macOS 27 has a secret popover menu for AI power users

Apple's macOS 27 beta includes a hidden floating contextual interface for Siri AI that appears when selecting text, offering quick access to Apple Intelligence actions without Control-clicking. Reddit user pdfu discovered the feature in developer beta 3 and public beta 1, which can be enabled via Terminal using the FeatureFlags tool with a sudo command. Apple has not publicly enabled the feature, likely due to bugs or internal testing.

When Apple unveiled the new Siri AI https://www.macworld.com/article/3164693/siri-ai-is-both-impressive-and-disappointing.html as part of the OS 27 https://www.macworld.com/article/3139330/macos-27-mac-features-siri-apple-intelligence-release-date-compatibility.html updates coming this fall, it showed off a new interface, a new app, and a whole new personality for the revamped chatbot. But there’s a hidden feature Apple didn’t tell us about. As spotted by Reddit user pdfu and posted in the macOS Beta subreddit https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOSBeta/comments/1v0hvjd/macos 27 has a hidden lightweight ui for siri ai/ , the latest macOS betas https://www.macworld.com/article/671123/should-i-install-macos-beta-latest-version.html developer beta 3 and public beta 1 contain a hidden “floating contextual interface” for the new Siri that can pop up while selecting text. Among the actions available to choose from are: The post includes a short video demonstrating the feature in action, and it’s pretty neat. Rather than Control-click to bring up the Apple Intelligence options, a small translucent Siri icon will appear next to any selected text. Hover over it, and a set of actions will appear. It’s unclear why Apple hasn’t enabled this feature for all users, but presumably it’s because the feature is buggy enough to remain in testing. Or perhaps it’s an internal feature for Apple employees that isn’t meant for public use. At any rate, you can try it out if you want through Apple’s FeatureFlags tool. We’ll caution that it uses the dreaded sudo command, which gives you the temporary ability to access system-level permissions. As long as you copy and paste the command properly, there shouldn’t be any issues, but it’s worth making sure your Mac is properly backed up first, just in case First, open the Terminal app and paste sudo mkdir -p /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain && \ to enable FeatureFlags to run on your Mac. Then paste sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain/WritingTools LightweightUI macOS -dict Enabled -bool true and reboot your Mac. This will turn on the popover menu. If you want to turn it off, type sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/FeatureFlags/Domain/WritingTools LightweightUI macOS -dict Enabled -bool false into Terminal and restart.