# AI Assist: rewrite, summarise and translate text

> Select text in a widget, right-click and choose AI Assist to expand, summarise, rewrite, retone or translate it. You see the result before anything changes.

Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-ai-assist
Section: Widgets > Widget basics
Plans: All plans
Updated: 2026-10-10

AI Assist works on text you already have. Select some words in a widget, right-click them and choose **AI Assist**. You can then make the text longer or shorter, clearer, more formal or more friendly, fix its spelling and grammar, or translate it. You can also type your own instruction.

AI Assist always shows you the result first. Nothing in your widget changes until you click **Apply**.

Use it to tidy up meeting notes, turn rough bullet points into a paragraph, cut a long note down to its key points, or put a message into another language before you send it.

## Before you start

- **AI must be set up.** AI Assist runs on PlexiDesk's AI credits while you are signed in, or on your own Anthropic key. See [AI credits and where your AI runs](https://plexiidesk.com/help) and [Add your own API keys](https://plexiidesk.com/help/api-keys).
- **Every plan** includes AI Assist.
- **It works on text on a desk.** You can use it on text in a Sticky, Note, Markdown, Page or Card widget, on the text in a table cell, and on text you select on a web page in a Browser widget.
- **It is not offered on a Living Doc.** A Living Doc's text is written and kept up to date by its own AI, so any rewrite would be replaced the next time it updates. See [Living Doc widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-living-doc).

## Rewrite text with AI Assist

1. Select the words you want to work on. On a Sticky or a Note, click into the text first so you can select it.
2. Right-click the selection.
3. Point to **AI Assist**, then choose what you want, such as **Summarise**, **Fix Grammar** or **Translate** > **Spanish**.
4. The AI Assist window opens and starts straight away. You see **Working on it** while it works.
5. Read the **Result**, then choose what to do with it:
   - **Apply** puts the result into your widget. See [Where the result goes](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-ai-assist#where-the-result-goes).
   - **Copy** copies the result so you can paste it anywhere, and leaves your widget as it is.
   - **Regenerate** asks for a fresh result.
   - **Discard** closes the window without changing anything.



### Work on all of a widget's text

On a Sticky, Note or Markdown widget, you do not have to select anything. Right-click the widget's title bar and choose **AI Assist**. You can also right-click inside the text while you are editing it, without selecting anything. AI Assist then works on all of the widget's text, and **Apply** replaces all of it.

On a Card, right-click the title bar to work on the whole card.

## What each action does

| Action | What it asks the AI to do |
| --- | --- |
| **Expand** | Add more detail and supporting points, in the same voice. |
| **Simplify** | Make the text easy to read: remove jargon and shorten sentences. |
| **Summarise** | Shorten the text to its key points. |
| **Rewrite** | Make the text read more clearly and naturally, keeping the meaning. |
| **Fix Grammar** | Fix spelling, grammar and punctuation, and change nothing else. |
| **Improve Clarity** | Improve clarity and flow without changing the meaning or adding anything new. |
| **Continue Writing** | Carry on from where your text ends, in the same voice and style. The result is your text with the new part added after it. |
| **Change Tone** | Rewrite the text in the tone you pick, keeping the meaning: **Professional**, **Casual**, **Friendly**, **Direct**, **Concise** or **Formal**. **Custom tone...** lets you name any other tone. |
| **Translate** | Translate the text into **English**, **Spanish**, **French**, **German**, **Japanese** or **Chinese**, and return only the translation. **Custom language...** lets you name any other language. |
| **Custom Prompt...** | Follow the instruction you type. |

Apart from **Translate**, AI Assist is asked to keep your text in the language it is written in.

## Give your own instruction

Use **Custom Prompt...** when none of the actions fits, for example "Turn this into a numbered list of next steps" or "Write this as a short email to the team".

1. Select the text, right-click it and choose **AI Assist** > **Custom Prompt...**.
2. The AI Assist window opens and waits for you. Type what you want in the **Instruction** box.
3. Click **Run**.
4. Read the **Result**, then click **Apply**, **Copy**, **Regenerate** or **Discard**.

**Custom tone...** (under **Change Tone**) and **Custom language...** (under **Translate**) work the same way. The **Instruction** box starts with the beginning of the request, such as "Translate this text into the following language:". Type the tone or language at the end, then click **Run**.

## Change the instruction and try again

The **Instruction** box at the top of the AI Assist window shows exactly what the AI was asked to do, and you can edit it for any action. For example, after **Summarise**, add "in three bullet points" to the end of the instruction, then click **Regenerate**. You can do this as many times as you like.

To close the window without changing anything, click **Discard**, click the **×** at the top right, or click outside the window.

## Where the result goes

**Apply** works differently depending on where the text came from.

- **Sticky, Note and Markdown.** The result replaces the words you selected. If you started without a selection, it replaces all of the widget's text.
- **When your selection cannot be matched exactly.** Sometimes the words you selected cannot be found word for word in the widget's text, for example when a selection in a Markdown widget runs across bold text, a link or a list. Then PlexiDesk leaves your text as it was and adds the result as a new sticky beside the widget, linked to it.
- **Card.** The result is added as a new sticky beside the card, linked to it. The card itself stays as it is.
- **Page, table cell and Browser.** Click **Copy**, then paste the result where you want it with `⌘` `V` on a Mac or `Ctrl` `V` on Windows. On a Page, select the words before you start, so AI Assist works on just that text, then paste the result over your selection.

A new sticky holds the first 2,000 characters of a result. For a longer result, use **Copy** instead.

> **Tip:**
> To keep your original wording, use **Copy** rather than **Apply**. Paste the result into a new widget, or below your text, and compare the two.

## Copy text into a new widget

The same right-click menu can also copy text into a different kind of widget, without any AI. This is useful when a note on a sticky deserves more room, or you want a draft in a Page.

1. Select the text, or on a Sticky, Note or Markdown widget right-click without a selection to use all of it.
2. Right-click and point to **Create & link**.
3. Under **Copy into**, choose **Sticky**, **Note**, **Markdown** or **Page**. The kind of widget you are in is not listed.

A new widget with a copy of the text appears to the right of the original, linked to it. The original is not changed. The copy holds up to the first 2,000 characters. See [Link widgets and set up wires](https://plexiidesk.com/help/canvas-link-widgets).

## AI Assist, the AI button or Plexii?

- **AI Assist** reworks text you already have: you pick the text and the action, and you see the result before it lands.
- **A widget's AI button**, the sparkle on its title bar, drafts new content in that widget's own format, such as to-dos for a sticky or branches for a mind map. See [Use a widget's AI button](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-ai).
- **Plexii**, the assistant, answers questions and can make changes across your desk. See [Meet Plexii, your assistant](https://plexiidesk.com/help/ai-assistant).

## Tips

- **Work on long text in parts.** AI Assist reads up to the first 12,000 characters of the text you give it. For a longer note, select one part, apply the result, then move on to the next.
- **Use the keyboard in the menu.** Use the arrow keys to move through the right-click menu. The right arrow or `Enter` opens a submenu such as **AI Assist**. The left arrow or `Esc` steps back out of a submenu, and `Esc` on the main menu closes it.
- **Check before you apply.** The AI can misread what you meant. Read the result, and click **Regenerate** or change the instruction if it is not right.
- **Keep your own wording with Fix Grammar.** It is asked to change nothing but spelling, grammar and punctuation.

## Common questions

**I do not see AI Assist in the right-click menu.** AI Assist only appears when there is text to work on. Select some text first, or check that the widget is not empty. On widgets without text of their own, such as a Table's title bar, it does not appear; right-click a cell instead. It is never offered on a Living Doc.

**The window shows a message instead of a result.** Usually AI is not set up yet. Sign in to use PlexiDesk's AI credits, or add your own Anthropic key in **Settings** > **AI**. Then click **Run** to try again. If the message says the text is too large, select a smaller part.

**The result appeared as a new sticky instead of changing my text.** PlexiDesk could not find the exact words you selected in the widget's text, so it kept your text safe and put the result beside it. Copy what you need from the sticky, or select plain text within one paragraph and try again.

**Does anything change before I click Apply?** No. Choosing an action, running it, regenerating and copying never change your widget. Only **Apply** does.

**Can I get my original text back after Apply?** The desk's **History** keeps earlier saved states of the desk, including what your widgets said, so you can put the desk back the way it was. See [Restore or branch a desk from its history](https://plexiidesk.com/help/desk-history).

## Related tasks

- [Use a widget's AI button](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-ai)
- [Right-click menus](https://plexiidesk.com/help/right-click-menus)
- [Sticky widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-sticky)
- [Note widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-note)
- [Markdown widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-markdown)
- [Page widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-page)
- [Add your own API keys](https://plexiidesk.com/help/api-keys)