Word Add-In

Word Add-In Overview

The August Word Add-in brings AI-powered review and drafting directly into Microsoft Word. Install it once, and a sidebar panel provides a conversational AI interface alongside your active document. Review clauses, generate redlines, conduct web research, and iterate on drafts—all without context switching.

This video provides an overview of the Word Add-in tooling.

Installation and System Requirements

How to Install

1

Insert tab

Go to the Insert tab in the Word ribbon.

2

Get Add-ins

Click "Get Add-ins" or "My Add-ins" and search for "August".

3

Click Add

Click Add to install the add-in.

4

Open sidebar

Click the August icon in the ribbon to open the sidebar.

5

Authenticate

Sign in with your August credentials. You're ready to begin.

System Requirements

Requirement

Details

Word Version

Word 2016 or later (desktop) · Word for Microsoft 365

Operating System

Windows 10/11 · macOS 12+

Connection

Active internet connection required

Account

Active August subscription

Unified editing experience: The Word Add-in provides a single, integrated editing model for all drafting and review tasks. You don't need to switch between editing modes—all capabilities work together in one workflow. Conversations appear in your history labeled as Genius (for newer chats) or Word Add-in (for legacy chats created before the naming update), but both access the same editing features.

Chat Behavior in the Sidebar

The Word Add-In sidebar is a conversational AI interface. When you're working in the sidebar:

  • Starting a new chat: When you submit your first question in a fresh conversation, the response appears smoothly without any flash or jump. The sidebar transitions cleanly from the empty state to the conversation view.

  • Message positioning: Your most recent question anchors at the top of the conversation area, making it easy to read responses and continue the thread.

For deeper conversations across multiple documents and structured outputs, use Assistant in the main August workspace.

Core Capabilities

Clause Review and Redlining

August reviews your document and proposes edits as tracked changes:

Changing your tracked changes author name: The name displayed on tracked changes is controlled by your Word user settings. To change it, go to File → Options → General, then update the "User name" and "Initials" fields. Changes apply to new tracked changes only.

1

Open Document

Open your document in Microsoft Word and click the August icon.

2

Attach Playbook

Optional — attach a Playbook to guide AI with firm standards.

3

Instruct Review

Describe what to review: "Redline against my NDA playbook."

4

AI Generates

Tracked changes appear with rationale comments.

5

Review

Accept or reject each tracked change in Word.

Pair with a Playbook for firm-standard reviews. This supports in-document review against firm standards without leaving drafting context.

In-Text Editing

Select a passage and instruct August to modify it surgically:

  • Highlight the text you want changed.

  • Give an instruction: "Make this more protective" or "Translate to Spanish."

  • Edits appear as tracked changes for full auditability.

This is ideal for targeted, context-aware revisions.

Conduct real-time internet research without leaving Word:

  • Verify citations—confirm a case is still good law

  • Find current case law on a topic

  • Check regulatory updates and statutes

Results appear with source links you can open directly. For detailed guidance, see Web Search in the Word Add-In.

Using Precedent Documents

Attach precedent documents to guide suggestions:

  1. In the sidebar, attach a firm-standard agreement or prior negotiated draft.

  2. Ask for conformity edits: "Align this clause with our standard NDA."

  3. Review suggestions that match your precedent language.

Precedent-guided edits help align revisions with prior negotiated language. Review outputs for fit with current deal context.

Analyzing Opposing Counsel Markup

For marked-up documents from counterparties:

  1. Open the redline in Word.

  2. Ask August to summarize changes across the document.

  3. Focus on specific sections: "What changed in the indemnification clause?"

  4. Get a summary of what was added, removed, and the net effect.

Use summaries to prioritize negotiation and response strategy. Verify high-impact edits directly in the document.

Iterative Editing in the Word Add-In

For complex drafting tasks, the Word Add-in provides iterative, multi-step editing:

  • Give an instruction, and it delivers a round of suggested edits. Choose Redlines for tracked changes or Direct for clean edits—each proposal card lets you decide how to apply changes.

  • Each edit can be Dismissed, Applied, or Applied with comment individually.

  • Give follow-up instructions mid-task: "Make the tone more formal" or "Translate this clause."

  • The next round adjusts based on what you changed and what you said.

The Word Add-in reads the structure and formatting of your document—not just the text—so edits preserve numbering, tables, headings, fields, footnotes, and other formatting. It tracks your document changes as you edit, so follow-up instructions work with your current content. You can stop a task mid-run and resume later without losing context.

For detailed guidance, see Genius Mode in the Word Add-In.

When to Use the Word Add-In

Use the Word Add-In when:

  • You're drafting or revising a document and want AI assistance inline

  • You need to review counterparty markups quickly

  • You want to apply firm standards via Playbooks without switching tools

  • You need to verify citations or research case law while drafting

For deeper analysis across multiple documents, use Assistant in the main August workspace.

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