CHAPTER 01 — Welcome to AiCopal Studio

Be brilliant. Effortlessly. Welcome to AI Co-Pal Studio on desktop: a workspace for the conversations you want to do more with. Get help when a question matters. Turn a discussion into a clear plan. Create visuals, and come back to what you learned. We'll build one small project together, starting with your very first session. You can follow along now, or return to any chapter when you need it.

CHAPTER 02 — Your Desktop Workspace

Start with a session. Think of it as the home for one conversation and the work you do with it. Here is your session list, where you return to earlier conversations. New session gives the next conversation its own space.

The transcript is the written record. Live is where you get assistance while the conversation is happening. Chat is where you ask your own questions and explore an idea further.

As your work grows, Groups bring related sessions together. Files and saved context supply useful background. Search helps you find information across conversations. Your visual collection is where you return to saved creations.

You do not need to learn every control now. Start with these three places: your session, its transcript, and the place where you ask for help. Help and Getting Started is here whenever you want a reminder.

CHAPTER 03 — Recording & Transcription

Let's create a session for the Willow Cafe launch. A clear name makes it easier to recognize later. On the desktop app, check the microphone menu before you start. The source list shows the devices available on your computer. Use the microphone you intend to capture. The desktop transcription notice also explains that the other side of a call can be captured. Make sure everyone involved is comfortable with transcription before you begin.

Start transcription, then say a short sentence. Look for words arriving here. In this fictional demonstration, we are playing a prepared example so we can watch the real transcript develop. If no words appear, check the selected source and its permission before continuing.

Our example sets an opening target, a planned budget, and the people responsible. As the words arrive, they become the material for answers and summaries. Let the sentence finish so you can distinguish an in-progress phrase from the completed transcript.

Use Pause when you need a break. The same control now offers Resume. When the conversation is finished, stop transcription. Notice the live timer disappears and the microphone returns to its ready state. Check the saved session before you leave. We now have a conversation we can work with.

CHAPTER 04 — Live Answers

In our fictional cafe conversation, someone asks, “What must be ready before we commit to opening day?” AI Co-Pal detects the question as the transcript arrives. Open Questions to see it. Detection is the invitation. You decide whether this question needs an answer.

Choose Respond. That deliberate action starts the response and opens Live. Watch the answer arrive. The detected question stays above it, so you can see exactly what the response addresses.

Start with the direct recommendation, then read the explanation underneath. It connects our opening target to Leo's equipment responsibilities, Priya's menu and promotion work, training, and the rehearsal. It also identifies the grinder decision that is still open. Notice the distinction between the plans in our conversation and the answer's additional recommendation. An AI recommendation is something to evaluate, not a decision the team has already made.

You do not have to read the whole answer aloud. Take the part you need now, then use the detail to guide your next question. A minus and A plus adjust the reading size in Live. The history control lets you return to generated answers. If a detected question is not useful, its card offers Dismiss. While an answer is being generated, Stop lets you end that generation. You remain in control of when assistance enters the conversation.

CHAPTER 05 — Desktop Window Controls

On the desktop app, open the three-dot menu in the title bar to find the window controls. These controls are specific to the desktop application; they are not part of the web app shown in our Image Studio lesson.

Window transparency gives you an Amount control. Use it to choose how much of the window behind the app is visible. Keep readability first, especially when there is text behind the answer. In this recording, transparency is off; we are showing where to find the controls.

The Readability menu offers Shadow only, Outline, and Maximum. Choose a treatment that keeps the content comfortable to read against your own background. Check the result in the workspace where you will actually use it.

Always on top keeps the desktop window above other windows. The title bar also provides a pin control. Arrange the app before a conversation so that the answer is within easy reach.

You will also see Hide from screen sharing. Check its behavior with the sharing application you use before relying on it. This lesson does not demonstrate or verify that protection.

In Settings, General, review the global shortcuts shown in your installation. Starting and stopping transcription, pausing and continuing, showing the app, and answering the last question are separate actions. Answering the last question requires active transcription. Learn the controls you need before the meeting, so getting help takes less effort.

CHAPTER 06 — Chat & Follow-up Questions

Live helps with a moment in the conversation. Chat lets you choose what to explore next. In our Willow Cafe follow-up, ask for a launch-readiness checklist with owners, dates, dependencies, and open decisions. Make clear which information should come from the session and which suggestions should be labelled as recommendations. Send the question and let the answer develop.

Then continue naturally: “Which three issues should Maya resolve first, and why?” You do not need to restate the whole conversation. Make the follow-up specific about the result you want. On this desktop app, Control and Enter sends the question; Shift and Enter makes a new line.

Open the model and style control below the input. Chat Settings offers Concise, Detailed, Technical, and Actionable response styles. We have kept Detailed for this example. For a decision, ask for trade-offs and a recommendation. For execution, ask for steps, owners, and dependencies. Choose a model available to your account when you need a different approach.

Quick prompts help with requests you repeat. Open the prompt menu to see the available requests and their shortcuts. Check what a prompt asks before using it with your session. While generation is running, the send area changes to a stop control. Review the completed answer against the conversation before relying on it.

CHAPTER 07 — Files & Context

Sometimes a conversation assumes background that has never been spoken aloud. Context is that supporting information. On the desktop app, open Files to inspect the documents attached to this session. Our fictional Willow Cafe launch brief is ready and marked In context. That indicator tells us it is included. Excluded means it remains attached but is not selected as background.

Give the next question a clear purpose. For example: compare the conversation with the launch brief, and identify decisions still needed. The brief supplies a reference; the question tells the app what to do with it. Review the answer against both sources.

Give the assistant the background that makes an answer useful. On the desktop app, open Contexts from Chat, then choose Add New Context.

Start with a name you will recognise later. Our fictional example is Willow Cafe launch planning. Conversation type is optional. Choose Team meeting for this example, then choose Facilitator as your role. The app explains the focus: help keeping the meeting on track and closing decisions.

Next, look at Documents that help here. Agenda, open decisions, and recent updates are suggestions for useful background. They are not three separate forms you must complete.

Use Content to describe the situation, or use Upload a file to supply a document. Include the goal, the people involved, the decisions already made, and what is still open. In our example, the opening date is a target, responsibilities are named, and the second grinder is still an open decision. Keeping these distinctions clear helps you ask more useful questions.

Save your context, then check the result. In this desktop flow, creating a context from Chat also selects it. The selected count and the Team meeting, Facilitator banner show which background is active. Check these before you ask your next question; a saved context and an active context are not the same thing.

Your question tells the assistant what you need now. Your selected context supplies the background. Review the response against your source before using it.

CHAPTER 08 — Conversation Summaries

When the conversation ends, make it easier to act on. Open the transcript menu and choose Generate Summary. This desktop app offers Default, Detailed, Brief, Action, Technical, and Custom. Brief focuses on key points. Action focuses on next steps and decisions. Detailed is useful when the reasoning matters.

Choose Action, then Generate. Read the result against the conversation. Our Willow Cafe summary includes the opening target, planned budget, owners, and open grinder decision. Check the deadlines too. A date inferred by the AI is not the same as a deadline explicitly agreed in the conversation.

For a different structure, choose New Summary, then Custom. Tell it who will read the summary and what to include. Here we ask for a plain-language team handover: confirmed plans, owners, stated deadlines, and open questions. We also ask it to mark missing information as not specified and keep recommendations separate.

Generate the new version and inspect its sections. Compare the information with the earlier summary and the transcript. Clear instructions help shape the result; reviewing it is still part of the workflow. Use Download when you want a document to inspect and share.

This is how a conversation becomes a practical handover. Next, we will give that same information a visual structure.

CHAPTER 09 — Infographic Generation & Editing

An infographic makes the relationships in a discussion easier to see. Start with the conversation's visual summary. Here, our launch plan brings the main points and actions together. First look at the whole arrangement, then open it far enough to read the details.

To change the wording, enter the supported edit view. Let's make the heading more specific, refine one action, and move the most important item earlier. Save, then check the finished view. These are direct edits to the information, so you can see exactly what you changed.

Now change the theme. Preview a different palette and choose the one that suits the audience. A theme changes the presentation; it is different from asking AI to rewrite the plan. Open the available version history to revisit earlier work. Where the summary offers a separate save or copy to Studio action, use it before expecting the item in your collection.

You can also start with a particular answer. Return to our detailed launch-readiness response and choose Visualize. Add direction: “Create a launch roadmap with milestones, named owners, a budget breakdown, and three readiness priorities.” This instruction tells the visual what to emphasize.

Generate it, then inspect the result. Read the dates and labels. Compare them with the answer. We have kept the detailed source and created a visual way to explain it.

To change the emphasis, use the revision controls. Ask for supplier readiness, staff confidence, and customer experience to stand out. Generate the revision, then compare the new result. This is an AI revision, so check the whole output rather than assuming only one detail changed.

You do not have to start from an answer or a conversation. In the dedicated creation space, describe a new infographic directly. Let's request a cafe-opening checklist with Preparation, Launch Day, and Follow-up sections. Give it the audience, structure, and facts you want included.

Your collection is the place to return to saved creations. Open the checklist we just made, then reopen the launch roadmap. Check the available details and versions, make a supported revision, and export the result. Open the downloaded file so you know what someone else will receive.

Remember the three starting points: a conversation summary, a response with additional direction, or an independent idea. Direct editing, theme selection, and AI revision are different tools. Choose the one that matches the change you actually want.

CHAPTER 10 — Image Studio

Start with an idea. Turn it into an image, then shape the details until it fits your purpose. In this chapter, we will create a campaign illustration for our fictional Willow Cafe, revise two areas, compare versions, and download the result. This demonstration uses the web app on a desktop computer.

In Studio, choose Images, then Generate. Write the brief in the Prompt field. You can start independently with an idea; you do not need a recorded conversation. In this example, the open session is not automatically included, so the prompt supplies the background.

Describe the subject, the mood, and where the picture will be used. Our brief asks for a coffee cup, a small plant, and soft morning light. We specify an editorial illustration in cream and forest green. We also ask for the objects on the right and clear space on the left, ready for a headline added later. These composition details help make the result useful.

Below the prompt, check the provider and model. We are using Google Gemini with Nano Banana Two, Flash. Available options can vary. Choose an aspect ratio that fits the destination. Here, Slides, sixteen by nine, gives us a wide composition. We select two K for image size. Check the allowance shown in your account before generating.

Choose Generate and follow the progress. The app takes time to create and save the image. We have shortened the waiting in this lesson. Once the result is ready, open it to review the actual output.

Here is our first version. The coffee cup and plant sit on the right, with room for a headline on the left. The details on the right record the prompt, model and source. This one is a freeform image, with no conversation context attached. Check the composition before deciding what to change.

Give the image a recognizable name using Rename. We call this Willow Cafe, opening campaign. That makes the work easier to find when the collection grows.

Now choose Revise. Instead of starting the brief again, work from the existing picture. Think about what you want to change and what should remain. A specific instruction gives the next version a clearer direction.

Drag a rectangle over the area you want to change. We select a clear part of the tabletop. The comment asks what should change here.

Ask for a small golden croissant on a cream ceramic plate, while keeping the coffee cup and plant. Choose Done to keep this instruction with its marked area.

Mark a second area around the outdoor view. This time, ask for soft, uncluttered greenery and keep the wooden window frame. Each area gets its own instruction, so the two changes remain easy to review.

The current edits appear as a numbered list. Review them before submitting. The controls beside each entry let you edit or remove that area. Zoom controls help you inspect the picture more closely while you work.

For a change across the whole picture, use the whole-image note. We ask for slightly warmer morning light, while preserving the clear headline space and the welcoming illustration style. This is separate from the two marked areas.

Check the generation settings again. In this recording, the revision form started at a smaller image size, so we select two K again. Do not assume a new revision has kept every earlier setting.

Apply the three edits: two marked areas and one overall instruction. Let the revision finish. Again, the waiting is shortened here.

The revised image now includes the croissant, a simpler outdoor view, and warmer light. Review the entire picture, including details outside the marked regions. AI revisions can change more than the exact area you selected.

Use the version buttons to return to the original. Compare the composition and the details you wanted to preserve.

Then select version two to see the revision again. Before another revision or a download, check which version is selected.

Return to the collection to find your saved work. A clear title helps you recognize it. The search field narrows the images already loaded, and the sort control changes their order. Here, we choose Title. Open the image to continue where you left off.

Download the selected version. Our actual download is a Web P image. Open the file and check the details at the size you plan to use.

From a clear brief to a finished visual: generate, mark changes, add overall direction, compare versions, and keep the result you want. Return to your image collection whenever the next idea is ready.

CHAPTER 11 — Importing Audio & Notes

You can start with material you already have. On the desktop app, create a new session. The transcript area offers Upload Audio, Type Notes, and Paste Text. Choose the starting point that matches your material.

For audio, select Upload Audio and choose a supported file. Here we use our existing fictional Willow Cafe recording. Follow the processing message until the transcript is ready. Completion time depends on the file and service; this is one example.

Read the imported transcript before building on it. Double-click a line to enter the editor. Check names, dates, and numbers against your original material. Click outside the editor to return to the formatted view.

Open Speakers to inspect the labels. In this single-voice example, we replace Guest One with Demo narrator and confirm the change. Give real speakers names only when you know who they are. A system status line is not another person speaking.

If your material is already written, Type Notes lets you enter it directly. Paste Text is another starting option. Our earlier follow-up used written notes about the opening target, owners, and unresolved decisions. A small, accurate set of notes is enough to begin asking useful questions.

Once the source is ready, the same tools are available for the next step. Review the briefing, ask a follow-up, generate a summary, or create a visual. Check the output against the source before you use it. You can turn existing material into useful work without repeating a live recording.

CHAPTER 12 — Saved Sessions

Give each conversation a name you will recognize a week from now. Our launch planning session and follow-up are separate, so we can return to either one without mixing their records.

Use the session list to browse, or narrow it by a name you remember. Open the launch session and check its transcript and saved work. A title search helps you find a known conversation. In the next chapter, we will search for information even when we do not remember the title.

Pay attention to the save and sync indicators, especially before switching devices or closing after a problem. If the app reports an issue, follow its recovery options and confirm the state rather than assuming it has finished. Keep demo cleanup separate from learning: deletion is not a step you need to practice on valuable work.

CHAPTER 13 — Cross-session Search

What if you remember a decision, but not where it was discussed? Open Search across sessions and ask in your own words. In our example, we ask what changed between Willow Cafe planning and the follow-up, what was decided about weekend hours and promotion, and what remains unresolved. This is a question about the content, not an exact session title.

Choose a time range that includes the conversations you need, then press Ask. Here we chose seven days. Read the answer: the follow-up confirms eight o'clock weekend opening and a neighbourhood tasting, while the grinder decision remains open.

Now open Sources. This answer cites two fictional sessions. Check their titles and excerpts, and use the source entry when you need to inspect the original conversation. Timeline places the matching sessions in sequence so you can follow how the discussion developed.

Coverage provides more information about which material was available and examined. A search may not examine every piece of your history, so do not assume a missing item was never discussed. If the result is incomplete, widen the time range, include the project name, or ask a more focused question.

Search helps you recover what was said. The sources help you judge whether the answer is supported. Use both, particularly when you are about to share a decision with someone else.

CHAPTER 14 — Groups & Project Conversations

When several conversations belong to one project, create a Group. In the Groups view, choose New Group and give it a recognizable name. We are using a fictional Willow Cafe launch project. Expand its row and choose Sessions.

The membership view has two sides: sessions already in the group, and sessions available to add. Search for Willow so we can find our planning meeting and follow-up. Add each one, then check that both appear in the group. We now know which conversations this project includes.

Return to the group and open Chat. Ask what changed between the two sessions and what Maya should do next. Request confirmed decisions, open questions, owners and dependencies, with recommendations clearly separated from what was agreed.

Read the result. It compares the planning meeting with the follow-up, identifies the decisions that were resolved, and explains what still needs attention. The attached fictional brief supplies additional context in this example, so its proposed criteria should not be mistaken for completed work.

Here is the distinction: session Chat focuses on one conversation; a Group brings a chosen set together; search across sessions helps you discover information more broadly. Choose the scope before you ask. Keep membership current as the project develops, and check the group name before sending the next question.

CHAPTER 15 — Exporting Your Work

Once the work is useful, take it into the next step. On the desktop app, use the transcript menu to export a Word document. A generated summary has its own Download control. Give the file a clear name and save it where you can find it.

Open the actual document. Here is our fictional Willow Cafe team handover in Word, with confirmed plans, owners, stated deadlines and open questions. Check names and dates against the source. Check formatting too. This export has extra blank bullets and spacing that need tidying before sharing. Reviewing the file is part of finishing the work.

For a visual, download the infographic and inspect the small labels at a readable size. An image and a text document serve different purposes, so choose the output that fits the next step.

For a project, expand its group and choose Export. The Export Assets view offers transcripts, AI chat history and attachments. Select the contents you need, then use Download Selected to create a ZIP bundle. Our example includes the two fictional sessions and the launch brief. Check the package contents before sending it to someone else.

Choose the material deliberately, export it, and inspect what the recipient will see. That last check turns a generated result into work you are ready to use.

CHAPTER 16 — Settings & Help

Make the desktop workspace comfortable for you. In Settings, open General and choose a theme. Light and Dark are two of the available choices. Here we return from Light to Dark. Choose the appearance that makes your content easiest to read.

Further down, General lists the global shortcuts. Read the combinations shown in your app. Start and stop transcription, pause and resume, show the app, and answer the last question are separate actions. Answering the last question needs active transcription.

The transcription pane position is a desktop layout choice. The menu offers Bottom, Left, and Right. Right is the default in this example. Choose the arrangement that fits the way you use your screen.

Now open Quick Prompts. Session and Group have separate lists. A prompt is a task you want to repeat. The first five appear as quick buttons above the chat input. The session list also shows its keyboard shortcuts. Group prompts do not use those shortcuts.

Use the pencil to inspect a prompt. The name is its short label. The prompt text is the instruction that will be used. Save keeps an edit; Cancel leaves it unchanged. Add New Prompt gives you a place for another reusable task. You can use the drag handles to change the order.

Remember the difference between prompts and contexts. Create a team handover is an instruction. The project background supplies the facts and constraints. Keep both specific so a future question starts in the right place.

When something does not work, start with the visible state. Check the selected source and capture indicator for transcription, or the processing message for an imported file. Read an error before retrying. Use Studio Guide to revisit a feature, and return to the relevant chapter for the full sequence. You do not need to memorize the interface to make useful progress.

CHAPTER 18 — Calendar & Meeting Preparation

Prepare before the meeting, so the conversation can become useful work. Calendar settings bring meeting preparation closer to your workspace. This tour shows the web app on a desktop computer, with a calendar already connected. We will explain the controls without changing the connection or joining a meeting.

Open Settings, then Calendar, when the tab is available for your account. Start with the connection status. Connected and the last synced message tell you what this account currently reports. They are a useful check before you rely on meeting information. Your own account may show a connection step instead.

Show my next meeting in the app controls whether upcoming meeting information is shown in your workspace. The option is enabled here. An enabled setting does not mean a meeting is happening now, and it does not start a recording.

Calendars to sync explains which calendars this connection includes. This account currently syncs its main calendar. The app explains that choosing other calendars requires reconnecting with permission to see the calendar list. Read the message shown in your account; do not assume every calendar is already included.

Remind me before meetings lets you choose the reminder lead time. This example is set to two minutes before. The notification control below is separate. Turn on notifications is where you can request browser notification permission if you want reminders outside the current tab. A reminder preference and permission to show notifications are different things.

Read the recording notice too. Recordings started from a calendar meeting save the meeting's attendee names and email addresses with that session. Disconnecting the calendar does not remove those details from recordings already made. Keep that distinction in mind when managing saved work.

Before your next meeting, check the connection, choose useful reminders, and review any meeting information the app presents. Joining a meeting and starting transcription are separate choices. Check your audio and the participants' consent before recording. Afterward, review the transcript and create a summary. Calendar helps you prepare; you remain in control of capturing the conversation.

CHAPTER 19 — Teams & Shared Groups

A project has people, and it has conversations. Teams organize the people. Groups organize the sessions you want to work with. In this chapter, we will inspect team management and the sharing controls for our fictional Willow Cafe project. Names and meeting details are changed for this demonstration. The controls and access state are real.

In Settings, open Teams when it is available for your account. New team name and Create team are the starting controls for a new team. This account already has a team, so we open that existing entry. The list shows one member. Opening a team is not the same as sharing a project with it.

The detail panel shows the team name and its members. Our anonymized example shows Maya as Owner. Save belongs to the team name field. Check your own role before expecting to manage other people; the controls available to you depend on your access.

Invite someone has an email field, a role selector, and Send invite. Review the recipient and intended role carefully before sending a real invitation. This tour does not send one or add another member. Membership and sharing are separate: inviting a person to a team does not automatically share every private conversation.

Now choose the project group you intend to share. In Groups, expand the Willow Cafe project and choose Share. The dialog identifies the group and lists the teams you can choose. Check that name before changing any access.

Read the notice at the top. People on teams you choose can read the summary and transcript of every session in this group. Your own chat with the assistant is not included in that shared view. Review the group's sessions before sharing; a familiar team name is not a reason to skip that check.

The permission menu is set to Not shared in this example, and the message confirms that this team cannot see the group. Opening the dialog has not granted access. When you intend to share, choose the level that fits the work, and verify the resulting state.

Can view allows reading the sessions and conversation. Can add sessions also allows people to contribute their own sessions, write in the conversation, and edit its name and description. Can manage adds the ability to remove sessions from the shared group. These group permissions are separate from the team roles we saw in Settings.

Sharing needs a connection. The app does not save this shared view for offline use. Do not assume a teammate's shared material is available offline, or that personal search automatically covers it.

Start with the right people. Choose the right group. Give only the access needed, then check the result. This tour leaves the example not shared and does not demonstrate another member's view. Use your own authorized team workflow to verify what a teammate can see before relying on it. Keep private grouping and shared collaboration distinct.

CHAPTER 17 — Your First Complete Workflow

Let's bring it together. Start a session and check your audio. Capture the conversation. When a useful question appears, choose to get help. Explore further in Chat, with the right background selected. Turn the discussion into a summary, an infographic, or another useful output. Then save, revisit, and connect the work across sessions when the project grows.

Your first step can be small. Record a short planning conversation. Ask one useful question. Create one clear summary. Come back to the deeper chapters when you want to do more.

On the desktop app, arrange AI Co-Pal around your workspace so the help stays close at hand. Your next conversation can become something you can understand, use, and build on.

AI Co-Pal Studio. Be brilliant. Effortlessly. Explore more at AI Co-Pal dot com.