# Review a design with PlexiiAssist

> Live review measures what is wrong with a design as you work. What I'd do about it asks AI how to fix those findings in this piece, and can refresh as you work.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/design-ai-review
Section: Office > PlexiiDesign
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-21

The PlexiiAssist panel beside the page can review your design. It works in two layers:

- **Live review** measures the design as you work and lists what is measurably wrong, such as text that is too pale to read or lines that are too long. It is arithmetic on your computer. No AI is involved, so it needs no key or credits and cannot invent a problem.
- **What I'd do about it** gives those measured findings to AI as fact and asks only what to do about each one in this particular design, and what to write instead. AI is not asked to find problems, so it cannot make them up.

## Before you start

- The review is on every plan.
- Open a design in PlexiiDesign, or click inside a Design work widget on a desk. See [PlexiiDesign overview](https://plexiidesk.com/help/design-overview).
- **Live review** needs nothing else.
- **What I'd do about it** needs AI set up: **Local on this device**, PlexiiDesk credits while you are signed in, or your own key. Choose under **AI · source** in Settings > **AI**. See [AI credits and where your AI runs](https://plexiidesk.com/help/ai-credits).

## Open the panel

Click **PlexiiAssist** in the toolbar. The panel opens on the right of the page, headed **PlexiiAssist** with a **Beta** label. To close it, click the arrow at the top right of the panel (**Collapse assistant**), or click **PlexiiAssist** in the toolbar again.

The toolbar button is the only way to open it. No keyboard shortcut does.

**AI design**, earlier in the toolbar, is a different panel: it drafts a design from a description. See [Generate designs and copy with AI](https://plexiidesk.com/help/design-ai-design).

## Live review

**Live review** is at the top of the panel, with a count of findings beside it. It updates as you change the design.

Each finding has a short title and a sentence on why it matters and what to do. With nothing to report, it says **Nothing to flag. Type, contrast, spacing and margins all look sound.**

| What it checks | What the finding says |
| --- | --- |
| Text that runs past the end of its frame | **Text does not fit in its frame** |
| Text too pale against what is behind it | **Text is too pale to read**, with the measured contrast, such as (2.1:1) |
| Lines too long to read comfortably | **Lines are long**, with the measured length, such as (about 93 characters) |
| Lines too short | **Lines are short**, with the measured length |
| Line spacing too tight for the type size | **Body text is set tight** |
| An element outside the page margins | **This sits outside the margins** |
| An element off the page, which will not appear in an export | **This is off the page** |
| No type clearly bigger than the body text | **Nothing stands out** |
| Too many typefaces | The number, such as **5 typefaces in one document** |
| Too many type sizes | The number, such as **7 different type sizes** |

To dismiss a finding you have decided to keep, such as a picture you placed over the margin on purpose, rest the pointer on it and click **×**. A dismissed finding is also left out of **What I'd do about it**.

## What I'd do about it

Under **Live review**, **What I'd do about it** asks AI for advice on the findings.

1. Optionally, type what the design is for in the **What is this for?** box, such as "a conference poster". Leave it empty and nothing is guessed.
2. Click **Ask what to do about these**. **Looking at the design.** shows while AI works.
3. Read the advice. It is about the same findings **Live review** lists. Click **Copy** to copy it.

After the first answer, the button reads **Review again**.

The advice is for you to act on, so there is no **Apply** or **Insert** here. Make the changes on the page yourself. To have AI rewrite a text box, see [Polish the words with PlexiiAssist](https://plexiidesk.com/help/design-ai-design#polish-the-words-with-plexiiassist).

> **Tip:**
> Say what the design is for. Advice for "a conference poster" can be more specific than advice for a design AI knows nothing about.

## Review as you work

The checkbox beside **What I'd do about it** refreshes the advice by itself, about 1.5 seconds after you stop typing. What it does depends on your AI source:

| AI source | The checkbox | What happens |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Local on this device** | **As I work (on-device)**, on to start with | The advice refreshes as you work, on the model running on your computer. It uses no credits. |
| PlexiiDesk credits or your own key | **As I work (uses credits)**, off to start with | Nothing refreshes until you tick the box. Once it is ticked, each refresh is a call to your AI source and uses credits or your own key. |

On credits or your own key, the box starts off so the panel never spends credits without you choosing it. If the advice does not refresh as you type, tick the box, or click **Review again**.

## What is sent to AI

Only a short summary of the design, the findings from **Live review** and the words on the page go to your AI source, with what you typed in **What is this for?**. The design itself and your pictures are never sent.

With **Local on this device**, nothing leaves your computer.

**Live review** sends nothing anywhere: it runs entirely on your computer.

## When there is no advice

| The panel says | Why, and what to do |
| --- | --- |
| **Add something to the canvas first, or say what this design is for.** | The page is empty, nothing was measured and **What is this for?** is empty, so there is nothing to advise on. No AI request is made. Add something to the page, or say what the design is for. |
| **No Anthropic API key set.** | AI is not set up. Sign in to use PlexiiDesk credits, add your own key, or choose **Local on this device**. See [AI settings](https://plexiidesk.com/help/settings-ai) and [Add your own API keys](https://plexiidesk.com/help/api-keys). |
| Another error, such as about your credits | The panel shows the real error from your AI source. See [AI credits and where your AI runs](https://plexiidesk.com/help/ai-credits). |

## Common questions

**Does Live review use credits?** No. It is measured on your computer with no AI, so it works with no key and no credits.

**Can the AI advice invent problems?** It is given the measured findings as fact and asked only what to do about them, not to look for problems of its own.

**The advice does not update as I work.** On PlexiiDesk credits or your own key, **As I work (uses credits)** starts off. Tick it, or click **Review again** when you want fresh advice.

**Can I put the advice on the page?** No. Copy it with **Copy** if you want to keep it. To rewrite a text box with AI, use **Improve copy** or **Shorten text**. See [Generate designs and copy with AI](https://plexiidesk.com/help/design-ai-design).

**A finding is about something I did on purpose.** Dismiss it with **×**.

## Related tasks

- [Generate designs and copy with AI](https://plexiidesk.com/help/design-ai-design)
- [PlexiiDesign overview](https://plexiidesk.com/help/design-overview)
- [Thread text through frames](https://plexiidesk.com/help/design-text-frames-and-stories)
- [Pages, master pages, guides and layers](https://plexiidesk.com/help/design-pages-masters-and-layers)
- [AI credits and where your AI runs](https://plexiidesk.com/help/ai-credits)
- [AI settings](https://plexiidesk.com/help/settings-ai)