Apple Intelligence’s Writing Tool is truly amazing, allowing you to check grammar, adjust the tone of your writing, and summarize content. Since Microsoft has yet to introduce a similar feature for Windows, you can use an open-source app as an alternative to optimize your writing on Windows.

Apple Intelligence-Like Writing Tool for Windows

Apple introduced Apple Intelligence at WWDC24, which uses generative models to assist with everyday tasks. For example, the Image Wand feature of Apple Intelligence can create high-quality images based on rough diagrams you draw in the Notes app on your Apple device. While all these Apple Intelligence features are helpful, the one I personally like the most is the Writing Tool.

The best part about the Writing Tool is that you can use it anywhere on your Apple device. For instance, on a Mac, you need to select the text you want to work on, right-click, and choose the Writing Tool option from the menu that appears. However, you won’t find similar features on Windows. Microsoft does offer Copilot, but it requires you to manually open the app, type a prompt for what you want to do, and then paste the text you want to work on. This process is tedious, and most of the time, you probably won’t bother using it.

Fortunately, with the help of an open-source app called Writing Tools, developed by Jesai Taran, you can get an Apple Intelligence-like writing tool experience on your Windows computer. The functionality of this tool is similar to that of Apple Intelligence. You just need to select the text, activate the tool using a shortcut, and then choose the appropriate option from the menu that appears.

That being said, let’s check out how you can download and use the Writing Tools on your Windows 11 computer.

How to Set Up the Writing Tools on Windows 11

The process to download and set up Writing Tools is straightforward. To begin with, go to the Writing Tools GitHub download page and click the “Writing.Tool.Windows.v6.zip” option under the Assets section.

Once the file is downloaded, navigate to the download location, right-click the file, and select “Extract All” from the context menu to extract the file content.

Click the “Browse” button to choose the location where you want to extract the files, then click “Extract.”

Open the extracted folder and double-click the Writing Tools executable file. On the Welcome page, select the theme you want to use and the shortcut key combination to activate the tool. By default, it is set to Ctrl+Space. After configuring these two options, click “Next.”

From the Choose AI Provider drop-down menu, select “Gemini (Recommended).” Then, click the “Get API Key” button. This will open the Google AI Studio page in your default browser.

Click the “Create API Key” button, then click the Copy icon next to the generated API key. Paste the API key into the API key field in the Writing Tools window and hit the “Save” button.

Next, open the system tray area, right-click the Writing Tools icon, and select “Exit.” Then, search for the app in the Start menu and open it.

Now, whenever you want to use the app, you can call it using the assigned shortcut. For instance, if you need a summary of a paragraph, select the paragraph, activate the app using the shortcut, and choose the “Summary” option. The app will take a few seconds to generate a summary of the selected text.

Similarly, you can use the app to proofread, rewrite, adjust the tone of the text, or extract key points from the selected content.

In addition to helping you optimize content, the tool can help you with other tasks, just like other AI chatbots. For example, you can use it to ask general questions, solve math problems, create an itinerary for your next trip, or generate any other text-based output.

You should set the Writing Tools app to start automatically at startup so you don’t have to open it manually every time you boot your system. The app also features an automatic update check, which scans for available updates reguarly. If an update is found, you’ll see an update message in the app. Clicking it will initiate the update process.

The only thing you need to keep in mind is that the tool requires an internet connection to function. If you want to use it without the internet, you’ll need to set up a local LLM.

How to Use the Writing Tools App Without the Internet

The best thing about the Writing Tools app is that you can set up a local LLM to use the app without an internet connection. The added benefit of a local LLM, besides allowing you to use the app offline, is that all your requests are processed on-device, which is always appreciated from a privacy perspective.

To use the Writing Tools app, you’ll need the Ollama Local LLM. The only major requirement is that your computer must have at least 8GB of RAM or VRAM. To set up the Ollama Local LLM on your Windows 11 computer, visit the Ollama download page and click the “Download for Windows” button. Once the download is complete, open the executable file and follow the installation process.

Next, open the Start menu, type Terminal in the search bar, and hit Enter. In the Terminal window, type ollama run llama3.1:8b and press Enter. Ollama 3.1 will begin downloading onto your computer. The process may take some time, depending on your internet speed.

Once the download is complete, you’ll see a success message.

Right-click the Writing Tools app in the system tray area and select “Settings.” From the Choose AI Provider drop-down menu, select “OpenAI Compatible.” Then, enter the following details:

• API Key: ollama
• API Base URL: http://localhost:11434/v1
• API Model: llama3.1:8b

Click the “Save” button. Afterward, restart the Writing Tools app, and you’ll be able to use it without an internet connection.

You should open Task Manager and set Ollama to open automatically at system startup, so you don’t have to launch it manually every time you want to use the Writing Tool offline.

That’s everything about setting up an Apple Intelligence-like Writing Tool on Windows. While discussing the app, Tarun mentioned that future updates will include features like customizing buttons, rearranging them, and adding new ones to the app. So, make sure to update the app whenever an update is available to access these features.