Medium launches TK, a writing app with an AI assistant built in

In short: Medium launched TK, a new writing app that puts an AI helper inside the editor so people can ask for help as they write.

What happened

Medium, the online publishing platform, launched a new app called TK. It is a private notebook and writing space that runs on the web at launch, and Medium says a desktop app is planned later.

TK includes an AI assistant that works directly inside the writing screen. Users can type “@TK” plus a request to get help, instead of switching to another tab. Medium says it can answer quick questions, pull in snippets you saved earlier, suggest prompts, and give feedback on things like headlines and edits.

The name “TK” comes from publishing, where writers use “TK” as a placeholder for missing information that will be added later (like writing “to come” in the middle of a draft). Medium is reusing that idea, with TK designed to help writers fill in the blanks.

Medium also says TK can include transparency notes that explain how AI was used in a piece of writing. The company says it wants the “provenance” of writing to be clear, meaning a readable record of where the words and ideas came from.

Why it matters

AI writing tools are becoming more common, but they are also controversial. Some authors have faced lost book deals and award scrutiny over suspected AI use, and it can be hard to prove what was written by a person versus helped along by software. TK shows Medium is betting that AI will be part of everyday writing, and it is trying to make that use more visible to readers.

Source: TechCrunch AI