Build Your Own AI Team BYU-Idaho

iPhone Shortcut: Send Updates to Your Team

Build an iPhone shortcut that lets you type or dictate a quick update into a timestamped text file your AI team can read. A "Tell My Team" button on your phone.

This how-to builds an iPhone shortcut — a small one-tap automation — that lets you quickly type or dictate updates, notes, meals, goals, or tasks. Each entry is saved with a date and time into a text file in iCloud Drive. You can then connect that file to your AI team so it reads your entries and acts on them.

Think of it as a "Tell My Team" button on your phone.

What's a shortcut? It's a mini-app you build in Apple's Shortcuts app by stacking simple actions. No coding. Full definition in the Glossary.

Heads up: Screens may look slightly different depending on your iPhone model and iOS version. The names of actions are sometimes worded a little differently — we note the common variations.

Before you start

Make sure you have:

  • An iPhone with the Shortcuts app installed.
  • iCloud Drive turned on.
  • The Files app available.
  • A name for your team.
  • A file name you want to use, such as team-updates.txt.

Step 1 — Confirm the Shortcuts app is installed

Look for the Shortcuts app on your iPhone. If it's not there, download it free from the App Store.

Step 2 — Create a folder for your team's file

  1. Open the Files app → iCloud Drive → Shortcuts.
  2. Create a new folder named after your team.

You do not need to create the .txt file ahead of time. The shortcut will create it the first time you run it, as long as "Create File if Not Found" is turned on (you'll set that in Step 3).

✅ You should now have: a folder at iCloud Drive > Shortcuts > [Team Name].

Step 3 — Build the shortcut

You'll add five actions in order: Ask for Input, Current Date, Format Date, Text, and Append to File.

3a. Start a new shortcut

  1. Open Shortcuts.
  2. Tap the + in the top-right corner.
  3. At the top, tap the name (probably "New Shortcut").
  4. Rename it to your team's name, for example ___ Team.
  5. Tap Done.

3b. Add "Ask for Input"

  1. Tap Add Action.
  2. In the search bar, type: Ask for Input (it may be called Provided Input).
  3. Tap Ask for Input.
  4. It will probably say: Ask for Text with Prompt.
  5. Tap Prompt and type:
Talk to [team orchestrator's name]:

This is the box where you'll type or dictate whatever you want to tell your team.

3c. Add "Current Date"

  1. Tap the search bar at the bottom.
  2. Search: Current Date.
  3. Tap Current Date.

Now your shortcut grabs the date and time when you make the entry.

3d. Add "Format Date"

  1. Tap the search bar again.
  2. Search: Format Date.
  3. Tap Format Date.
  4. Make sure it says something like Format Current Date.
  5. Tap the date format option.
  6. Choose Custom, then enter:
EEE, MMM d, yyyy h:mm a

This makes entries look like: Tue, Jun 16, 2026 3:42 PM.

3e. Add "Text"

  1. Search: Text.
  2. Tap Text.
  3. In the big text box, you'll insert variables — the little colored bubbles above the keyboard. Do not just type the words "Formatted Date" and "Ask for Input." Use the bubbles.

To build it:

  1. Tap inside the Text box.
  2. Tap the Formatted Date variable above the keyboard.
  3. Press return for a new line.
  4. Tap the Ask for Input (or Provided Input) variable above the keyboard.
  5. Press return for a new line.
  6. Type: ---

It should look roughly like this, with colored variable bubbles for the first two lines:

Formatted Date
Provided Input
---

3f. Add "Append to File"

"Append" means add to the end — each new note is added below the last one, so nothing gets erased.

  1. Search: Append to File.
  2. Tap Append to File. It should say something like Append Text to File.

Now set the file path:

  1. Tap the File part.
  2. Choose your folder: iCloud Drive > Shortcuts > [Team Name].
  3. For the file name, type your file name, for example: [add a file name here].txt
  4. If you see Ask Where to Save, turn it off.
  5. If you see Overwrite If File Exists, make sure it's off.
  6. If you see Create File if Not Found (or Make New File), turn it on.

The goal is:

Append [Text] to [filename].txt
in this folder: iCloud Drive > Shortcuts > [Team Name]

✅ You should now have: a finished shortcut with five actions in order.

Step 4 — Test it

  1. With the shortcut open, tap the play button.
  2. At the Talk to ___: prompt, type:
Test entry. I am setting up my personal goals inbox.
  1. Open Files and check: iCloud Drive > Shortcuts > [Team Name] > [filename].txt.

Open the file. It should contain something like:

Tue, Jun 16, 2026 3:42 PM
Test entry. I am setting up my personal goals inbox.
---

✅ If you see your entry with a timestamp, it works.

Step 5 — Add it to your Home Screen

  1. Open Shortcuts.
  2. Find your ___ Team shortcut.
  3. Tap the ⋯ (three dots) on the shortcut card.
  4. In the editor, tap the down arrow (⌄) near the shortcut name at the top. (On some iPhones it's an ⓘ Info button instead.)
  5. Select Add to Home Screen.
  6. Optionally change the icon.
  7. Tap Add.

Now you have an app-like button on your Home Screen.

Step 6 — Connect the file to your AI team

This is what turns the shortcut into a real "Tell My Team" pipeline.

  1. Open Claude Cowork (or ChatGPT Codex) → Projects → find the project you want to use this file with.
  2. Find the project's Context, Knowledge, or Files section and add the file you created as a context file for the project.
    • Important: Add it to the project — not just upload it once for a single chat. Adding it to the project lets the team see it every time.
  3. Your team can now read the file.
  4. Update your team's procedures (Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)) to say when the team should read the file and what to do with it.
    • Example: "Enter the meals you eat. Ask the team to read the file, track what you've eaten, then erase the entries it has recorded."

Step 7 (optional) — Add it to your Lock Screen

If you're on iOS 18:

  1. Press and hold your Lock Screen.
  2. Tap Customize.
  3. Choose Lock Screen.
  4. Tap one of the shortcut spots at the bottom.
  5. Select Shortcuts.
  6. Choose ___ Team.

Now you can launch it without unlocking and hunting through apps.

Step 8 (optional) — Use Siri

Good news: you don't need to create a custom Siri phrase anymore.

  1. Once the shortcut is named ___ Team...
  2. Just say: "Hey Siri, ___ Team."
  3. Test it: "Hey Siri, ___ Team."
  4. Then dictate, for example: "Breakfast was oatmeal with berries and almond butter."
  5. If Siri launches the shortcut and asks for input, you're set.

What's next