An IFTTT like service where a user can fix the phrases and the voice assistant will perform actions based on it. The company made drastic changes with the iOS 13 update. It now shows the ready-to-go Siri shortcuts from the installed apps. Apple’s apps, such as Safari, Mail, Gallery, Messages, and Maps, benefit from it as they are tightly integrated into the OS and isn’t replaceable by third-party alternatives. In this post, we are going to talk about the top seven Siri Shortcuts for the Safari browser, which you can use to customize your browsing experience. The post will also include some tips to use Siri like a pro for a smooth Safari usage.
1. Perform a Google Search When You Open Safari
Siri Shortcuts offers a neat function where a user can set the rules based on which app is opened. For example, you can set the browser to open Google News whenever you launch the Safari browser. Here is how to set them up. Go to Shortcuts > Automation and tap on the ‘+’ button at the upper right corner. Select Create Personal Automation > Open App and choose the Safari browser. Now tap next and select add action > Web > Search Web. From here on, you can set the search engine as well as the text to search. The next time when you open the Safari app, Siri shortcuts will run and push a notification to let you run the script.
2. Open a Page URL With a Voice Command
With this trick, you can ask Siri to open a certain webpage with a set phrase. I have set it to open my profile page on Guiding Tech whenever I shout ‘Open my Articles’ to Siri. Let’s see how to set it up. Open Siri Shortcuts > tap on the ‘+’ icon and select add action. Now, tap on the apps menu and select Safari from the list. From the list of actions, you can select a show web page and add a URL from the following page. One can also set the app to open the webpage in reader mode by enabling the menu in the Shortcuts app. Now, set the phrase and use the same phrase to open the webpage via Siri.
3. Search Using Different Search Engine
This one is fairly simple. One can ask Siri to search for a phrase using a different search engine. By default, Apple uses the Google search engine to ask queries from Siri and Spotlight menu. However, users can change the behavior with Siri’s voice. You can ask Siri to search for the term using a different search engine. You can try ‘Hey Siri, Bing search GuidingTech,’ and it will open the Safari browser using the mentioned search engine.
4. Browser Top News
This one is super useful for news junkies like me. With a single tap, you can access the world’s leading news on the device. Here is how to set it up using Siri. Go to Siri Shortcuts > Gallery and scroll down to the News section. Select the ‘Browse Top News’ tab from the menu and add it to Siri. By default, it’s set to open news from Techmeme, NY Times, BBC, CNN, and NPR. From the shortcut’s widgets menu, the users can tap on the browse top news shortcut and select from the five of the news sources. You can edit them as well. To edit the news source, go to Shortcuts > tap three-dot menu in browser top news section and add or remove the web URLs.
5. Search on Different Platforms from a Single Menu
I use this shortcut all the time. With a single tap, you can search the phrase from nine different sources. There is no need to change the search engine from the Settings menu. From Siri Shortcuts, go to Gallery > Quick Shortcuts and select the ‘Search On’ shortcut to add to your My Shortcuts portfolio. From the iOS widget, you can select the ‘Search On’ menu and type the query from the search box. Hit enter, and the shortcut will offer a different search engine to search the term. It is a convenient way to search using different search engines.
6. Clip Articles to Notes
Let’s talk about a couple of Siri Shortcuts that gets directly integrated into the iOS share menu. As the name suggests, the shortcut can let you clip the content of an article to the Apple Notes app. Open Shortcuts > Gallery and select Clip Articles to Notes shortcut from the Read It Later menu. Now wherever you open an article on Safari and select the share menu, it will offer the options to clip the content to the Apple Notes app. It’s a neat little alternative for the Pocket app.
7. Make a PDF
With this shortcut, one can make a PDF of a webpage from the share menu. Simply go to Shortcuts > Gallery and select Make PDF shortcut. After that, you can create a PDF of a webpage using the share menu in the Safari browser. When you select to make a PDF from the share menu, the script will run and create a detailed PDF from the opened webpage.
Use Safari Like a Pro
Our compilation of Siri Shortcuts can help you spice up the browsing experience with Safari. Set them up and use Safari like a pro. Also, let us know about your favorite shortcut in the comments section below. Next up: Do you know you can change the default search engine on iOS? Read the post below to see how to perform the action.
