What Changed and Where
Kira's AI chat appears in two places:
Homepage chat — the main chat interface on your Kira home screen
Side panel chat — the chat panel inside the lesson and course editor
Both surfaces have been redesigned. Some new features are available everywhere; others are exclusive to the homepage chat.
Features Available in Both Chat Surfaces
Cleaner Interface
The chat UI has been simplified for a more focused experience. Expect less visual clutter, clearer message threading, and a layout that gets out of your way.
Drag and Drop File Upload
You can now drag files directly into the chat window to attach them. No need to hunt for an upload button — just drag a file from your desktop or file browser and drop it into the chat.
Supported use cases include:
Attaching reference documents for Kira to summarize or analyze
Uploading images to include in your conversation
Sharing files for content creation assistance
Response Mode Switching
A new mode selector lets you choose how Kira responds:
Mode | Best For |
Quick | Quick answers, simple tasks, rapid iteration |
Build | Complex content creation, detailed analysis, nuanced requests |
Switch modes at any time using the toggle in the chat input area. Your selection persists within a session.
Improved Feedback Experience
Leaving feedback on responses is now easier. After any message, you'll find a streamlined thumbs-up/down interaction with an optional comment field. Your feedback helps improve Kira's responses over time.
Homepage Chat: Additional Features
The homepage chat gets several new capabilities on top of the shared improvements above.
Support Backed by Kira's Help Articles
The homepage chat is now connected to Kira's help center content. If you ask a question about how Kira works, you'll get answers grounded in our official help documentation — directly in the chat, without needing to leave the page.
@ Mentions for Students and Classes
You can now reference specific students or classes directly in your chat messages using @ mentions.
How to use it:
Type @ in the chat input
Search for a student name or class
Select from the dropdown to tag them
This is useful when asking Kira to help you draft personalized feedback, generate class-specific content, or pull up context about a particular group.
Web Search
The homepage chat can now search the web to supplement its responses. When Kira uses web search, it will indicate that results are sourced from the web so you know when information comes from outside Kira's built-in knowledge.
This is particularly useful for:
Looking up current events or recently published content
Finding external resources to reference in your lessons
Answering questions that benefit from up-to-date information
Chat History
Your homepage chat conversations are now saved. You can scroll back through previous sessions, pick up where you left off, or reference something Kira helped you with earlier.
Chat history is personal to your account and is not shared with other users.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to do anything to get these features? No — the redesign rolls out automatically. Just open Kira and you'll see the updated interface.
Can I turn off web search? Web search is used selectively by Kira when it's likely to improve the response. If you prefer answers without web results, you can note that in your message (e.g., "based only on what you know...").
Is my chat history stored permanently? Chat history is retained according to your organization's data settings. Contact your administrator or reach out to support for details specific to your account.
The side panel chat doesn't show chat history — is that a bug? No. Chat history is currently a homepage chat feature only. The side panel chat inside the editor is session-based.
Need Help?
If you run into any issues with the new chat experience, use the feedback button in the chat or reach out to our support team through the Help menu.