Add and Edit Content with the AI Editing Assistant

  • Published on Dec 16, 2025
  • 6 minute(s) read
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Customers with the AI Editing Assistant feature enabled can draft content within the editor widget with the help of real-time AI writing assistance. This article will show you how to use the AI Editing Assistant to create new content or edit existing content.

Important Note

  • You must have AI Editing Assistant enabled to use this functionality. Please contact your Customer Success Manager if you are interested in adding this feature to your site.

  • Users must acknowledge the use of generative AI the first time they use the feature. Acknowledgement is tracked in the CivicPlus Account Service and can be revoked at any time.

Instructions

Add New Content Using the AI Editing Assistant

  1. Sign in to your site if you have not already

  2. Select Modules, then select Content, then navigate to the desired content page.
    CivicPlus Municipal Websites Central interface showing content and modules options within the navigation menu

  3. Select an existing Category
    List of published categories in FAQs, highlighting Finance - Risk Management.

  4. Click the Editor text field you wish to add content to
    Text editor toolbar with various formatting options and a text input area below.

  5. Click AI Editing Assistant (sparkles icon)
    Text Editor and toolbar displaying various text formatting options with a highlighted icon for AI-Editing Assistance.

    Note

    If this is your first time using AI in a CivicPlus product, you will need to acknowledge the use of generative AI before you can proceed. An “Acknowledgement: You Are Using a Generative AI Tool” window will appear immediately after you click the AI Editing Assistat icon. You will need to read the disclaimer, check the “I acknowledge that I am using a generative AI tool” checkbox, then click the Agree button to continue. See Generative AI Acknowledgement for more information.

  6. The AI Editing Assistant interface will appear
    Text editor interface with various formatting tools and a message input area, including the AI Editing Assistant

  7. Use the text box to manually input your own prompt
    AI Editing Assistant Text editor interface showing a text box input bar

    Notes

    • The assistant works best when instructions are specific and task-focused. Try prompts like:

      • “Rephrase this to sound more formal”

      • “Correct grammar and fix punctuation”

      • “Summarize this section in 3 bullet points”

    • Prompts are limited to 1000 characters.

  8. Click Send to send your prompt to the Assistant
    AI Editing Assistant text editor interface with a summary input box and a send button highlighted.

  9. Evaluate the content generated by the Assistant
    AI Editing Assistant generated content highlighted

  10. Enter additional prompts into the text box and click Send to further refine the text generated by the Assistant using your own instructions, if desired
    AI Editing Assistant additional prompt bar with send button highlighted

  11. If you are satisfied with the Assistant's output and wish to use it as-is, click Paste into Editor to insert it into the Editor’s text field AI Editing Assistant generated content with the paste into editor button highlighted

    Notes

    • The AI-generated text will be pasted below your existing content in the Editor’s text field; your existing content will not be overwritten.

    • Clicking “Paste into Editor” will close the Assistant interface.

  12. If you have completed your interaction and wish to start a new one, click Start a New Chat to clear the Assistant interface and begin a new interactionAI Editing Assistant Text editor start a new chat trash can button

  13. When you are finished, click Close (X icon) to exit the Assistant interface AI Editing Assistant Text editor close button highlighted

  14. Make additional changes directly in the editor or continue to use the Assistant for more help

Edit Existing Content Using the AI Editing Assistant

  1. Sign in to your site if you have not already

  2. Select Modules, then select Content, then select the desired content page.
    CivicPlus Municipal Websites Central interface showing content and modules options within the navigation menu

  3. Select a Published Question from the list
    FAQ section displaying published categories highlighting Finance - Risk Management.

  4. Navigate to the Editor and type content into the desired Editor text field, if you have not already
    Example text in the editor widget within the FAQ module

  5. Highlight specific text within the Editor’s text field to have the Assistant interact with only a portion of your content; or, leave your content as-is to use the Assistant with all text within the Editor
    Highlighted text within the text editor

  6. Click the AI-Editing Assistant button (sparkles icon)
    Text editor toolbar showing various formatting options and a highlighted AI Editing Assistant button

    Note

    If this is your first time using AI in a CivicPlus product, you will need to acknowledge the use of generative AI before you can proceed. An “Acknowledgement: You Are Using a Generative AI Tool” window will appear immediately after you click the AI Editing Assistat icon. You will need to read the disclaimer, check the “I acknowledge that I am using a generative AI tool” checkbox, then click the Agree button to continue. See Generative AI Acknowledgement for more information.

  7. The AI-Editing Assistant user interface will appear.
    AI Editing Assistant text editor interface showing options for formatting and a message box for input.

  8. Use the text box to manually input your own prompts, if desired:

    1. Click Use Editor Content to have the system pull text from the Editor’s text field into the AI Editing Assistant
      AI Editing Assistant with various editing options with the use editor content button highlighted

      Note

      This is optional; you can use hot buttons to pull content from the Editor text box without making this selection.

    2. Enter a prompt into the text box to give the Assistant instructions
      AI Editing Assistant prompt text box highlighted

      Notes

      • The assistant works best when instructions are specific and task-focused. Try prompts like:

        • “Rephrase this to sound more formal”

        • “Correct grammar and fix punctuation”

        • “Summarize this section in 3 bullet points”

      • If you did not click the “Use Editor Content” button in step 8a (check this step),  the Assistant will not use text from the Editor for its response.

      • Prompts are limited to 1000 characters.

    3. Click Send to send your prompt to the AssistantAI Editing Assistant send button highlighted

    4. Evaluate the content generated by the AssistantAI Editing Assistant-generated content highlighted

    5. Enter additional prompts into the text box and click Send to further refine the text generated by the Assistant using your own instructions, if desired AI Editing Assistant text editor interface showing grammar correction, prompt search bar, and send button

    6. If you are satisfied with the Assistant's output and wish to use it as-is, click Paste into Editor to insert it into the Editor’s text fieldAI Editing Assistant generated content with a paste into editor button

      Notes

      • The AI-generated text will be pasted below your existing content in the Editor’s text field; your existing content will not be overwritten.

      • Clicking “Paste into Editor” will close the Assistant interface.

  9. Or use the hot buttons to quickly apply predefined prompts to the content in the Editor’s text field (all text or the text you have highlighted), if desired:

    1. Click the desired hot buttonAI Editing Assistant text editor interface with the hot buttons highlighted

      1. Improve Writing (magic wand icon): Improve the grammar, clarity, and tone of your text

      2. Simplify Text (wrench icon): Reword your text for plain language compliance

        Note

        You do not need to cut and paste or manually enter text into the Assistant when using the hot buttons. The system automaticallys pull in text within the editor field (if specific text has not been highlighted) or the portion of content you have highlighted.

    2. Evaluate the content generated by the AssistantAI Editing Assistant generated content highlighted

    3. Click additional hot buttons to further refine the generated text using the predefined prompts, if desiredAI Editing Assistant hot buttons highlighted

    4. Enter additional prompts into the text box and click Send to further refine the text generated by the Assistant using your own instructions, if desired AI Editing Assistant text editor interface, highlighting the text box and send button

      Note

      Prompts are limited to 1000 characters.

    5. If you are satisfied with the AI Editing Assistant's output and wish to use it as-is, click Paste into Editor to insert it into the Editor’s text field AI Editing Assistant text editor interface showing a highlighted button to paste content.

      Note

      • The AI-generated text will be pasted below your existing content in the Editor’s text field; your existing content will not be overwritten.

      • Clicking “Paste into Editor” will close the Assistant interface.

  10. If you have completed your interaction and wish to start a new one, click Start a New Chat to clear the Assistant interface and begin a new interaction AI Editing Assistant editor interface start a new chat trash can icon highlighted

  11. When you are finished, click Close (X icon) to exit the Assistant interface AI Editing Assistant text editor interface close button highlighted

  12. Make additional changes directly in the Editor or continue to use the Assistant for more help

Generative AI Acknowledgement

CivicPlus has an AI acknowledgement notice in place for all products that include AI features. When an AI feature is first enabled, each user is prompted to review and accept the notice before using the tool. This acknowledgement only needs to be completed once across all CivicPlus products.

If Web Central is the first CivicPlus product you are accessing AI features in, you will be prompted to acknowledge the use of generative AI the first time you click the AI Editing Assistant icon. Clicking the icon opens an “Acknowledgement: You Are Using a Generative AI Tool” window. To continue, review the disclaimer, check the “I acknowledge that I am using a generative AI tool” box, and click Agree.

CivicPlus AI policy outlining usage, limitations, and user control for AI tools.

The AI Editing Assistant Acknowledgement modal which warns users that they are using a generative AI tool.

Your acknowledgement is recorded in the CivicPlus Account Service and can be revoked at any time. To remove your acknowledgement, you will need to log in to your account, navigate to the Account History tab, and locate the Legal Agreement History section. Click the CivicPlus-AI-Policy in the list, and then click the Revoke button. Access to AI features will be removed immediately. If you choose to use AI tools again, simply click the AI Editing Assistant icon in Web Central to re-acknowledge the policy and regain access.

The gray, rectangular Revoke button in the upper-right corner of the Account Service Account History tab.

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