SucceedAI - Private AI Writing for iPhone, iPad, and Mac

SucceedAI is a local AI writing assistant powered by Apple’s on-device language model. It keeps your writing private and works offline once Apple Intelligence is ready. On Mac, select text and choose a one-tap outcome from the menu bar, or type a configurable command in any editable field and press Return. On iPhone or iPad, write in the app, transform selected text in one tap with the optional keyboard, or type /ai—or your own trigger—directly on the SucceedAI keyboard and press AI Return. Prompts never need a SucceedAI server, account, or API key.

Why It Exists

Most AI writing workflows force you to leave the app where the writing is happening:

1. Copy text from Mail, Notes, Slack, a browser, or a document.
2. Open a chatbot or AI editor.
3. Write a prompt.
4. Copy the result.
5. Paste it back.
6. Fix the flow you just interrupted.

SucceedAI removes that copy-paste loop. It brings AI writing directly into the active Mac text field.

What You Can Do

• Rewrite emails so they are clearer, warmer, shorter, or more direct.
• Summarize long text without losing key facts or commitments.
• Extract action items with owners, dates, and dependencies kept intact.
• Turn rough goals and notes into an ordered plan with clear next steps.
• Translate messages without opening another app.
• Draft support replies inside the browser or help desk you already use.
• Polish social posts, product copy, issue comments, release notes, and documentation.
• Paste source text after an instruction and transform the whole command in place.
• Refine a result, copy or share it, or stop a local generation without losing your draft.
• Select text on Mac and choose Polish, Shorten, Draft Reply, Summarize, Action Items, Make a Plan, or Translate from the menu bar—without writing a prompt.
• Select text on iPhone or iPad and transform it in one keyboard tap without writing a prompt.
• Customize the command trigger from the settings panel.
• Run eight dedicated local writing actions from Shortcuts, Siri, or a personal automation.

How It Works

1. Open any app with an editable text field.
2. Type your SucceedAI trigger, such as /ai.
3. Describe the writing task.
4. Optionally paste the email, notes, or other source text after your instruction.
5. Press Return.
6. SucceedAI replaces the full command—including pasted multiline source—with the generated response.

On iPhone and iPad, enable SucceedAI Keyboard once, switch to it in any compatible text field, tap Insert Trigger, and type the request with its built-in keys. AI Return generates and replaces the complete command without making you switch away and back. Change /ai to a short personal trigger such as ;ask from the app’s Keyboard tab; the keyboard reads only that preference from the shared App Group and Full Access remains off.

While it works, the menu bar switches to an hourglass so you always know your private, on-device response is in progress.

For a faster Mac workflow, select existing text before opening SucceedAI. Every available outcome is visible at once. Choose one and the panel gets out of the way while the local model works; SucceedAI replaces only that exact, unchanged selection.

SucceedAI reads the current editable field only after you invoke the trigger or open its menu bar panel with text selected. During generation it retains the source app, exact range, and a one-way document fingerprint—not unrelated document content. It does not erase a command or selection until a response is ready and the original field, text, and cursor are still unchanged. If you switch apps, click, move the cursor, continue typing, stop generation, or generation fails, your original writing remains untouched.

Example:

/ai rewrite this launch email so it is concise and friendly

Or include source material without opening another app:

/ai summarize these notes into three action items: [paste your notes, then press Return]

The Mac menu-bar composer and iPhone/iPad app also include non-destructive Polish, Shorten, Summarize, Draft Reply, Action Items, Make a Plan, and target-language Translate workflows. Every outcome is visible without horizontal scrolling, and the layout adapts from a compact phone grid to a balanced iPad grid or a single readable column at accessibility text sizes. The selected outcome stays separate from the source text, so choosing an action never rewrites or stacks instructions inside the draft. Each completed result keeps the label of the action that produced it and can become the next refinement draft.

Shortcuts Automation

Both apps expose eight discoverable Apple Shortcuts actions: Transform Text, Polish Text, Shorten Text, Summarize Text, Action Items, Make a Plan, Draft Reply, and Translate Text. Run them from Siri or the Share Sheet, or connect them after another action—their text inputs automatically accept the preceding output. SucceedAI returns finished text using the same on-device model without opening the app or contacting a server.

On iPhone and iPad, select text in any compatible field, switch to the SucceedAI keyboard, and tap Polish, Shorten, Draft Reply, Summarize, Action Items, Make a Plan, or Translate. Before replacing anything, SucceedAI re-checks the exact selection and surrounding text anchors. If the text or selection changes while local generation is running, nothing is overwritten and the completed result waits in memory until you safely return or discard it. After a successful replacement, Undo can restore the original text for up to 90 seconds—but only while the exact result, cursor, and surrounding anchors remain unchanged. Custom trigger commands use the same context checks.

macOS Permission

The app needs Accessibility permission because macOS requires it for apps that detect global keyboard input and insert text into other apps. The app includes a guided permission setup and a Settings panel where users can check the permission state.

Settings Panel

Launch at Login, Replacement Trigger Customization, ...

Get Started For Development

1. Set up your local Xcode signing configuration:

   cp Local.xcconfig.dist Local.xcconfig

2. Open Local.xcconfig and replace YOUR_TEAM_ID with your Apple Developer Team ID.

3. Open Succeed AI.xcodeproj and build the SucceedAI scheme for macOS.

4. Run cd iOS && xcodegen generate, then open iOS/SucceedAI-iOS.xcodeproj and build SucceedAIiOS.

Both apps require OS 26 and Apple Intelligence for local generation. No service configuration is required.

Local.xcconfig is git-ignored and keeps signing credentials out of source control. Never commit it. The committed template is Local.xcconfig.dist.

Run Checks

xcodebuild -project 'Succeed AI.xcodeproj' -scheme SucceedAI -configuration Debug -destination 'platform=macOS' -only-testing:'Succeed AITests' test
xcodebuild -project 'Succeed AI.xcodeproj' -scheme SucceedAI -configuration Release -destination 'platform=macOS' build
cd iOS && xcodebuild -project SucceedAI-iOS.xcodeproj -scheme SucceedAIiOS -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone 17 Pro' test

Generate Store And Launch Assets

python3 scripts/generate_app_store_screenshots.py
python3 scripts/generate_product_hunt_assets.py

The App Store screenshot generator writes both AppStore/Screenshots/macOS/ and the Fastlane upload folder fastlane/screenshots/en-AU/.

Fastlane Release Checks

fastlane mac screenshots
fastlane mac verify_release_build

Use fastlane mac release for Apple ID 6499462798 and fastlane ios release for Apple ID 6479233658 after signing is available. App Store Connect authentication uses the API key path supplied through the release environment.

Local AI and Privacy

Generation uses Foundation Models on the user’s device. Requests are serialized inside each app process and briefly retried when the system model is busy. The app targets Apple silicon on macOS and does not include a network client entitlement. The iOS keyboard does not request Full Access. Its App Group stores only the user’s chosen trigger—not typed text, prompts, or results. Prompts and responses are never persisted; after a keyboard replacement, only the exact original and replacement may remain in extension memory for up to 90 seconds to support safe Undo.

Author

Pierre-Henry Soria ツ – A super passionate & enthusiastic Problem-Solver and AI Software Engineer with data scientist background. Also, a real Roquefort 🧀, ristretto ☕️, and dark chocolate lover! 😋

Original SucceedAI Presentation

See the original vision behind SucceedAI and its in-place AI writing experience:

License

Distributed under the MIT license 🎉 Copyright © 2026 Pierre-Henry Soria. Wish you happy, happy coding! 🤠