Assistant

Genius Mode Overview

Genius Mode is a capability within August's Assistant that handles multi-step, multi-document tasks end-to-end. Instead of answering a single question or drafting one document, it reads across your source materials, chains together the right steps, and delivers a complete work product ready for your review.

This video demonstrates document generation with citations in Genius Mode.

When to Use Genius Mode

Use Genius Mode for operational assembly work that involves multiple inputs and multiple outputs. This is the work that slows practices down: closing binders, billing summaries, board minutes, checklist assembly from deal folders, and other tasks that sit between finishing the legal work and delivering it to the client.

Genius Mode differs from standard Assistant workflows in one key way: it chains multiple actions together. Standard Assistant handles a single question or document. Genius Mode reads a full set of inputs, decides what needs to be produced, and assembles everything while flagging open issues along the way.

Use Genius Mode when your task involves:

  • Cross-referencing multiple documents (calendars, emails, meeting notes, deal folders)

  • Producing formatted outputs in Excel, PowerPoint, or Word

  • Assembly work that would otherwise require manual coordination across files

  • Iterative drafting with back-and-forth adjustments

How to Activate Genius Mode

Genius Mode is available directly within Assistant:

  1. Open Assistant.

  2. Switch to Genius mode.

  3. Upload or attach the documents and folders your task requires using the plus button.

  4. Describe what you need in one instruction.

Genius Mode reads across all your source materials and delivers a first-pass work product. Every output traces back to source documents, and every draft is marked for attorney review.

For agent creation, selecting Create New → Agent opens a Genius Mode conversation with a prefilled prompt to help you draft your agent. See Creating Agents from Assistant for details.

File Naming Requirements

When uploading or generating files in Genius Mode, use clear filenames with real file extensions. August expects document names to include supported extensions such as .docx, .xlsx, .pptx, or .pdf.

Supported Extensions

Genius Mode accepts the following file types for upload and generation:

  • Word: .docx, .doc

  • Excel: .xlsx, .xls, .csv

  • PowerPoint: .pptx, .ppt

  • PDF: .pdf

  • Text: .txt, .md, .json

  • Email: .msg, .eml

If a filename lacks a recognizable extension or uses an unsupported format, Genius Mode will reject the upload. Add the correct extension and try again.

How August Handles Missing or Incorrect Extensions

For files already in your workspace, August uses the file's actual content type to determine how to open and download it—even if the filename extension is missing or incorrect. This means:

  • Office documents (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx) open in the correct viewer regardless of their filename.

  • Downloads from chat, the file viewer, and work product views use the correct extension based on the actual file type.

  • Date patterns in filenames (such as [2026.05.11]) are recognized as dates, not file extensions.

For best results, include the correct extension when you upload files. This ensures consistent behavior across upload, viewing, and download.

Task Examples

Genius Mode works across a range of operational legal tasks. The examples below are representative of the types of workflows it handles:

Time Entries

Attach a calendar, a day's worth of emails, and meeting notes. Ask Genius Mode to generate time entries for the day. It cross-references all three sources and delivers a formatted Excel spreadsheet with narrative descriptions for each entry, ready to drop into your billing system.

Closing Sets and Binders

Attach a deal folder. Ask for a closing set. Genius Mode reads the documents, assembles the relevant materials, and delivers a Word or PDF package for review.

Pitch Materials

Attach a BD call transcript. Ask for pitch materials. Genius Mode extracts key points and delivers a PowerPoint deck ready for refinement.

Document Drafting from Templates

In the Word Add-in, attach your firm's standard template (such as an NDA) and describe what you need. Genius Mode drafts the agreement in rounds of tracked changes, matching your template's formatting conventions. Numbered sections, lettered sub-clauses, bold defined terms, and other structural elements come out formatted correctly, ready for review rather than rework.

Reformatting and Translation

Start with an existing agreement that's inconsistent throughout. Ask Genius Mode to standardize everything. It delivers tracked changes across the whole document in one pass. The same capability applies to translating a contract into another language while preserving its structure, or converting a marked-up draft into clean copy with consistent formatting.

Output Formats

Genius Mode delivers work product in the formats lawyers already use:

  • Excel — time entries, billing summaries, data extraction from document sets

  • PowerPoint — pitch materials, client updates, presentation-ready summaries

  • Word — closing sets, agreements, memos, board minutes

  • PDF — formatted deliverables ready for distribution

Working with Genius Mode in the Word Add-in

Genius Mode extends to the Word Add-in, where most legal drafting happens. The key capabilities include:

Conversational Editing

Give an instruction, and Genius Mode delivers a round of suggested edits. By default, edits appear as tracked changes (redlines) in your document—you can also choose Direct mode to apply edits without tracked changes for a clean final version. Each one has Dismiss and Apply options, so you stay in control. Type feedback after each round — "make the tone more formal" or "translate this clause to Spanish" — and the next round adjusts based on what you changed and what you said. Change direction mid-task, and Genius Mode follows.

For full details on Redlines and Direct modes, per-edit overrides, and how Genius Mode syncs with Word's Track Changes setting, see Genius Mode in the Word Add-In.

Working with All Your Files

Attach an entire matter folder. Genius Mode reads what it needs, searches for the right sections, and pulls from the full picture. You can hand it your templates, opposing counsel's redline, the last three drafts, and the client's term sheet all at once.

Formatting Handled Automatically

Genius Mode handles Word formatting directly — lists, styles, bold, bullets, structured layouts. The output comes out already formatted, so your review is about content, not fonts. This removes the cleanup pass that often follows AI-assisted drafting.

Best Practices

  • Start with clear intent. Describe the outcome you want, not just the documents you have. "Generate time entries for today from these materials" works better than "look at these files."

  • Attach everything relevant up front. Genius Mode works best when it can see the full picture. Upload the calendar, the emails, the meeting notes, the deal folder — whatever the task draws from.

  • Use back-and-forth in the Word Add-in. Don't try to perfect the instruction on the first pass. Give a direction, review the output, and refine with short follow-up instructions.

  • Validate before you rely. Every output traces back to source documents, but you still need to open the citations and confirm that the answer matches the source. Apply or dismiss each suggested edit in Word rather than accepting everything blindly.

  • Expect attorney review. Genius Mode delivers first-pass work products, not final deliverables. Every draft is marked for review. Plan to validate, adjust, and finalize before sending to clients or counterparties.

Key Features

  • Multi-step execution. Chains together multiple actions in sequence rather than handling one document or one question at a time.

  • Multi-document context. Reads across full document sets and matter folders.

  • Source-backed outputs. Every output traces back to source documents through citations.

  • Open-issue flagging. Identifies gaps or unresolved items during assembly.

  • Formatted delivery. Outputs arrive in Excel, PowerPoint, Word, or PDF, formatted for immediate use.

  • Tracked changes in Word. In Word, suggested edits appear as tracked changes (redlines) by default, with a Direct option for clean edits without change tracking. Each edit has Dismiss and Apply options for full control.

Was this helpful?
Was this helpful?