| Choice | Where it runs | Needs | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| On this phone | On your iPhone. Nothing leaves it. | Apple Intelligence (iPhone 15 Pro or newer) | New routines from a sentence |
| Apple's cloud | Apple's Private Cloud Compute, from inside the app | iOS 27 and Apple Intelligence | Everything: new routines, changes, triggers, runs |
| Apple's cloud, with the web | Apple's Private Cloud Compute, through Shortcuts | The free Routine Run Ask shortcut | Routines that need real how-to links |
| ChatGPT | OpenAI, through Shortcuts | The shortcut, and the ChatGPT extension on in Settings → Apple Intelligence | If you prefer ChatGPT |
| ChatGPT, talk it through | OpenAI, through Shortcuts, as a chat | The same | Working it out in a conversation first |
On this phone writes new routines only. Asked to change one, it mixed up steps in ways that were hard to notice, so changes go to a bigger model.
Which one you get first
- iOS 27: Apple's cloud, once the app has Apple's permission to use it (see below). Nothing to install, and Shortcuts never opens.
- iOS 26: on this phone for a new routine. For everything else, the shortcut.
You only need the shortcut if you want the web or ChatGPT. The app offers it when you choose one of those. The bridge is offered after that, and only if you want answers without Shortcuts opening.
Where your words go
- On this phone: nowhere.
- Apple's cloud: to Apple's Private Cloud Compute. It is used to answer and not kept, and nobody at Apple can read it.
- ChatGPT: to OpenAI, under OpenAI's terms.
- Continue with an assistant: to whichever app you send it to.
What is sent is your sentence and, when you asked about one, that routine, step or run: its names, descriptions, lengths and notes. Nothing is sent until you press a button.
Apple's cloud has a daily limit
Apple allows each person a number of questions a day, counted on their iCloud account. When you are close, the page says so in orange. When it runs out, the page says when it comes back, and may offer Ask for more, which is Apple's own offer through iCloud+. Until then, choose another writer beside Write it.
Status of Apple's cloud in the app
Using Apple's cloud from inside an app needs a permission Apple grants to small developers on request. Routine Run has asked for it. Until it is granted, the choice does not appear, and iOS 27 works the way iOS 26 does.