AI Assist brings artificial intelligence into your MAXQDA workflow to support your analysis. It can summarize documents, text passages, coded segments, and paraphrases; suggest new codes and subcodes; group codes under new parent codes; support AI-assisted coding; generate reports; and let you explore your data through AI Chat.
Before you start
To use AI Assist in MAXQDA, you need:
- Access to the AI Assist add-on
The add-on comes in two versions: AI Assist Free and AI Assist Premium. The available features and usage limits depend on which version you have. - A MAXQDA Account
Your MAXQDA Account connects MAXQDA to AI Assist in MAXQDA's cloud. It is separate from your MAXQDA software license and is not required to activate MAXQDA or save MAXQDA project files. - An internet connection and account sign-in
When AI Assist uses MAXQDA's cloud, you need an internet connection and must be signed in to your MAXQDA Account.
With AI Assist Premium, you can also use AI Assist with a model on your own computer or your organization's server instead of MAXQDA's cloud. In that case, you don't need to sign in to a MAXQDA Account. See setting up Local AI.
For instructions on creating and signing in to your account, see The MAXQDA Account.
For information about AI Assist Free and Premium, see the AI Assist product page.
What can AI Assist help you do?
AI Assist offers the following features. With AI Assist Premium, you can use them with MAXQDA's cloud or with a model running on your own computer or your organization's server:
Document and text-based functions
- AI Summary: Document Summary – Automatically summarizes entire documents and saves the summary in the document memo.
- AI Summary: Highlighted Text – Automatically summarizes a selected text passage and saves the summary in an in-document memo.
- AI Paraphrase – Automatically paraphrases a selected text passage and saves it as a MAXQDA paraphrase.
- AI Summary: Paraphrases of a Document – Automatically summarizes all paraphrases in a document and saves the summary in the document memo.
- AI Report – Generates comprehensive AI-powered reports based on your selected documents and research question. Reports are saved as documents in your project.
Code-based functions
- AI Summary: Coded Segment – Automatically summarizes a selected coded segment and saves the summary in the code memo. In the Smart Coding Tool, you can also apply this function to multiple coded segments at once.
- AI Summary: Code Summary – Automatically summarizes the contents of all or selected segments coded with a specific code. The summary is saved in the code memo.
- AI Summary: Summary Grid – Automatically summarizes a document's coded segments for a selected code. The result is saved as a summary in the Summary Grid.
Suggesting codes and subcodes
- AI New Code Suggestions – Generates a list of suggested new codes that you can assign directly to a selected text passage.
- AI Subcode Suggestions – Suggests subcodes based on coded content and lets you integrate selected subcodes directly into your code system.
- AI Group Codes – Suggests new parent codes for a set of selected codes and sorts your codes under them. It provides two alternative groupings, which you can apply to your code system or save as code sets.
Automatic coding
- AI Coding one or more Documents – Codes one or more documents with a code based on the code definition in the code memo.
- AI Coding: Segments and Survey Responses – Lets you review and apply AI-suggested codes to segments or survey responses you have already coded. Available in the Smart Coding Tool and Survey Analysis workspaces.
Chat
- AI Chat – Uses natural language to help you explore and analyze documents, coded segments, memos, and the code system. You can also ask questions about MAXQDA, with answers based on the MAXQDA Manual. Ask questions, request summaries, explore themes, and revisit automatically saved conversations in the chat history.
Additional features
- Explain This – Creates a short explanation of an unfamiliar term or phrase in your data. The explanation can be saved as an in-document memo.
- Translate This – Translates selected text into another language. The translation can be saved as an in-document memo if needed.
AI Assist is designed to support your analysis, not replace your own interpretation or research decisions. Treat its results as suggestions and starting points, and review them in the context of your project.
AI Settings
If your license includes AI Assist, the Settings window has an AI Settings section. To open it, click 
Settings icon in the bottom bar of the main MAXQDA window and select AI Settings in the sidebar.
Project Information
Describe your research project here to give AI Assist context. You can enter up to 5,000 characters. AI Chat uses this description, and AI Group Codes can include it. The same description is available in the chat settings of AI Chat, so changes you make in one place apply in the other.
AI Assist Daily Usage
This area shows your AI Assist version, the percentage of your daily usage budget you have used, and the time until the budget resets. You can also check your daily usage in the account menu.
Data protection and privacy
To learn more about how we safeguard your data and privacy when you use AI Assist, visit our Data Privacy and Security page.
