From Research to Draft:
AI Workflow Patterns
Functions and Chat, alone or together. Mix them however you want.
THE TOOLS
Two Tools, Many Combinations
Functions process new notes automatically as you add them. Set up a context and prompt once, drop stuff on it forever.
Chat is for sit-down sessions. Select notes, ask questions, curate the responses.
You can use either one alone, or chain them together, or alternate between them. Here are a few patterns. Steal what works.
Where these patterns say to select notes or set context, that material is sent to your configured AI provider for the request. Projects hidden with Hide from AI stay out of automatic discovery, but notes you explicitly select are still used as context.
Select a batch of notes, ask for themes, keep the useful outputs, and turn them into an outline.
Drop every new article onto a standing function so processed insights accumulate in the background.
Process material as it arrives, then select the function outputs when it is time to find the through-line.
Use chat to find the angle, then build a function that tests every new source against that angle.
PATTERN 1
Chat Only: The Quick Synthesis
You've been collecting articles on a topic for a week. You need to write something by Friday. Select all your research notes, open Chat, ask "what are the three biggest themes across these?" Chat returns each theme as a separate note. Keep the good ones, discard the rest. Then select those theme notes and ask "draft an outline organized around these themes." You've got a draft in 10 minutes.
Best when: You're writing a one-off and already have your research.
PATTERN 2
Function Only: The Background Processor
You're tracking a beat - every week, new articles show up on your topic. Set up a Function with your existing position as context ("here's what I currently believe about X") and a prompt like "what's new here that challenges my view?" Drop each new article on it. The function fires automatically and builds up a list of challenges over time.
Best when: You're continuously collecting and want processed insights ready whenever you sit down to write.
PATTERN 3
Function Then Chat: Accumulate, Then Synthesize
Run a Function over your research as you collect it. Each article gets processed into a summary or key-points note. When you're ready to write, select all the function outputs plus your original notes and Chat to find the through-line: "pull the common argument across all these."
Best when: You're researching over weeks and don't want to re-read everything before writing.
PATTERN 4
Chat Then Function: Find the Angle, Then Process
Start with Chat to explore your existing research and find the angle you want to take. Once you've landed on a thesis, set up a Function with that thesis as context and a prompt like "does this support, contradict, or complicate the thesis?" From that point on, every new article you drop gets evaluated against your argument.
Best when: You need to find your angle first, then sharpen it over time.
MAKE YOUR OWN
These Are Starting Points, Not Rules
These patterns are examples, not prescriptions. Chain functions to other functions. Switch between chat and functions mid-project. Set up five functions with different prompts and see which outputs are most useful. The point is that both tools turn AI output into notes you can keep, curate, and reuse - so you can build workflows that fit how you actually work.