Reading & study
Write a note the moment a thought strikes, right beside the passage, as you would in the margin of a paper book. Type it, say it, or write it by hand, and Austi turns it into text. Notes save as you go and appear on the Notes page too.
There are three ways to start a note while reading:
Press and hold (or drag with a mouse) to select a word or phrase, then choose ✎ Add note. The words you chose are highlighted at the top of the panel.
This bookmarks the sentence and opens the panel, ready to type. Show the sentence buttons first with ● 🔊 in the reader controls.
● opens a note you've already written. * opens a sentence that has published study notes, bookmarks it, and shows those notes so you can write your own beside them.
On a phone, the panel slides up from the bottom and the passage stays in view above it. Drag the handle up for more room, or down to close. On a computer or tablet in landscape, it opens at the side of the page; on wide screens the text moves over so nothing is covered.
Just type. There is no Save button: your note saves a moment after you stop typing, and again when you close the panel. To close it, choose Done, tap the page above it (on a phone), or press Esc on a keyboard. Nothing you've written is lost by closing.
| The panel says | What it means |
|---|---|
| Saving… | You're typing. It will save in a moment. |
| Saved | Saved on this device and in your account. |
| Saved · syncing | Saved here and on its way to your account. |
| Saved offline · will sync | You're offline. It's safe on this device and goes to your account when you're back online. |
| Saved on this device | You're not signed in. Sign in to keep notes in your account and see them on your other devices. |
Prefer to write by hand? See Handwriting below.
When a sentence has published study notes, they appear in the panel under From the editions. Notes from a teacher's shared set appear there too.
You can also select part of a published note and copy and paste just the words you need.
Say your thought instead of typing it. Austi keeps the recording and turns it into text in your note.
The recording stays with the note, with a small player so you can hear it again. Choose the bin to delete a recording; the text in your note stays. Cancel while recording discards it.
Each recording can be up to 3 minutes. A countdown appears near the end, and recording stops by itself at 3:00. Record again to add more.
If you choose Done or leave the page while recording, what you've said so far is kept and still turned into text.
You can record without a connection. The recording is saved on your device and turned into text as soon as you're back online.
Every note on the Notes page has the same 🎤 Voice note button and players.
| Signed in | Not signed in | |
|---|---|---|
| Turning speech into text | Accurate transcription by Austi, on any device | Only where the browser can do it itself (Chrome, Edge or Safari on a computer). Otherwise the recording is kept until you sign in. |
| Where recordings are kept | On this device and in your account, so you can play them on your other devices | On this device only |
Write your note by hand, as you would in the margin. Austi reads your writing and adds it to your note as text, and keeps the handwriting too.
Scribble back and forth over a word to rub it out. ↶ Undo and ↷ Redo step through your changes, and Clear starts again.
Once you write with a stylus (such as Apple Pencil or an S Pen), the pad ignores your fingers and resting palm, so only the pen draws. Pen pressure makes thicker or finer lines.
Each piece of handwriting stays with the note, below the text. Choose Show text or Show handwriting to switch between them, or the bin to delete it (your note's text stays).
If you choose the note's Done with writing still on the pad, it is added to your note before the panel closes, so nothing is lost.
Reading handwriting needs you to be signed in and online. If you're not, choose Keep handwriting: it's saved with your note as handwriting. Later, choose Turn into text under it, and the text is added to the end of your note.
Another way on tablets: on an iPad with Apple Pencil, you can also write straight into the note box itself (Scribble) and it becomes typed text as you go. On Android, the Gboard keyboard's handwriting mode does the same.
Every note is also on the Notes page, grouped by book. Edit any note there; it saves as you type, just like in the reader. Choose Open to jump back to the passage. From there you can also add tags, search, export and share, as described in Bookmarks & your notes.
To remove a bookmark, open its note and choose Remove bookmark, or use Delete on the Notes page. Changed your mind? Choose Undo straight away.
Your browser has been told not to let Austi use the microphone. In Chrome or Edge, tap the icon to the left of the web address, then Permissions or Site settings and allow the microphone. On iPhone or iPad, go to Settings → Safari → Microphone (or Settings → Apps → Safari). Then try again.
This browser can't record audio. Try an up-to-date Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.
Your recording is safe on this device. Choose Sign in and it's turned into text and added to your note automatically.
Choose Try again. If it keeps happening, the recording may be too quiet or too short; you can still play it back.
It was recorded while signed out, or it's still uploading from the device you used. Open the note on that device while signed in.
Austi couldn't make out the handwriting. Write a little larger, one line at a time, then pause. Or choose Keep handwriting to save it as it is.
After you've used a stylus, fingers are ignored on purpose. If a stylus isn't drawing, check it's charged and paired. To write with a finger again, close the pad and open it again.
A recording made in one browser sometimes can't be played in another (most often on older iPhones and iPads). The text in your note is unaffected; play it on the device you recorded it on, or update the browser.
Austi only uses the microphone while you're recording; the red dot shows when that is. When you're signed in, the recording is sent to OpenAI to turn it into text and is kept in your account so you can replay it. Handwriting works the same way: when you're signed in, a picture of what you wrote is sent to OpenAI to read it, and the handwriting is saved with your note. Where your browser shows words as you speak, that preview comes from the browser's own speech service. Deleting a recording removes it from this device and your account. See the Privacy policy for details.