I keep catching myself doing the same annoying thing. I’m already looking at a document, a note, or a webpage, and I still open a whole separate tab just to ask AI about it. This week’s four features skip that step, since each one now shows up right inside something you already have open, so you don’t have to explain the whole situation over again somewhere else. One thing hasn’t changed though: these tools can still sound sure of themselves and be wrong, so check anything that actually matters before you act on it.
Claude: custom Visuals In Chat
Claude can now turn an idea or a pile of numbers into an interactive chart or diagram right inside the conversation, instead of you rebuilding it in another app.
- Ask a normal question, like a comparison or how something changes over time, and Claude may build a visual on its own.
- If it doesn’t, ask directly. Try “chart this data” or “draw this as a diagram.”
- Click into the visual to interact with it. Some visuals let you click buttons or drag sliders to see it change.
- Ask a follow-up question in the same chat, and Claude updates the visual instead of starting over.
When to reach for it: reach for this when a paragraph of numbers or steps would be clearer as a picture, like a budget breakdown or a before-and-after comparison. It’s in beta and only works on the Claude web and desktop apps, not the iOS or Android app, and visuals aren’t saved automatically, so download or convert one to an artifact if you want to keep it.
Source: Claude Help Center: Custom visuals in chat and Cowork
ChatGPT: chatGPT For Word
ChatGPT now works from a sidebar inside Microsoft Word itself, on every plan including Free, so you can draft, revise, and reorganize a document without copying text back and forth from a browser tab.
- In Word, open the Microsoft Marketplace and get the ChatGPT add-in.
- Open the sidebar from the Word ribbon and sign in with your ChatGPT account.
- Open the document you’re working on and ask ChatGPT to draft a section from your notes, summarize what’s there, or rewrite a passage for a different reader.
- Review what it suggests right in the sidebar, then apply the parts you want to the document.
When to reach for it: reach for this when you’re already drafting or revising inside a real Word document and don’t want to lose your place switching apps. It can’t see your other files, so you still have to paste in outside material, and it can misjudge complex formatting or tables, so proofread before you send anything out.
Source: OpenAI Help Center: ChatGPT for Word
Copilot: rewrite In Notepad
Windows Notepad now has a built-in Rewrite tool that cleans up text you’ve already typed, without you pasting it anywhere else.
- Highlight the text you want to fix in Notepad.
- Right-click and choose a Rewrite option, press Ctrl+D, or use the Rewrite button in the toolbar.
- Pick what you want adjusted, like a shorter version, a different tone, or clearer wording.
- Compare the three versions Notepad generates and click the one you want to keep.
When to reach for it: reach for this when you have a quick note, message, or email draft already sitting in Notepad and just want a cleaner second opinion on it. Right now it’s a preview limited to Windows Insiders on the Canary and Dev channels, so most Windows 11 users won’t see it yet, and it needs a Microsoft account and an internet connection to work.
Source: Microsoft Support: Enhance your writing with AI in Notepad
Gemini: gemini In Chrome
Gemini can now answer questions about the exact page you’re already looking at, right from a panel in Chrome, without you opening a new tab or explaining what the page says.
- Open the page you want help with in Chrome, then click the Gemini icon near the top of the browser.
- Follow the one-time opt-in the first time you use it.
- Ask your question directly. Gemini automatically reads the tab you’re on, so you don’t need to copy or describe it.
- Want it to look at more than one page? Type “@” and add up to ten open tabs so it can compare them.
When to reach for it: reach for this when you’re mid-read and want a quick answer, a summary, or a comparison, not when you need it to click around and finish a task for you (that’s a separate, more limited feature). It won’t work in Incognito mode, you need to be signed in and at least 13, and it’s still rolling out, so it may not show up for you yet.
Source: Gemini Apps Help: Use Gemini in Chrome
Try this
Pick one thing you’re already doing right now, a webpage you’re reading, a document you’re drafting, or a note you want cleaned up, and try getting AI’s help without leaving that window. If you’re on Chrome, click the Gemini icon and ask it to sum up the article you have open. If you’re in Word, try the ChatGPT sidebar on a rough paragraph. See if it actually saves you a step, or if switching to your usual chat window would have been just as fast anyway.
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