---
title: "AI Assistant"
description: "Built-in AI writing assistant in the Topol email builder. Enhance productivity for your users and streamline interactions."
url: https://docs.topol.io/email-editor/guide/ai-assistant.html
---

# AI Assistant

The AI Assistant in Topol is an integrated writing assistant powered by OpenAI's ChatGPT. **It works on one block at a time**, taking the text from the selected block and returning a rewritten version of it.

For an example of its use, check out [this article](https://support.topol.io/en/articles/10806233-ai-assistant).

> **AI Assistant or AI Chat?**
>
> The AI Assistant rewrites the block that is currently selected. [AI Chat](./chat-ai.html) is conversational, receives the whole template as context, and can suggest changes across several blocks at once. The [comparison below](#choosing-between-the-two) covers when each one fits.

## How to Enable the AI Assistant

The AI Assistant feature is **enabled by default**. However, to connect it with ChatGPT, which is essential for its functionality, you must first configure it. Instructions are available in [this article.](https://support.topol.io/en/articles/8329381-enabling-ai-features-in-topol-plugin)

To **disable** it, add the `disableAiAssistant` setting to your `TOPOL_OPTIONS` object:

```js
disableAiAssistant: true, // default is false
```

## Where It Appears

The assistant sits behind the "stars" icon in the toolbar of **text and button blocks**. Other block types do not show it.

![Location of triggers to edit text with AI](https://docs.topol.io/ai-assistant-options.png)

Text blocks open the full menu of actions. **Button blocks show only the Translate option**, since the remaining actions are meant for longer copy.

| Action | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| **Improve** | Rewrites the text to read better |
| **Rephrase** | Restates it while keeping the formatting close to the original |
| **Make longer** | Expands the text slightly |
| **Make shorter** | Condenses the text slightly |
| **Check grammar** | Fixes spelling, grammar and punctuation without rewriting |
| **Translate** | Translates the block into a chosen language. See [Template Translation](./template-translation.html). |

**Each action replaces the content of the selected block.** The prompts are localized, so an editor running in another language sends prompts in that language.

## Choosing Between the Two

Both features call OpenAI, and the practical difference is what each one sees and what it changes:

-   **AI Assistant** sends the text of one block and returns replacement text for that block.
-   **[AI Chat](./chat-ai.html)** sends the whole template as context and can return suggestions for several blocks at once, which the user reviews and applies.

**Polishing a headline or fixing a typo is faster through the assistant.** Questions about the email as a whole, or edits spanning multiple sections, are what AI Chat is built for.

## Monitoring Usage

Total token consumption is available from the [AI Assistant Logs](./ai-assistant-logs.html), which covers both the AI Assistant and AI Chat.

## Using Your Own Model

Requests from the AI Assistant can be routed to your own endpoint instead of going through Topol. See [Custom AI Model](./custom-ai.html) for the configuration and the request format.