The Vortyra agent: a practical guide

Vortyra can do things on webpages for you: click, type, fill forms, collect data, research across sites and hand the result to other apps. This guide shows how to ask, which words switch modes, and how to run it all from Shortcuts, Siri and Control Center.

Agent mode is in testing · Updated October 2026

Turn on Agent mode

1. Open a webpage and tap the AI button to show the AI panel.
2. Under Model, choose ChatGPT, Local or Cloud. These are the models that can drive the agent.
3. Switch on Agent mode. The line below it tells you whether the selected model is ready.
4. Type your request. Questions are still answered as normal chat; requests to do something go to the agent.

The on-device model has a small memory for each request, so it can't read several full websites at once. Its quick lookup runs one search, reads short excerpts from a few public results and answers with numbered citations.

The words that matter

Vortyra reads the start of your message to decide what you want. You can always override it.

Commands

/do

Always send this to the agent. Use it when Vortyra treats your request as a question./do add the cheapest option to the comparison table

/ask

Always answer as chat about the page, without touching anything./ask what does this contract say about cancellation?

/search

Local and Cloud models: look something up on the public web and answer with citations./search when is the next Benfica home game?

Words that start the agent

Begin with an action and the agent takes over. Common ones: find, search, look up, open, go to, click, tap, type, fill, select, choose, add, remove, scroll, download, sort, filter, sign in, book, buy, send, share, copy, close, switch, turn on, turn off, show me, take me. Polite openings are fine: “Can you…”, “Please…”, “Help me…”.

Words that start research

Begin with Research (or web research, find sources online, compare … across websites) to read and compare several sites. See Research mode.

Words that add extra tools

• Data: extract, collect, export, CSV, PDF, spreadsheet, table, links, compare add tools that pull tables and links off pages and export them.
• Other apps: calendar, event, meeting, appointment, remind, reminder, email, mail, message, text me let the agent prepare a calendar event, reminder or email for you to review.

What to ask

On the page you're reading

• Find the search box, search for “wireless headphones” and tell me the top 3 results with prices.
• Fill this contact form with my details and ask for a quote on 20 pallets. Your name, email, phone and address come from Settings → Autofill Profile. The agent stops before pressing Submit.
• Close the cookie banner and scroll to the reviews.
• Go to my carrier's tracking page, enter MSCU1234567 and tell me the ETA.

Data and exports

• Extract the table of sailing dates on this page and export it as CSV.
• Collect every PDF link on this page.
• Compare the price and battery life of these three laptops and make a PDF report.

Tabs and bookmarks

• Put all my tabs about Lisbon hotels into a tab group called Trip.
• Bookmark this page in my Recipes folder.
• Open the English and Portuguese versions side by side.
• Translate this page and turn on reader mode.

If a request is unclear, the agent asks you a question in the panel and waits for your answer.

Everything the agent can do

You never call these by name; just describe what you want. Items marked (asks first) always wait for your approval.

Work on the page

• Click links, buttons, tabs and menu items; type into fields and press Enter; pick dropdown options; tick checkboxes, radio buttons and switches.
• Press keys, scroll the page or a single panel, bring an element into view, hover over menus, set sliders (asks first) and drag and drop (asks first).
• Read the page text, inspect one element, wait for loading, and close cookie banners and pop-ups (only through their safe close or reject buttons).
• Go to an address, go back and forward, reload, and search the web with your search engine.
• Fill contact and address forms from your Autofill Profile (asks first, shows a preview).
• Open a website's file picker for an upload form (asks first). You choose the file; the agent never submits it.
• Take a screenshot of the page to understand its layout, on models that can see images. Sensitive fields are masked first.

Tabs, groups and bookmarks

• List, switch and open tabs, open a page side by side in split view, and close tabs (asks first).
• List, create and rename tab groups, and move tabs between groups.
• List Favorites, create folders, bookmark the current page, move bookmarks, and remove them (asks first).
• Search your browsing history (not in private browsing).

Page tools

• Turn reader mode on or off, translate the page on the device and switch back to the original, and request the desktop or mobile site.
• Find and highlight text on the page, and clear the highlights.
• Hide an annoying element (such as a sticky banner) and remember that for the website.
• Copy text to the clipboard.

Data and files

• Extract visible tables and links, compare data from several pages, and write a comparison.
• Export tables or comparisons as CSV or PDF, and save the whole page as a PDF with its address.
• Download a file or link (asks first), list downloads, and cancel one (asks first).

Research and other apps

• Read other pages quietly in the background and open chosen sources in a tab group (research mode).
• Prepare a calendar event, a reminder or an email for you to review after the task. Nothing is saved or sent by the agent.
• Ask you a question when something is unclear, and finish with a written answer.

Research mode

Start with Research and the agent searches the web, reads up to 8 sources quietly in the background, compares them and writes a short report with sources. It never leaves the page you're on. Research mode needs the ChatGPT model.

• Research the best e-bikes under €2000.
• Research noise-cancelling headphones in tabs and export a PDF report. “In tabs” opens the chosen sources in a new tab group, behind your current tab.
• Compare the return policies of three phone shops across websites.

Approvals and privacy

• You approve risky steps. Before anything that could buy, pay, send, post, delete or sign in, the agent stops and shows Approve this action? with Allow and Decline.
• Always on site. For actions you trust on one website, choose Always on site. Review or revoke these in Agent Site Permissions.
• Sensitive fields are off limits. The agent never types into password, card or one-time-code fields, and covers them before taking screenshots.
• Private tabs stay private. Runs in private tabs aren't saved to history, Spotlight, widgets or Shortcuts results.
• No endless loops. If the agent repeats the same action, it's warned after 3 repeats, blocked after 5, and the run stops after 8.

Saved tasks and history

Open Agent Tasks in the AI panel to see three tabs: Tasks, History and Watches.

• After a run, tap Save as Task to reuse it, or create one with New saved task.
• Tap any run in History to see its status, duration, every step, the approvals you gave, the questions it asked, its sources and exported files. From there: Run Again, Save as Task or Share Log.
• Saved tasks can run from Shortcuts, Siri, Spotlight, a widget or a Control Center button.

Teach mode

Show the agent once instead of describing it.

1. In Agent Tasks, tap Record a New Task.
2. Do the task yourself on the page: search, pick filters, press buttons. A Recording banner stays on screen.
3. Tap Stop, then name and save the task.

When the task runs, the agent follows your steps on the current page, adapting if the layout changed. Passwords, email addresses, phone numbers, card numbers and codes are never recorded; the agent asks you for them each time. Recording doesn't work in private tabs.

Page watches

Get a notification when a page changes. Open the page menu and choose Watch This Page…, pick how often to check, and turn on Notify when it changes.

• Price or stock: watch a product page. Under Advanced, enter the price element (for example .price) so other page changes don't count.
• Deliveries: choose Run a saved task instead with a task like What is the ETA for container MSCU1234567? You're told only when the answer changes.
• Openings: job boards, apartment listings, visa appointment pages, ticket sales.

The first check only records a starting point. Vortyra checks when you open the app and in the background; iOS decides exactly when background checks run. Clock times on a page are ignored.

Calendar, Reminders, Mail and Messages

Under a finished answer, use Add to Calendar, Add Reminder, Email, Message or Share. You can also ask for it in the request:

• Find the next Benfica home match and add it to my calendar.
• Extract the container table, export it as CSV and email it to me.
• Find when the passport office opens tomorrow and remind me.

Everything opens prefilled for you to check. Nothing is saved or sent until you tap Add, Save or Send. Reminders access is requested only the first time you save one.

Shortcuts

Open the Shortcuts app and search for Vortyra. These are all 53 actions, with the names you'll see there.

Browser agent

• Run Browser Task and Get Result: runs your instruction and returns the answer, sources and exported files to the next step.
• Run Saved Browser Task and Get Result: the same for a saved task.
• Run Browser Task and Run Saved Browser Task: start a task without waiting for it.
• Open Saved Browser Task: runs a saved task (also what Spotlight uses).
• Research a Topic: researches, optionally opens the sources in tabs, and returns the report and PDF.
• Get Last Browser Task Result: the answer from the most recent finished task.
• Watch Page and Check Watched Pages.

AI on the page

• Summarize Current Page, Ask On-Device AI and Send Page to Web AI (ChatGPT or Gemini).

Open and search

• Open URL in Vortyra, Load URL in Vortyra Tab (in a chosen tab), Search in Vortyra, Search Web in Vortyra and Search Clipboard in Vortyra.
• Open Websites Side by Side and End Split View.

Tabs and groups

• New Vortyra Tab, Create Tab in Vortyra, New Private Vortyra Tab and Reopen Last Closed Tab.
• Switch to Vortyra Tab, Switch to Tab in Vortyra and Switch to Tab Group.
• Close Current Vortyra Tab, Close Tabs in Vortyra (asks first), Close Tabs in Group and Move Tab to Group.

Navigation and page modes

• Go Back in Vortyra, Go Forward in Vortyra and Reload Vortyra Page.
• Set Reader Mode, Set Desktop Site Mode and Translate Vortyra Page.
• Find Text on Page and Find Text on Vortyra Page (in a chosen tab).

Bookmarks, history and saving

• Bookmark Current Page, Bookmark Vortyra Tab, Open Bookmark in Vortyra, Open Bookmark in Vortyra Tab and Delete Vortyra Bookmarks (asks first).
• Save Page to Reading List.
• Open Last Matching History Page, Open History Page in Vortyra, Get Recorded Web Searches and Clear Vortyra History (asks first).

Export and download

• Export Page as PDF, Capture Page Screenshot and Copy Page Title and URL.
• Download URL in Vortyra and Download Direct Page Video.

Ideas to build

• Morning tracking report: a time-of-day automation runs Run Saved Browser Task and Get Result with your tracking task, then Send Email with the CSV it returns.
• Save and summarize: on the Action button, Summarize Current Page followed by Save Page to Reading List.
• Daily page check: an automation runs Check Watched Pages every morning and shows which pages changed.
• Weekend research: Research a Topic with “Ask Each Time”, then Save File to put the PDF in iCloud Drive.
• Find on page by voice: a shortcut named “Find on page” with Find Text on Page set to “Ask Each Time”.

Results show as a card in Shortcuts and Siri with Open in Vortyra and Copy Result buttons. Most actions need Vortyra open with a regular (non-private) tab, and some ask you to unlock the device first.

Siri

Say these phrases as written:

• “Run a browser task with Vortyra”
• “Run task name with Vortyra”
• “Summarize this page with Vortyra”
• “Translate this page with Vortyra”
• “Search with Vortyra”
• “Search my clipboard with Vortyra”
• “Open a website with Vortyra”
• “Open a private tab in Vortyra”
• “Ask on-device AI in Vortyra”

On devices with Apple Intelligence, Siri also understands natural requests about tabs and bookmarks, such as “open a new tab in Vortyra”, “bookmark this tab in Vortyra” and “switch to my recipes tab in Vortyra”. To search inside the page, say “Find on this page with Vortyra” and answer Siri's question: phrases like “find price in Vortyra” search the web instead. Closing tabs, deleting bookmarks and clearing history always ask first.

Spotlight

Swipe down on the Home Screen and type the name of a bookmark or saved task to open it in Vortyra. Choose what appears in Settings → Spotlight. History is off by default, and private browsing never appears.

Controls and widgets

Control Center, Lock Screen and Action button

Open Control Center, tap +, choose Add a Control and search for Vortyra:

• New Private Tab.
• Search Clipboard: puts the copied text in the search field for you to check; it never searches by itself.
• Run Saved Task: choose which task when you add it.

Home Screen widgets

• Saved Tasks: up to four tasks; tap one to run it.
• Page Watches: your watches with the time of the last change and a Changed badge.

Progress and notifications

While a task runs, its current step appears on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island. Tasks started from Shortcuts or Siri can notify you when they finish. Turn either off in Settings → Browser Tasks. Private tasks never show page text; their notification just says “Finished”.

Related guides

Agentic AI browsing on iPad and iPhone, compare pages in split view and summarize an article with AI.

Try Vortyra

Free and open source under the MIT License. Requires iPadOS 26 or iOS 26 or later. Available through the TestFlight beta.