How to Use the AI Writer

Why This Matters

The AI Writer helps you create professional email and letter drafts in seconds. Instead of starting from scratch, you describe what you want to say and how you want to sound — the AI writes the draft, and you refine it until it's exactly right. Whether you're creating a reusable email template, writing a letter, or sending a one-off message to a specific contact, the AI Writer fits into your existing workflow no matter where you start.

Before You Begin

Make sure you have AI credits available. Check your balance in the AI Credits status bar at the top of any AI page.

How to Get to the AI Writer

There are several ways to open the AI Writer depending on what you're trying to accomplish. All paths lead to the same tool — the difference is just where your finished content goes when you're done.

Starting from the AI menu Go to AI → AI Writer in the main navigation. This is the most direct route. When you're finished, you'll save your content by copying it to a new email template, copying it to a new letter template, or placing it on your clipboard for use anywhere.

Starting from a new email template Go to your email template library and click to create a new template. On the selection screen, click Write Email with AI instead of choosing a sample or blank editor. When you're finished in the AI Writer, your content flows directly into a new email template ready for editing. This is the recommended path if your goal is to create a reusable email template.

Starting from a new letter Go to your letter templates and click to create a new letter. When the dialog appears, choose Write Letter using AI instead of Blank / From Scratch. When you're finished, your content flows directly into a new letter template.

Starting from a contact card Open a contact record and select Write Email with AI from the contact's action menu. The AI Writer opens with that contact's name shown at the top so you always know who you're writing to. When you're finished, your content goes directly to the email sending page for that contact — not to a template.

Starting from email history When viewing a contact's email history, you'll see Compose with AI to start a new message, or Reply with AI on any individual message to draft a reply. When you're finished, your content goes directly to the email sending or reply screen.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Describe Your Message

Every path through the AI Writer starts here. Fill in three things:

  • Purpose — Select what your message is trying to accomplish: promoting a product or service, sharing news, following up, requesting information, sending a thank you, sending an appointment or event reminder, welcoming a new contact, or Other (where you describe your own purpose in your own words).
  • Tone — Select how you want the message to sound: Professional & Friendly, Friendly & Casual, Professional & Formal, Direct & To-the-Point, Enthusiastic & Positive, or Helpful & Supportive.
  • Key Points & Details — Type the key things you want the message to include. The more specific you are here, the better your draft will be. Instead of "follow up email," try something like "follow up after our meeting last Tuesday about the marketing proposal — mention I'll send the full quote by Friday."

Click Write My Draft Message. The AI generates a complete draft in seconds.

Step 2: Review Your Draft

Your draft appears in the editor below the refinement tools. Read through it and decide what you want to change. You can edit the text directly in the editor at any time, or use the AI refinement tools to make bigger changes.

Step 3: Refine Your Draft

A full set of refinement tools sits above your draft. Each tool costs a small number of credits and updates your draft immediately.

Length & Structure

  • Make Shorter — Condenses the message
  • Make Longer — Expands the message with more detail

Tone & Style

  • Change Tone — Pick a new tone from the same six options and apply it
  • Add an Idea — Type an idea you want woven into the message

Cleanup & Rewrite

  • Simplify — Rewrites in simpler, clearer language
  • Clean Up — Fixes grammar, punctuation, and awkward phrasing
  • Rewrite — Generates a completely fresh version

Voice & Personality

  • Use My Writing Style — Rewrites the draft to match your personal writing voice based on samples you've provided in Writing Voice Settings. If you have multiple profiles set up, a dropdown appears to choose which one to use. See Setup: Writing Voice Profiles for how to get this set up.

Persuasion & Emotion

  • Make More Persuasive — Adds persuasive language and calls to action
  • Make More Confident — Strengthens the language and authority
  • Add Urgency — Adds time-sensitive phrasing
  • Make Warmer — Adds warmth and personal touch
  • Add Humor — Lightens the tone appropriately

💡 If you're unsure about a refinement, copy your draft to the clipboard first as a backup. There is no undo — each refinement replaces the previous version.

Step 4: Add a Subject Line

A subject line field appears below the refinement tools. Click Suggest Subject Lines to get AI-generated options based on your message content. Click any suggestion to select it, or type your own. A character count indicator shows whether your subject line length is good.

Step 5: Save Your Content

How you save your content depends on which path you used to get to the AI Writer.

If you started from a contact card or email history: A Continue to Email Editor or Continue to Reply button appears. Click it to pass your draft directly to the email sending or reply screen for that contact. No template is created.

If you started from the AI menu, the email template library, or the letter area: Three buttons appear in the top right: Clipboard, Copy to New Email Template, and Copy to New Letter Template.

  • Clipboard — Copies your content to the clipboard for pasting anywhere you need it.
  • Copy to New Email Template — Opens a dialog with two options:
    • Use an Existing Template — Merges your AI content into a copy of one of your existing email templates. The template must contain the %%AiContent%% placeholder tag where you want the content to appear. If no compatible templates are found, the system will prompt you to add the placeholder to an existing template first via a Go to Email Templates button.
    • Create a New Template — Skips the placeholder requirement entirely. The system creates a brand new template with your AI content already inside and opens it for editing immediately. This is the easiest option if you don't already have a compatible template set up.
  • Copy to New Letter Template — Works the same way as the email template option but creates a letter template instead.

💡 Your original templates are never modified. Whether you use an existing template or create a new one, the AI Writer always works with a copy.

Questions and Answers

Q: What is %%AiContent%% and do I need it?

A: %%AiContent%% is a placeholder tag you can add to an existing email template to mark where AI-generated content should be inserted. You only need it if you want to merge AI content into one of your existing templates. If you'd rather start fresh, just use the Create a New Template option — no placeholder required.


Q: Can I undo a refinement if I don't like the result?

A: No. Each refinement replaces the previous draft and there is no undo or version history. Copy your draft to the clipboard before applying a refinement if you want to keep a backup of the current version.


Q: Does using Copy to New Email Template change my original template?

A: No. The AI Writer always creates a copy. Your original template is never modified.


Q: What's the difference between starting from the AI menu versus starting from the email template library?

A: Both use the same AI Writer tool. The difference is where your content ends up when you're done. Starting from the email template library puts you directly into the template creation flow when you finish. Starting from the AI menu gives you more flexibility — you can send the content to a template, a letter, or just copy it to the clipboard.


Q: Can I write a letter and an email from the same draft?

A: Yes. Once your draft is ready, you can use Copy to New Email Template and Copy to New Letter Template from the same session. Both buttons are available at the same time.


Q: How specific should I be in the Key Points & Details field?

A: The more specific the better. Vague instructions produce generic drafts. Specific details — names, dates, topics, next steps — produce drafts that are much closer to what you actually want to send.

Guide Type: How-To Guide

Estimated Time: 5 minutes