AI features

Overview

programleaf uses AI across four areas of the product:

• Program creation — generate a complete program outline from a brief, a PDF/DOCX document, or a photo of an existing program.
• Content editing — reorder, expand, trim, or rename items in the editor using the AI Assist panel.
• Design — generate a complete color and font scheme for your program with a single click.
• Invitations — draft a personalized invitation subject line and message body based on your event details.

All AI features require the Event plan or above. Each plan includes a monthly allowance of AI creates (for program creation) and AI tweaks (for editing, design, and invitation drafts). See Credits and quotas for details.

Create from brief Event+

Build a full program outline by answering a series of questions about your event. The AI uses your answers to generate sections, items, descriptions, and timings.

How it works

1. From the Dashboard, click New Outline → Build with AI → From Brief.
2. Answer the guided questions:
   • Event title — the name of your event (required).
   • Event type — Wedding, Church Service, Birthday, Conference, Meeting/Lecture, Funeral, Graduation, Concert, Dinner, or Other (required).
   • Start and end time — helps the AI place realistic timings on each item.
   • Program flow — describe the order of events. The more detail, the better the output (up to 800 characters).
   • Item count — a rough guide: 5–8, 8–12, 12–18, or 18+.
   • Tone — Formal, Semi-formal, or Casual.
   • Color preferences — describe a palette or leave blank for the AI to suggest one.
   • Special notes — any constraints or must-haves.
3. Review your answers on the summary page. Go back to change anything.
4. Click Generate Outline. The AI builds the program (usually 10–20 seconds).
5. Review the generated outline. Edit directly on the page if needed, then click Save.

Create from document Event+

Upload an existing program document and let AI extract the structure and convert it into a programleaf outline.

Supported formats

• PDF — text-based PDFs work best; scanned/image-only PDFs may produce less accurate results.
• DOCX — Microsoft Word documents.

How it works

1. From the Dashboard, click New Outline → Build with AI → Import from PDF / DOCX.
2. Upload your file (up to the plan file size limit).
3. Select the event type and tone.
4. Optionally add color preferences and special notes.
5. Click Generate. The system extracts the text (up to 10,000 words) and sends it to AI for structuring.
6. Review the generated outline. Edit directly on the page to correct any errors, then click Save.

Create from photo Event+

Snap a photo of a printed program — a church bulletin, a wedding program card, a conference schedule — and AI will digitize it into an editable programleaf outline.

How it works

1. From the Dashboard, click New Outline → Build with AI → Digitise from Photo.
2. Upload a photo (JPEG or PNG) or use the camera on mobile to capture one directly.
3. Select the event type and optionally add special notes.
4. Click Generate. The image is processed using AI vision to read and structure the text.
5. Review the generated outline. Edit directly to correct any errors (AI may misread handwriting or stylized fonts), then click Save.

AI Assist (editor) Event+

The AI Assist panel in the program editor helps restructure or refine your content. Each use consumes one AI tweak credit.

How to use it

1. Open a program in the editor (Customize from the Dashboard).
2. Click the AI button in the toolbar to open the panel.
3. Choose an action:
   • Reorder — AI suggests an optimized item ordering based on event flow.
   • Expand — AI adds more detail and content to items.
   • Trim — AI removes unnecessary items and shortens descriptions.
   • Rename — AI improves item names for clarity and consistency.
4. Optionally add notes to guide the AI (e.g., "keep the prayer items together" or "make it more formal").
5. Click Apply. The editor shows a preview with color-coded changes:
   • Green — newly added items or content.
   • Yellow — modified items.
   • Strikethrough — items the AI suggests removing.
6. Review the suggestion. Click Accept to apply or Dismiss to discard.

AI design generator Event+

Generate a complete color and font scheme for your program with one click. Each generation consumes one AI tweak credit.

How to use it

1. Open the program's Design tab.
2. Click AI in the design toolbar.
3. Fill in the generation options:
   • Event type — auto-filled from your program title if available.
   • Tone — Formal, Semi-formal, or Casual.
   • Color preference — describe a palette (e.g., "gold and ivory", "dark navy") or leave blank for AI to choose.
   • Design notes — specific instructions for layout, borders, or card styling.
4. Optionally toggle constraints: No Borders, No Backgrounds, or No Cards.
5. Click Generate Design. The AI applies a complete scheme to the live preview.
6. Review in the preview panel. Click Accept to keep or Discard to revert.

AI invitation draft Event+

Let AI write the subject line and message body for your invitation emails based on your event details. Each draft consumes one AI tweak credit.

How to use it

1. Open the program's Invitations tab.
2. In the compose section, click AI Assist.
3. Fill in the options:
   • Tone — the formality of the message.
   • Custom notes — any specific details to include (e.g., dress code, RSVP deadline, parking instructions).
4. Click Generate draft. The subject and message fields are filled with the AI output.
5. Review and edit the draft before sending.

Credits and quotas

AI features use two types of credits, both included with your plan and reset monthly:

AI creates

Consumed when you generate a new program outline (from brief, document, or photo). One creation = one credit, regardless of whether you save the result.

AI tweaks

Consumed by the AI Assist panel (reorder, expand, trim, rename), AI design generation, and AI invitation drafts. One action = one credit.

Credits by plan

Tips for better results

• Be specific in your brief — include names, timings, and specific moments. "Welcome speech by Jane, 5 min" produces better output than "opening remarks."
• Choose the right event type — this shapes the structure and language the AI uses. A "Church Service" generates liturgy-appropriate sections; a "Conference" generates sessions and keynotes.
• Use the tone setting — Formal adds honorifics and measured language; Casual uses friendly, relaxed wording.
• Review everything — AI is a powerful starting point, but it may get names, timings, or cultural details wrong. Always proofread before publishing.
• Iterate with AI Assist — after creating a program, use the editor's AI Assist to refine. Generate the outline first, then Trim or Rename to polish.
• Photograph clearly — for photo imports, flat lighting and tight crops produce the best text recognition.
• Try design generation after content is finalized — AI design works best when your program has its final title and event type, since it uses these to choose an appropriate palette.