An AI study buddy that keeps you company while you study

How do I study with it?

Pin the character beside your work, share what you're studying, and set a talk key. In the desktop app, five steps:

1. Open the app and sign in. (In Chrome or Edge on a computer, the browser version works too - see below for what it can't do.)
2. Press Share screen and pick what you're working in - your notes, a PDF, the essay - or the whole screen.
3. Press Pin to screen: the character floats over everything, see-through and click-through, so you click and type straight through it.
4. Set a talk key in Settings > Talk key - a key you don't type with, or a mouse side button - and turn on Look at my screen when I press it.
5. Choose the Reply mode beside the talk button: Assistant puts accurate, complete help first; Both, the default, chats in character and helps properly when you ask for help.

Comments is off until you turn it on, so the character says nothing until you talk to it.

What can I ask it?

Anything about what's on your screen, without leaving your work. Hold the talk key and ask; a snapshot of your screen, and where your mouse is on it, goes with what you say:

• Can you explain this more simply? The paragraph you're reading, or the diagram beside it.
• Where did I go wrong? Your working, as far as it's on screen.
• Quiz me on this page. Questions out loud, answered out loud.
• What does this word mean? The one under your mouse.
• Does this paragraph make sense? Your essay, read with fresh eyes.

Copied a passage? Press the talk key within 20 seconds (up to a minute, if you choose) and, with Send what I just copied on, up to about 4,000 characters of it go with your question, word for word. With the whole screen shared, the character can point at the line it means with its own cursor and circle it as it explains.

When an answer needs more than a sentence or two - a method, a worked example, a list - the character says the short version and shows the rest as numbered steps under its speech bubble, kept in your chat history.

It can be wrong, so check anything that matters against your notes or textbook. It never clicks or types for you.

Can it keep me company without distracting me?

Yes. With Comments off, the character stays on screen and says nothing until you talk to it - someone in the room while you work, which some people call body doubling. Tell it what you're working on, and it remembers next time.

Turn on Comments and it glances at your screen now and then and speaks up about what it sees: That's the fourth time you've rewritten the first line. For studying, set Settings > Comments to Now and then (every 2 minutes at most) or Rarely (every 5). Need quiet? Set a quiet word there: say or type it and the remarks pause for 30 minutes, and the word on its own costs nothing. Asking in your own words works too.

Does it record my screen?

No. Nothing is recorded or streamed continuously: a picture of what you've shared goes only when one is needed - with something you ask, or when the character looks by itself with Comments on. Each picture is thrown away once the reply is written, and none is used to train AI. Share one window rather than the whole screen to keep everything else out of the picture. More on what happens to the pictures.

What does it cost?

Having it on screen costs nothing; you pay for what it does. A question about your screen costs a look (2 credits), the reply (1) and its voice (0.25 a second - about 1.5 for a typical line). From a large display (1440p, 4K or an ultrawide), the talk key's close-up around your mouse adds 1. Without the screen it's just the reply and the voice, and copied text costs nothing extra. New accounts start with 100 free credits.

With Comments on, each look costs the same 2 whether or not the character finds something to say, so for a long session choose Rarely - or leave Comments off and ask when you need it. Plans and packs are under Plans & credits.

Who can I study with?

Any of the characters, each with a voice and a memory of your conversations - what you're studying, the exam on Friday, where you got stuck last time. Hikomi is sharp and playful, Aoi warm and a little dry, Momo quick and easily delighted - or make your own, as patient or as strict as you like.

Where does it work?

The desktop app is the full setup: the character pinned beside your work, a talk key that works from any app, copied text, and pointing and circling on your screen. It runs on Windows 10 and 11, and on macOS 13 or later (coming soon).

In Chrome or Edge on any computer, the browser version can share your screen and answer about it, from a small floating window - but it has no talk key, so you'd switch to its tab to talk, or type. On a phone or tablet you can talk and type to it, but not share a screen.

How old do you need to be?

16, or 18 in the United States and anywhere else whose law restricts AI companions for minors - so it isn't for younger students. Companion chatbots like hikomi's characters may not be suitable for some minors. More on safety.