I'm a grad student in applied math. I use AI tools constantly — for working through proofs, exploring problem approaches, and sometimes just sanity-checking my derivations.
But for the longest time, there was one thing that made me avoid exporting AI conversations: math formulas would always come out broken.
The Problem
ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini — they all render LaTeX beautifully in the browser. Complex integrals, matrix notation, Greek symbols, everything looks perfect.
But try to copy-paste that into anything else and you get:
- ChatGPT: Sometimes gives you raw LaTeX, sometimes gives you nothing
- Claude: Better but still inconsistent
- Gemini: Good luck
I had conversations with genuinely useful mathematical content that I couldn't save in a usable format. So I'd either screenshot them (can't search or edit) or manually retype the formulas (takes forever and error-prone).
What Actually Works
I finally found a workflow that preserves everything — formulas, code, text, images — exactly as they appear in the browser.
I use a Chrome extension that exports AI conversations to PDF and Markdown. The PDF export is what matters for math:
- LaTeX formulas render correctly — inline and display mode
- No gibberish characters — symbols come through intact
- Proper formatting — fractions, subscripts, superscripts all preserved
- Table of contents — for long derivations, it auto-generates an index
The Markdown export is decent too if you're piping into Obsidian or a LaTeX workflow. It preserves the raw LaTeX code in $$...$$ blocks, which is exactly what you want.
The extension supports all five major AI platforms, which matters because I use ChatGPT for computation questions, Claude for proof structure, and Gemini for quick calculations.
Why This Matters for Students
If you're using AI for any STEM work, having a reliable export method is essential. Here's what I do now:
- During problem-solving: I don't worry about saving. Just work through the problem.
- When done: Export to PDF for my study notes, Markdown for my Obsidian vault.
- Exam prep: I have a searchable library of every AI-assisted problem I've worked through.
Before I had this, I was losing 30-40% of the value from my AI sessions because the content was trapped in the browser. Now it's all organized and searchable.
The Extension
It's called XWX AI Chat Exporter. Free tier gives you 3 PDF exports per day (unlimited for other formats). I upgraded to Pro because during exam season I was hitting the limit. At the price of a couple coffees per month, it's worth it for the time saved.
I'm not affiliated — just a student who got tired of retaking screenshots of math formulas.
One Wish
I'd love to see direct LaTeX export (like, a .tex file you can compile). That's not available yet, but the Markdown export with raw LaTeX blocks is close enough for my workflow. I just wrap it in a template and compile.
Fellow STEM folks — how do you handle AI-generated math content? I'm always looking for better workflows.
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