Overview
How might we design ai context menu so people can trust and act on AI output?
When to use
- Ideal for reading applications, browsers, and content platforms where contextual AI actions enhance user interaction without disrupting the reading experience.
When to skip
- Read-only previews where actions cannot apply.
- Selections that are too small to be meaningful.
- Apps that already dedicate primary chrome to the same actions.
Rules
Menus with twenty vague AI verbs.
Actions that rewrite far beyond the selection without preview.
No keyboard access to the same actions.
Context menus that steal OS-native copy/paste items.
Evidence
| Product | Implementation |
|---|---|
| Notion | AI actions on selected blocks via menu. |
| Arc / Chromium browsers | Selection menus that send text to AI features. |
| Microsoft Edge | Compose and explain actions on page selections. |
| Google Docs | Help me write on highlighted text. |