If you use AI to clean up writing, the workflow is usually more annoying than the writing problem.
You write something in Mail, Slack, Notes, Linear, Notion, a browser field, or a support tool. Then you copy it, open ChatGPT or another editor, paste it, explain what you want, copy the improved version, return to the original app, and paste it back.
That is fine for a long document.
It is too much ceremony for a two sentence email, a comment, a pull request description, a customer reply, or a note you just want to make less clumsy.
The writing task is small. The context switch is not.
That is the problem I built DraftKey around: private, on-device AI rewriting and autocomplete inside compatible Mac text fields, so you can improve text without leaving the place you are already typing: https://www.getdraftkey.com/
The rewrite flow I wanted
For everyday writing, I do not want a blank AI chat box.
I want this:
- Select the text I already wrote.
- Tell the app what to do.
- Review the rewrite.
- Accept it only if it is better.
- Keep working in the same app.
The instruction can be simple:
- make this shorter
- make this warmer
- make this more direct
- clean up grammar
- turn this into a clearer bug report
- rewrite this like a calm support reply
Most of the time, the important context is already in the selected text. I do not need a whole chat thread. I need a faster second pass.
Why this belongs in the text field
Writing tools work best when they stay close to the writing surface.
Spellcheck does not ask you to open a separate website. Autocomplete does not ask you to paste your sentence somewhere else. Good writing assistance should feel similar for small edits.
There are still times when a full AI chat is better. If I need strategy, research, or a long back and forth, I will use a chat app.
But if I am rewriting a paragraph that is already in front of me, leaving the app feels backwards.
That is especially true for developers and founders, because so much writing happens in tiny bursts:
- issue comments
- commit messages
- pull request descriptions
- launch copy
- support replies
- internal updates
- emails that need to sound human but not rambling
Those are not always documents. They are text fields.
The privacy reason matters too
A lot of writing is private by default.
Internal notes, client replies, draft announcements, bug reports, personal messages, and unfinished thoughts are not always things you want to upload to a cloud writing assistant.
Cloud AI is useful, but it is not the only good shape for AI writing help.
For DraftKey, the AI writing help runs on the Mac. That means local autocomplete and rewriting are designed around keeping the writing assistance on-device. The app still needs normal network access for things like the initial model download, licensing, and updates, but the core writing flow is not built around sending every draft to a cloud editor.
That tradeoff is slower to set up than a website. It also requires a modern Mac. But for private everyday writing, I think the tradeoff is worth it.
The honest macOS limitation
There is one important caveat: Mac text fields are not all the same.
Apps expose text to Accessibility in different ways. Some fields work well. Some custom editors do not expose enough information. Secure fields should be off limits. Browser editors, Electron apps, native controls, and heavily customized text areas can behave differently.
So the honest promise is not “rewrite text literally everywhere.”
The honest promise is “rewrite and autocomplete in compatible macOS text fields, with the user in control.”
That sounds less magical, but it is the right expectation for a native utility that works across other apps instead of owning its own editor.
Why I still like this direction
The best AI writing UX is not always a bigger AI app.
Sometimes it is a smaller layer over the apps you already use.
If the draft is already in Mail, help me in Mail. If the paragraph is already in Slack, help me in Slack. If the issue description is already in a browser field, help me there instead of making me move it somewhere else.
That is the whole point of DraftKey.
Private writing help, in flow, with review before anything changes.
For me, that is a better default than copy, paste, prompt, copy, paste again.
Top comments (0)