What is app intents

App Intents are a framework introduced by Apple that allows developers to expose the core features and functionalities of their apps to the system, enabling these features to be accessed and used outside of the app itself. This can include integration with Siri, Spotlight, Shortcuts, and other system experiences.

Key Points about App Intents:

Definition and Structure:
- 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 (Design App Intents for system experiences).
Guidance on Creating App Intents:
- Previously, app intents were meant to be the most habitual tasks in your app that could be useful outside of your app. In iOS 18, this guidance has been expanded to include any functionality your app offers (Design App Intents for system experiences).
- Avoid creating several different intents for the same task. Instead, structure your app's functionality into a flexible intent where the parameters can be adjusted (Design App Intents for system experiences).
Integration with System Features:
- App intents are not a feature in themselves but a common foundation for building features. They allow core features from inside your app to be presented outside your app, such as through Siri, Spotlight, and Shortcuts (Bring your app’s core features to users with App Intents).
Technical Implementation:
- In the app intents framework, a shortcut action is an intent. An intent conforms to the app intent protocol and has a localizable title and a perform method which does the action (Bring your app’s core features to users with App Intents).

Relevant Sessions:

These sessions provide detailed guidance on how to design and implement app intents to enhance the user experience by integrating app functionalities with system features.