Brainstorming topics with AI

The hardest part of a college essay is usually deciding what to write about. Draftl gives you two tools for this stage: the Writing Agent, a chat assistant that lives inside the essay editor, and the Hook Generator, which helps you craft an opening line once you know your topic. Both live in the tools panel on the right side of the editor, so you can brainstorm without leaving your draft. If you haven't created an essay yet, start with writing your first essay.

Meet the Writing Agent

Open any essay and click the Writing Agent tab in the right panel — it's the one with the brain icon, described as "Search, research & revise your essay." The Writing Agent is a multi-turn chat, so you can go back and forth with it the way you would with a tutor.

It's more capable than a standard chatbot. The agent can:

• Read your current draft, including your title, prompt, word count, and content
• Search the web when your topic calls for outside research
• Highlight specific passages in your essay to show you exactly what it's talking about
• Propose targeted edits, add new text, or suggest a full rewrite

The agent acts like a mentor, not a ghostwriter. It never invents facts about your life, it prefers small precise edits over sweeping changes, and it works to preserve your voice. It won't write your entire essay unprompted — and that's by design.

Tip: Colleges want to hear you, not an AI. Use the agent to dig up your story, then do the actual telling yourself.

Using it to brainstorm

When your page is blank, tell the agent where you're stuck. Try prompts like "Help me brainstorm topics for this prompt" or "Ask me questions to find a story worth telling." The agent will interview you about your experiences rather than handing you a generic topic, because the strongest essays come from details only you know.

You can also attach material to the conversation — old drafts, activity lists, images, or PDFs — up to 10 files at 8MB each. That gives the agent real context about your background to draw from.

The Allow Write toggle

The Allow Write toggle controls how the agent's edits reach your draft:

• On — edits are applied automatically as the agent proposes them, so the conversation flows quickly.
• Off — edits go into a review queue, and you accept or reject each one individually.

One exception: a full rewrite of your essay always requires your approval, no matter how the toggle is set. You'll never look up and find your draft replaced.

Generating hooks

Once you know your topic, switch to the Hook Generator tab (the pencil icon) to work on your opening. Describe the vibe or angle you're going for — for example, "vivid moment, reflective tone, 1–2 sentences, no clichés" — and click Generate Hooks. The AI reads your essay and produces 3–5 candidate hooks, each one or two sentences long.

Every hook comes with two buttons: Copy puts it on your clipboard, and Insert drops it at the top of your essay. Treat the results as raw material — the best move is usually to take the hook that feels closest and rewrite it in your own words. To check whether your opening lands, see understanding AI feedback, which covers the Hook dimension of the Essay Grader.

Plan limits

Both the Writing Agent and the Hook Generator draw from your chat message quota. On the free plan you get 5 chat messages per month, which is enough to test the tools but tight for a real brainstorming session. Pro removes the cap entirely. You can check your remaining messages on the Usage page, and see managing your subscription if you're ready to upgrade.