From b263433a6b264743bd79e1cafff949ee2a7d5c2c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Claude <noreply@anthropic.com>
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 2026 22:44:28 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] Add writing description input to AI sidebar for participant
 intent context

Adds a textarea at the top of the AIPanel where participants can describe
what they're trying to write (e.g., "telling him we need to move the panel
we'd scheduled for tomorrow"). This description is sent to the API and
injected into all AI condition prompts as a "Writer's Intent" section,
giving the model better context for generating suggestions. The description
is also included in study event logs.

https://claude.ai/code/session_01BeEBSzBFysATTNMFbRtPWq
---
 experiment/app/api/writing-support/route.ts |  6 ++++++
 experiment/components/AIPanel.tsx           | 21 +++++++++++++++++++--
 experiment/types/index.ts                   |  1 +
 3 files changed, 26 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/experiment/app/api/writing-support/route.ts b/experiment/app/api/writing-support/route.ts
index b1a3557c..39f3bcc4 100644
--- a/experiment/app/api/writing-support/route.ts
+++ b/experiment/app/api/writing-support/route.ts
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ export async function POST(req: Request) {
 
   const { beforeCursor, selectedText, afterCursor } = body.editorState;
   const context = (body.context as keyof typeof prompts) || 'proposal_advice';
+  const writingDescription = body.writingDescription;
   const promptTemplate = prompts[context];
 
   try {
@@ -77,6 +78,11 @@ export async function POST(req: Request) {
     const afterCursorTrim = afterCursor.slice(0, 100);
 
     let fullPrompt = promptTemplate;
+
+    if (writingDescription) {
+      fullPrompt += `\n\n# Writer's Intent\n\nThe writer has described what they are trying to write: "${writingDescription}"`;
+    }
+
     fullPrompt += `\n\n# Writer's Document So Far\n\n<document>\n${documentText}</document>\n\n`;
 
     if (selectedText === '') {
diff --git a/experiment/components/AIPanel.tsx b/experiment/components/AIPanel.tsx
index c2fb8d7b..b358942e 100644
--- a/experiment/components/AIPanel.tsx
+++ b/experiment/components/AIPanel.tsx
@@ -87,6 +87,7 @@ export default function AIPanel({
   const [isLoading, setIsLoading] = useState(false);
   const [savedItems, setSavedItems] = useState<SavedItem[]>([]);
   const [errorMsg, setErrorMsg] = useState('');
+  const [writingDescription, setWritingDescription] = useState('');
   const docContextRef = useRef<TextEditorState | null>(null);
   const studyParams = useAtomValue(studyParamsAtom);
   const studyCondition = useAtomValue(studyConditionAtom);
@@ -161,6 +162,7 @@ export default function AIPanel({
             event: `aiRequest:${modeToUse}`,
             extra_data: {
               isAutoRefresh,
+              writingDescription: writingDescription.trim() || undefined,
               // Don't log document content right now; we'll log it with the response
             },
           });
@@ -174,6 +176,7 @@ export default function AIPanel({
           body: JSON.stringify({
             editorState,
             context: modeToUse,
+            ...(writingDescription.trim() && { writingDescription: writingDescription.trim() }),
           }),
           signal: AbortSignal.timeout(API_TIMEOUT_MS),
         });
@@ -207,7 +210,7 @@ export default function AIPanel({
               await log({
                 username: studyParams.username,
                 event: `aiResponse:${modeToUse}`,
-                extra_data: { isAutoRefresh, generation, editorState },
+                extra_data: { isAutoRefresh, generation, editorState, writingDescription: writingDescription.trim() || undefined },
               });
             }
           }
@@ -230,7 +233,7 @@ export default function AIPanel({
         setIsLoading(false);
       }
     },
-    [writingAreaRef, save, mode, isStudyMode, studyParams]
+    [writingAreaRef, save, mode, isStudyMode, studyParams, writingDescription]
   );
 
   // Auto-refresh logic for study mode
@@ -289,6 +292,20 @@ export default function AIPanel({
     <div className="h-full p-4 text-sm text-gray-700 flex flex-col overflow-hidden">
       <h3 className="text-sm font-bold text-gray-900 mb-3">AI Writing Assistant</h3>
 
+      <div className="mb-3">
+        <label htmlFor="writing-description" className="block text-xs font-semibold text-gray-600 mb-1">
+          What are you trying to write?
+        </label>
+        <textarea
+          id="writing-description"
+          value={writingDescription}
+          onChange={(e) => setWritingDescription(e.target.value)}
+          placeholder='e.g., "telling him we need to move the panel we&#39;d scheduled for tomorrow"'
+          rows={2}
+          className="w-full text-xs text-gray-800 border border-gray-300 rounded px-2 py-1.5 resize-none focus:outline-none focus:ring-1 focus:ring-blue-400 focus:border-blue-400 placeholder:text-gray-400"
+        />
+      </div>
+
       {!isStudyMode && (
         <div className="flex gap-1.5 mb-3 flex-wrap">
           {modes.map((mode) => (
diff --git a/experiment/types/index.ts b/experiment/types/index.ts
index 2521faf5..684ab997 100644
--- a/experiment/types/index.ts
+++ b/experiment/types/index.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ export interface TextEditorState {
 export interface WritingSupportRequest {
   editorState: TextEditorState;
   context?: string;
+  writingDescription?: string;
 }
 
 export interface WritingSupportResponse {