[Help](https://revise.io/help)›Revise basics

# Revise basics

Last updated September 26, 2026

Revise is an AI document editor that runs in the browser. This page covers the main parts of the app and links to the full article for each.

## What is Revise

Revise is a word processor with a built-in AI agent. You write and format documents on pages, as in Word or Google Docs. The agent reads the document and proposes edits as tracked changes that you accept or reject.

Revise keeps a revision history of every document and supports real-time collaboration. It opens and saves Word (.docx), PDF, Markdown, and HTML files.

## Get started

1. Go to [revise.io](https://revise.io/) and click Get Started Free. The editor opens with a new document, or with the document you edited last.
2. Type, paste, or import a file. To import, click Import Document in the chat panel, or open the File menu and choose Import.
3. Ask the agent for help in the chat panel on the right. The suggested prompts above the chat input are a starting point.

No account is needed to start. See [Accounts and anonymous use](#accounts-and-anonymous-use) for what an account adds.

![The Revise editor with a memo on the page, proposed changes in green, and the AI Agent panel on the right](https://revise.io/articles/intro-to-revise/editor-overview-light.png)

The editor, with the document on the left and the agent chat on the right

## The documents list

The documents list at [revise.io/docs](https://revise.io/docs) shows the documents in your account. Click the Revise logo in the editor to open it. The list requires an account.

![The documents list with four document cards, the folder sidebar, and the New Chat box](https://revise.io/articles/intro-to-revise/documents-list-light.png)

The documents list in grid view

| Control | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| New Document | Creates a blank document and opens it. |
| Import File | Creates a document from a file on your computer. |
| New Folder | Creates a folder in the current location. Drag documents onto a folder to move them. |
| My Documents, Shared Documents, Trash | Your own documents, documents other people shared with you, and deleted documents. In Trash, Recover restores a document and Empty Trash deletes everything in it permanently. |
| Search | Searches the text of your documents, documents shared with you, and folder names. |
| Sort menu | Sorts by Last Edited, Date Created, or Title. The arrow beside it reverses the order. |
| Grid and list buttons | Switch between document cards and a compact list. |
| New Chat | Creates a new document and starts a conversation with the agent in it. The agent asks about what you want to write before drafting. |
| Quick Rewrite | Opens the [AI Rewriter](https://revise.io/articles/ai-rewriter), which rewrites a passage of text without a document. |

## The editor

The editor shows the document as pages, with the ribbon at the top. The File menu holds New, Import, Export, and Clean Document…. The ribbon tabs hold everything else.

![The ribbon tabs File, Edit, Layout, Insert, Tools, and Review above the Edit ribbon](https://revise.io/articles/intro-to-revise/ribbon-light.png)

The ribbon with the Edit tab open

| Tab | Contains | Details |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Edit | Undo, clipboard, font, size, text styles, colors, alignment, lists, links, Find, Dictate, Print, Export | [Editing & Formatting](https://revise.io/articles/editing-basics), [Voice Dictation](https://revise.io/articles/dictation) |
| Layout | Page size and margins, headers and footers, watermark, page and section breaks | [Page Layout](https://revise.io/articles/page-layout) |
| Insert | Tables, images, dividers, code, equations, diagrams, footnotes, endnotes, page numbers, table of contents | [Tables, Images & More](https://revise.io/articles/inserting-content) |
| Tools | AI Rewriter, file converter, Smart Unicode, word and character count, help links | [AI Rewriter](https://revise.io/articles/ai-rewriter#open-the-ai-rewriter) |
| Review | Step through tracked changes and accept or reject them, comments, AI detection | [Reviewing AI Changes](https://revise.io/articles/ai-reviewing-changes), [AI detection score](https://revise.io/articles/ai-detection-score) |

Three buttons sit to the right of the tabs. Editing switches to Suggesting, where your own edits become tracked changes (see [Suggesting Mode](https://revise.io/articles/suggesting-mode)). Revisions opens the revision history. Share opens the share dialog.

Revise saves changes as you type. There is no save button. For shortcuts, see [Keyboard Shortcuts](https://revise.io/articles/keyboard-shortcuts).

## The AI agent

The [AI agent](https://revise.io/articles/ai-agent) works in the AI Agent panel on the right side of the editor. Ask it to draft, edit, proofread, summarize, or answer questions about the document.

The agent does not change the document directly. Its edits appear as tracked changes: added text in green, removed text in red. The chat shows how many changes it suggested, with Review Changes, Accept All, and Reject All buttons.

![The agent chat with a request, the reply, and buttons to review, accept, or reject the suggested changes](https://revise.io/articles/intro-to-revise/agent-chat-light.png)

An agent reply with its suggested changes

| Control | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Model menu | Chooses the AI model. See [Supported AI Models](https://revise.io/articles/supported-ai-models). |
| Paperclip (Attach file) | Attaches a file for the agent to read. See [Giving the Agent Context](https://revise.io/articles/ai-context). |
| Box (Saved prompts) | Opens [saved prompts](https://revise.io/articles/saved-prompts). |
| + (Start a new conversation) | Starts a new conversation. The date menu beside it opens an earlier conversation. See [Conversations](https://revise.io/articles/ai-prompts). |

For the full list of what the agent can do, see [Agent Capabilities](https://revise.io/articles/agent-capabilities). Agent requests count toward your plan's limit (see [AI Usage and Limits](https://revise.io/articles/ai-usage-limits)). To work on Revise documents from Claude, ChatGPT, or another external agent, see [Revise MCP Server](https://revise.io/articles/mcp-server).

## Share a document

Click Share to open the share dialog. Under Add People, enter an email address, choose Editor, Suggester, or Viewer, and click Add. Public Access lets anyone with the link view or edit the document. Collaborators edit the same document in real time. Sharing requires an account.

![The share dialog with an email field, a role menu, the owner, and Public Access disabled](https://revise.io/articles/intro-to-revise/share-dialog-light.png)

The share dialog for a document that is not shared yet

See [Sharing & Collaboration](https://revise.io/articles/sharing) for [roles](https://revise.io/articles/sharing#roles), [public links](https://revise.io/articles/sharing#public-access), and working with collaborators.

## Revision history

Revise records the history of every document. Click Revisions to replace the ribbon with a timeline. Move along it to see the document at an earlier point, with changes shown in green and red. Click Back to Editing to return. Revision history requires an account.

See [Revision History](https://revise.io/articles/revision-history) for comparing versions and [restoring](https://revise.io/articles/revision-history#restore-an-earlier-version) earlier text.

## Import and export

Import Word (.docx), PDF, Markdown, plain text, HTML, and image files. Revise reads PDFs and images with AI and converts them to editable text. Export to PDF, Word, HTML, Markdown, or plain text from Export in the ribbon or the File menu.

![The Export menu listing PDF Document, Word Document, HTML File, Markdown, and Plain Text](https://revise.io/articles/intro-to-revise/export-menu-light.png)

The Export menu in the Edit ribbon

See [Importing & Exporting](https://revise.io/articles/import-export) for all formats, and [Word (.docx) Compatibility](https://revise.io/articles/docx-compatibility) for which Word features are preserved.

## Accounts and anonymous use

You can write in Revise without an account. Documents you create that way are stored in your browser, not on Revise's servers. Clearing browser data or switching browsers loses them.

| Feature | Without an account | With an account |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Write, format, import, export | Yes | Yes |
| Where documents are stored | This browser only | Your account, on any device |
| Documents list | No. The editor reopens your most recent document. | Yes |
| AI agent | One message | Up to your plan's [usage limit](https://revise.io/articles/ai-usage-limits#usage-limits-by-plan) |
| Voice dictation | Three dictations | Yes |
| Sharing and collaboration | No | Yes |
| Revision history | No | Yes |

To create an account, click Create Account in the top right of the editor. Accounts are free. Paid plans raise the agent usage limit; see [pricing](https://revise.io/pricing).

Note: When you sign up or log in, Revise moves the documents stored in that browser, and their [agent conversations](https://revise.io/articles/ai-prompts#conversations-after-sign-up), into your account. Sign in before you clear browser data or switch browsers.