What is draft new text?

Draft New Text lets you generate new, legally relevant content directly in your open Microsoft Word document based on your instructions.

The module understands both layout and context. It analyses your document’s structure and formatting - such as numbering and indentation - and drafts text that fits seamlessly with the existing content.

You can generate paragraphs or clauses from a written prompt, review and compare different versions, and insert the final text into your document. Changes can be inserted with track changes enabled.

Draft New Text also supports working on multiple drafts at once using tabsheets. Where needed, it can draw on information from external sources such as Word files, Excel sheets, PowerPoint presentations, or emails to enrich the output.

Why use Draft New Text?

Draft New Text helps you quickly create new clauses or sections that align with your document’s structure, formatting, and context, without starting from scratch.

✅ When you should use it:

Draft faster
Describe what you need and generate tailored clauses or sections in seconds.
Stay in Word
Create and review content directly in your document, with no need to switch tools or copy from templates.
Maintain consistency
The module adapts to your document’s layout and style so new content fits seamlessly.
Explore alternatives safely
Generate multiple versions, adjust tone, and test different phrasings before choosing the final wording.
Enrich your input with supporting documents
Upload background materials—such as emails, Excel sheets, or slides—to help the AI generate more accurate and relevant text.

When you shouldn’t use Draft New Text

To draft an entire document at once
Draft New Text works best at the clause or paragraph level. Generating full documents can lead to lower-quality output and longer generation times.
If your document has inconsistent formatting
The layout engine depends on clear styles and numbering. Poor formatting may produce unexpected results.

How to use draft new text

Step 1: Choose where the new content will be inserted

Before drafting new content, select the text in your Microsoft Word document near where you want the new content to appear (for example, a clause or bullet point).

ClauseBuddy is layout-aware. It uses the formatting of the selected content - such as numbering, indentation, and structure - to draft new paragraphs that match your document’s style.

You can choose to insert the drafted content elsewhere later. However, selecting the right starting point upfront usually produces better results. Many Word documents contain inconsistent or manual formatting, which can affect numbering and layout if the insertion point is unclear.

Step 2: Write a drafting instruction

Enter your drafting instruction in the field at the bottom of the screen. This tells ClauseBuddy’s AI what content to generate.

Instead of starting from scratch, you can also:

Reuse a saved instruction from the Prompts menu
Select a recently used instruction from the same menu
Choose a predefined prompt provided by ClauseBase (these may be customised by your organisation or department)

Upload a supporting file—such as a Word document, Excel sheet, PowerPoint presentation, or email—to supply missing or background information

For best results, keep instructions focused on a small number of clauses or paragraphs. Drafting entire documents in one request is not supported and may lead to lower-quality output due to limits on length, accuracy, and generation time.

Step 3: Submit your instruction

Click Draft to submit your instruction. If multiple AI engines are available, select the one you want to use from the dropdown first.

The AI will generate one or more paragraphs based on your instruction. This usually takes a few seconds, depending on the length and complexity of the request.

Once the draft is generated, you can:

Select all or specific sections of the generated text using the checkboxes
Create a new version with refinements by adding an additional instruction and clicking New Version
Regenerate the content using the same instruction by clicking New Version without adding extra input

Use Compare in the bottom-right corner to review the latest version alongside previous versions.

Step 4 (optional): Adjust the generated content

After reviewing the draft, you can refine the full text or specific sections.

To do this, select the fragments you want to change using the checkboxes on the left, enter a new instruction, and click New Version.

You can also replace one or more fragments with content from an earlier version by selecting the desired sections and choosing them from the previous versions.

Step 5: Insert the content into your Word document

Once you’re happy with the draft, place your cursor in the Microsoft Word document where you want the new text to appear.

Click the purple + Insert button and choose one of the following options:

Insert - Adds the text directly to your document.
Insert with changes - Inserts the text with Track Changes enabled in the active document.
Copy to clipboard - Copies the text so you can paste it elsewhere. Note that this option removes most formatting and converts automatic numbering into fixed text.

Saving and loading (re)drafting instructions

You can reuse previously saved drafting instructions by selecting them from the Saved section of the Prompts menu above the instruction field. The selected instruction is appended to any text already in the field.

To save an instruction for future use, open the Prompts menu and click Save current prompt. You can then reload it whenever needed.

Tips for writing effective (re)drafting instructions

Writing good AI instructions takes practice, much like writing effective search queries. Some experimentation is often needed to understand what the AI does well and where it may struggle. The following tips will help you get better results.

Be specific - Vague instructions usually lead to generic results. For example, “Draft a copyright assignment clause” may work, but adding detail will almost always improve the output.
Include key details, such as:
- Which party the clause is for, so the content is legally optimised from the right perspective
- The desired length, preferably in concrete terms (for example, “no more than 10 sentences” or “at least two paragraphs”)
- Relevant context, such as the nature of the transaction, negotiation dynamics, or applicable precedents
- Required or excluded elements, such as exceptions, limitations, or standard carve-outs
Provide light layout instructions if needed
You can ask for basic formatting such as bold, italics, underline, or highlights. For example:
“Add a short summary in bold (maximum three words) at the start of each paragraph.”

Use the AI for targeted proofreading
Try focused instructions such as:
“Correct obvious mistakes, as if you were a junior lawyer reviewing a final draft. Only fix real errors.”
While this works best on smaller sections, it can catch issues that Word’s spellchecker may miss.

ClauseBuddy preserves cross-references and bookmarks when drafting or redrafting content, ensuring these elements remain intact.

Important notes and limitations

Review all output carefully
AI-generated content is not legally perfect and may contain gaps or inaccuracies.
The AI is not an up-to-date legal authority
It does not have awareness of recent case law, legislative changes, or non-public sources.
Formatting results may vary
Many Word documents contain inconsistent or manual styling, which can affect layout. The AI’s formatting output may therefore require adjustment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does the AI get its inspiration?

Azure GPT4o applies as the default LLM, unless your administrator changed this for you. So a general LLM applies here and not a specific legal one, unless you use Noxtua.