Using a Custom Wake Word for Assist on iOS 18

Mobile Apps Home Assistant Companion for Apple
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I haven’t seen any posts about this, so I figured I’d share, but I’ve discovered that iOS 18’s new “Vocal Shortcuts” feature can be set to trigger shortcuts! For Assist, this means that you can set a custom wake word to trigger the Assist in App shortcut.

Here’s briefly how to do it, assuming you have the Assist in app shortcut already enabled

  1. Go to Settings > Accessibility > Vocal Shortcuts
  2. Hit “Add Action”
  3. Select the Assist in App shortcut
  4. Type in the wake word or phrase you want
  5. follow the prompt to read the phrase 3x

That’s it! Saying your wake word or phrase will now open up the HA app and start a conversation with Assist.