Getting Started with Dock
Learn the three ways to open Dock, when to use each one, and walk through your first AI action on a real site.
Dock gives you three ways to reach the assistant. Once you know which surface fits which moment, the extension stays out of your way until you want it.
| Surface | How to open it | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Float button | Click the button next to any text box | Writing or editing inside an input on the page |
| Side panel | Click the Dock icon in your toolbar | Reading a page or video you want to summarize or browse your library |
| Keyboard shortcut | Press the shortcut from anywhere | Opening the editor fast without reaching for the mouse |
When you focus a text box on a supported site, a small Dock button appears next to it. Click it and the modal editor opens with whatever you have already typed, ready for an AI action. This is the surface you will use most: it sits exactly where you are writing.
Click the Dock icon in your toolbar to open the side panel. The panel stays open alongside the page, so it is the right surface when you are reading rather than writing. From here you can summarize the current page or video, browse your prompts and documents, and jump into the full Dock Editor.
Press the shortcut to open the modal editor on the current page without clicking anything. On Mac the default is Command + Shift + E. On Windows and Linux it is Ctrl + Shift + E. You can change it in your browser at any time, covered in Keyboard Shortcuts.
- You are writing a prompt or a message in a text box, and you want it sharper. Use the float button: it opens with your text and the AI actions one click away.
- You are reading an article or watching a video, and you want the gist or the key points. Use the side panel: it reads the page for you.
- You already know you want the editor and do not want to hunt for the button. Use the keyboard shortcut.
Here is the fastest path from install to a finished prompt:
- Open ChatGPT or any supported AI site.
- Click into the prompt box and type a rough idea, for example write a cold email to a designer about a freelance project.
- Click the Dock button that appears next to the box.
- In the modal editor, choose Enhance. Dock rewrites your rough idea into a clear, well-structured prompt tuned for the platform you are on.
- Click Insert to drop the improved text straight back into the prompt box.
That is the core loop: write rough, enhance, insert. Everything else in Dock builds on it.
- Using the Modal Editor covers every AI action and the three ways to save your work.
- Using the Side Panel covers page and video summaries and your library.
- Supported Platforms lists every site Dock works on.
Want the full feature tour first? See what Dock can do on the extension overview.