AI Assistant

Learn how to work effectively with Nebula Writer's AI copilot, from quick edits to multi-step research workflows.

When to Use This Page

• You want better AI results from clear prompts
• You need multi-step workflows for research or drafting
• You want to understand diffs and context selection

What the AI Can Do

• Read documents in your project folder (including PDFs you open)
• Draft, rewrite, and summarize sections
• Search the web and academic databases
• Create, edit, and organize files on request
• Produce changes as a reviewable diff

Overview

The AI assistant is more than a chatbot — it has tools to read, write, search, and manage your documents. Every edit it makes is shown as a diff you can accept or reject.

Starting a Conversation

The AI panel is on the right side of your screen. Type a message and press Enter.

Types of Requests

Questions about your document:

What's the main argument in this paper?
Summarize the methodology section.
What citations am I using?

Editing requests:

Make the introduction more concise.
Add a paragraph about data collection after section 2.
Rewrite this in a more formal tone.

Research requests:

Find papers about neural networks published after 2020.
Search the web for recent climate change statistics.
What's the DOI for "Attention is All You Need"?

Organizational requests:

Create a new document called "Chapter 3".
List all LaTeX files in this folder.
Move this file to the "drafts" folder.

Crafting High-Quality Prompts

Clear prompts lead to better edits. Include the scope, tone, and constraints.

Example Templates

Rewrite the introduction to be more concise, keep all citations.

Add a 2-paragraph related work section after "Background".

Improve clarity in section 3 without changing the technical content.

Ask for Options

Give me two alternative headlines for this section.
Provide a more formal version and a more conversational one.

Context & @Mentions

Automatic Context

The AI automatically sees:

• Active document: The file you currently have open
• Document type: It knows if you're writing LaTeX, Markdown, or DOCX
• Project structure: For LaTeX, it finds your .bib files and included files

@Mentions

Reference other files by typing @ and selecting from the dropdown:

Compare @chapter-1.md with @chapter-2.md
Use the style from @template.tex
Check if @references.bib has this citation

Removing Context

If you don't want the active document included, click the X on the context chip before sending.

Selecting Specific Text

For targeted edits, highlight a paragraph or section first, then ask:

Rewrite the selected text for clarity and flow.
Add two sentences of evidence to the highlighted section.

The AI will prioritize the selected text while still using surrounding context.

The Diff View

When the AI suggests an edit, you'll see a visual diff:

• Green text: Additions
• Red text: Deletions
• Gray text: Unchanged content

Here's another example showing diff review for a markdown file:

Navigation

• Use ↑/↓ arrows or click the navigator to jump between changes
• See "Change 2 of 5" to track your position

Actions

• Accept All: Apply every change
• Reject All: Discard everything
• Accept/Reject Individual: Navigate to a change and choose

Research & Citations

Find and Cite in One Flow

Find recent papers on diffusion models.
Add the second result to my bibliography.
Insert the citation in the related work section.

Summarize Sources

Summarize the key claims from the PDF I have open.
Extract the methodology details from @paper.pdf.

Thinking Intensity

Control how deeply the AI thinks before responding:

Higher intensity = more thoughtful responses but slower.

Tool Calls

The AI has access to specialized tools. You'll see these in the chat as collapsible panels:

File Operations

• read_file — Read any document
• write_file — Create or overwrite files
• edit_file — Modify specific lines
• list_dir — Browse your project folder
• search — Find text across files

LaTeX Tools

• compile_latex — Build your PDF
• clean_latex — Remove build artifacts

Research Tools

• search_web — Query the internet
• search_academic_papers — Query PubMed, arXiv, etc.
• add_citation — Add to bibliography

DOCX Tools

• list_docx_elements — See document structure
• apply_docx_formatting — Change styles
• insert_docx_content — Add paragraphs

Multi-Step Workflows

For longer tasks, guide the AI step by step:

1) Outline a new "Limitations" section.
2) Expand the outline into two paragraphs.
3) Add citations where claims are made.

If the AI proposes a plan, follow along and review the diffs as it goes.

Multi-Turn Conversations

The AI remembers your conversation history. You can:

• Follow up on previous responses
• Refine requests ("No, make it shorter")
• Build on completed work

Starting Fresh

Click New Chat to start a clean conversation. Previous chats are saved and can be resumed from the history panel.

Style Guides & Constraints

You can enforce specific rules:

Use APA style headings.
Keep sentences under 25 words.
Avoid passive voice.

For DOCX, you can also request styles:

Apply Heading 2 to the "Method" section.

Task Lists

For complex work, the AI may create a task list showing its plan:

☐ Read the current document
☐ Identify sections needing revision
☑ Rewrite the introduction
☐ Update the conclusion

This helps you track progress on multi-step requests.

Best Practices

Be Specific

❌ "Fix this"
✅ "Fix the grammar errors in paragraph 3"

❌ "Make it better"  
✅ "Make the argument in lines 15-20 more persuasive"

Use Line Numbers

When you see line numbers in the editor, reference them:

"Move lines 45-60 to after line 120"
"Delete the paragraph starting at line 30"

One Thing at a Time

For complex work, break it into steps:

First: "Outline a new section about methodology"
Then: "Expand point 2 of the outline"
Then: "Add citations for the claims"

Review Before Accepting

Always check the diff. The AI is helpful but not perfect.

Troubleshooting AI Responses

If the response isn't what you want:

• Refine scope: "Only edit paragraphs 2–3"
• Specify tone: "Make this more formal"
• Reduce the task: "Fix grammar only"
• Ask for alternatives: "Give two options"

Limitations

• Internet required: AI features need a network connection
• Token limits: Very long documents may be summarized
• No image generation: The AI can describe images but not create them
• Format-specific: Some DOCX formatting may need manual adjustment

Keyboard Shortcuts

Next Steps

• Review Core Concepts for context basics
• Explore LaTeX & Academic Writing for citation workflows