How to I build an app intent

To build an app intent, you should follow these guidelines:

1. Identify Core Features: Determine the core actions and content of your app that are meaningful to users and can be exposed to the system. This allows features like Siri, Spotlight, and Shortcuts to interact with your app's functionality.

2. Design Flexible Intents: Avoid creating multiple intents for the same task. Instead, structure your app's functionality into a flexible intent where parameters can be adjusted. For example, instead of creating separate intents for different reminders, use a parameter to specify the reminder.

3. Parameter Summaries: Ensure that parameter summaries are readable and understandable. They should clearly describe what the app intent does, even when different parameters are selected.

4. Open When Necessary: Decide when your app should open as part of the intent. In iOS 18, it's common for an app to open to show changes made by the intent. Use the "open when run" toggle to control this behavior.

5. Use App Intents Framework: Utilize the app intents framework to define your app's core actions and content, making them accessible to system features like Siri and Shortcuts.

For more detailed guidance, you can refer to the session Design App Intents for system experiences (01:50) which covers which app intents to make, and Bring your app’s core features to users with App Intents (05:44) for understanding the framework.