what it does, which starts with the app followed by a verb, and includes the parameters that people need to fill out before the intent is run. App intents can be combined with other intents into shortcuts to create powerful new flows that they could not do alone.

Here are some key points about app intents:

1. Functionality: App intents should represent tasks that your app can perform, and they should be flexible and readable across many configurations and use cases. In iOS 18, the guidance has expanded to include more than just the most habitual tasks in your app. Now, anything your app does can be an app intent.

2. Parameters: App intents contain parameter summaries, which are essential for people to understand what your app intent does when exploring in the shortcuts drawer. Parameters should be structured to maintain readability and flexibility.

3. Opening Apps: In iOS 18, opening your app as part of an app intent is now a common behavior to show people that the intent has made a change in the app. This can be toggled off if the intent is part of a shortcut that does several things.

4. Design Guidance: Avoid making several different intents for the same task. Instead, structure your app's functionality into a flexible intent where the specifics are contained in the parameters.

For more detailed guidance, you can refer to the session Design App Intents for system experiences and Bring your app’s core features to users with App Intents.

Relevant Sessions

1. Design App Intents for system experiences
2. Bring your app’s core features to users with App Intents