Drafts
Drafts are first-pass memos, summaries, and document drafts that August writes for you in an Assistant conversation. When you ask for one, you choose whether to get an editable August draft in the sidebar, a Word document, or an answer in chat.
What Drafts Are
Drafts are structured outputs created directly from Assistant conversations:
First-pass memos and summaries: orient stakeholders quickly with key issues, risks, and findings pulled from uploaded documents.
Document drafts: generate initial versions of agreements, clauses, or other legal documents from precedent language and matter context.
Analysis outputs: produce structured comparisons, gap analyses, or diligence summaries with inline citations.
A chat normally holds one August draft. When you ask for changes, August updates that draft and saves a new version instead of starting another one.
A draft delivered as a Word document, open in the side panel.
How Drafts Are Created
Ask for a draft in Assistant and August shows a card asking how you want it delivered:
August draft: an editable draft that opens in the sidebar, where you and August keep revising it.
Word document: a formatted DOCX file you can download.
Answer in chat: the content written as a regular chat reply.
You can pick an option just this time or always. Choosing always for August drafts stops the card from asking; choosing always for Word documents turns off August drafts so you always get DOCX files. Change either choice later under Chat Features in your user profile. In Manual mode, switching on Draft in the Create menu tells August to write an August draft.
Attach context. Upload documents, connect folders, or attach a Playbook to give August the source material for the draft.
Provide instructions. Describe what you need in natural language. Include document type, key constraints, and format preferences.
Choose a delivery option on the card.
Iterate in the conversation. Refine the draft with follow-up prompts or edit it directly in the sidebar.
Example prompt: "Draft a memo summarizing the key commercial risks in this NDA. Include specific clause references and flag any non-standard terms. Format as bullet points."
For stronger drafts, provide precedent language, core facts, and audience constraints in your instructions. The more context you supply, the more tailored the output.
Edit and Save an August Draft
Click the draft card in the chat to open the draft in the sidebar. Edit the text directly, then click Save. The sidebar header shows which version you are viewing.
Accessing and Resuming Drafts
Drafts stay with the conversation where they were created. To return to one later:
Click Chat History in the left navigation panel.
Search by keyword to find the conversation.
Click the conversation to reopen it.
Click the draft card to open the draft, or continue iterating with additional prompts.
Exporting Drafts to Word
Export an August draft when it's ready to leave Assistant.
Open the draft in the sidebar.
Click Export. August downloads a DOCX file named after the draft and its version.
Open the file and continue revisions in Word.
For in-document editing after export, use the Word Add-In to continue drafting with AI assistance directly in Microsoft Word. If you need a PDF, ask August for one in chat; see Genius Mode Overview for generated files.
Drafts vs. Chat History: What's the Difference
Chat history is your history of Assistant conversations. It is an index that helps you find and reopen past work.
Drafts are the outputs generated within those conversations.
Aspect | Chat history | Drafts |
|---|---|---|
What it is | Conversation history and navigation | Work product outputs within conversations |
Purpose | Reopen past conversations to continue work | Generate exportable memos, summaries, and documents |
Access | Left navigation panel | Draft card in the conversation, which opens the sidebar |
Export | No: Chat history is navigation only | Yes: export to DOCX |
When to Use the Drafts Workflow
Use Assistant drafts when you need to:
Generate a first-pass memo or summary from matter documents
Draft initial language for agreements or clauses based on precedent
Produce structured analysis with citations for verification
Iterate on an output through back-and-forth prompting
For recurring tasks that follow a consistent pattern, consider building an Agent to automate the process. For clause-by-clause review and redlining in an existing document, use the Word Add-In instead.
What to Read Next
Assistant Overview for the main workspace and query flow.
Chat history for finding and reopening past conversations.
Word Add-In Overview for continuing drafts with AI directly in Microsoft Word.