5 AI Shortcuts That Work Without Internet on iPhone

Apple Shortcuts is one of the most underrated features on iPhone. It lets you chain actions together to automate repetitive tasks — copy text, transform it, save it somewhere. But most Shortcuts that involve AI require an internet connection because they call cloud APIs.

Cortis changes that. It exposes 17 App Intents to the Shortcuts app, and every single one runs on-device. No API key, no internet, no account. Each intent returns a plain string, which means you can pipe the AI's output into any other Shortcuts action.

Here are 5 practical Shortcuts you can build in under a minute each.

1. Summarize Any Webpage

What it does: Takes the current Safari page and produces a concise summary you can save to Notes.

How to set it up:

1. Open the Shortcuts app and tap + to create a new Shortcut
2. Add action: Get Current Web Page (from Safari)
3. Add action: Get Text from Web Page
4. Add action: Summarize with Cortis (search "Cortis" in the action list)
5. Set the input to the text from the previous step
6. Add action: Create Note and set the body to Cortis's output
7. Name it "Summarize Page" and add it to your Share Sheet

Why it's useful offline: You loaded the webpage while you had internet. Now you're on the subway and want to summarize it before you forget. Cortis processes the text locally — no connection needed for the AI step.

2. Translate Clipboard Text

What it does: Translates whatever is on your clipboard into your target language with one tap.

How to set it up:

1. Create a new Shortcut
2. Add action: Get Clipboard
3. Add action: Ask Cortis (the general-purpose intent)
4. Set the prompt to: "Translate the following text to Spanish: [Clipboard]"
5. Add action: Copy to Clipboard with Cortis's response
6. Optionally add Show Result to display the translation

Why it's useful offline: Traveling abroad, you copy text from a downloaded document or a photo's recognized text. One tap translates it without needing roaming data.

3. Daily Journal Prompt

What it does: Every morning, it presents you with a fresh, thoughtful journaling prompt.

How to set it up:

1. Create a new Shortcut
2. Add action: Ask Cortis
3. Set the prompt to: "Give me one unique, thought-provoking journal prompt for today. Make it specific and personal, not generic."
4. Add action: Show Result to display the prompt
5. Go to the Automation tab and create a Time of Day automation (e.g., 7:00 AM)
6. Set it to run this Shortcut

Why it's useful offline: The automation fires even without internet. You wake up, see a journaling prompt on your Lock Screen, and start writing. No server needed.

4. Email Draft From Bullet Points

What it does: You type quick bullet points, and Cortis turns them into a polished email draft.

How to set it up:

1. Create a new Shortcut
2. Add action: Ask for Input (set to Text, with the prompt "Enter your bullet points")
3. Add action: Ask Cortis
4. Set the prompt to: "Turn these bullet points into a professional email draft. Keep it concise and friendly: [Input]"
5. Add action: Copy to Clipboard with Cortis's response
6. Optionally add Open App → Mail to jump straight to composing

Why it's useful offline: On a flight with no Wi-Fi, you jot down three bullet points and instantly get a ready-to-send email. Paste it into Mail and it sends when you land.

5. Grammar Check Selected Text

What it does: Select text anywhere on your iPhone, share it, and get a grammar-corrected version back.

How to set it up:

1. Create a new Shortcut
2. Add action: Receive input from Share Sheet (set to accept Text)
3. Add action: Ask Cortis
4. Set the prompt to: "Fix the grammar and spelling in this text. Return only the corrected text, no explanations: [Shortcut Input]"
5. Add action: Copy to Clipboard
6. Add action: Show Result to display the corrected text

Why it's useful offline: You're writing an important message in Notes or a document app. Select the paragraph, tap Share, run the Shortcut, and paste the corrected version back. No internet needed at any step.

Tips for All Shortcuts

• Model matters. The free Llama 3.2 1B model handles all five of these well. Pro models will produce better results for longer or more nuanced content.
• Token limit. Siri and Shortcuts intents cap output at ~200 tokens. For longer outputs, use the Cortis app directly.
• String returns. Every Cortis intent returns a plain string, which means you can chain it with anything — Reminders, Notes, Mail, Files, or even other Cortis actions.

Build Your Own

These five are starting points. The real power is combining Cortis intents with the hundreds of other Shortcuts actions available on iOS. Extract action items from meeting notes and send them to Reminders. Rewrite text in a different tone. Generate a response to an email. All offline, all private. For more ideas, see 10 things you can do with AI without internet.

Download Cortis for free on the App Store and start building.

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NERON LLC builds AI tools that respect your privacy. Cortis is our on-device AI assistant for iOS and Android.