Writing Probe
Personal Project · Chrome Web Store · 2026
Writing Probe is a Chrome extension that reads what you draft in Google Docs and asks Socratic questions about your reasoning, then helps you revise.
Abstract
It's easy to reread my own writing and understand th reasoning, but to others, it might be full of logical fallacies and gaps. Grammar checkers only identify the surface issue without diagnosing the deeper reasoning or testing the argument.
Maybe I can ask an AI tool to critique my paragraph line by line and identify the issues with every sentence, but what if that happened as I was writing, so I can edit as I go?
Socratic Method
Generic feedback like “add more evidence” or “be clearer” is easy to ignore, but a specific question aimed at a specific passage is harder to wave away because you have to answer it to dismiss it.
Timing is a key decision
A question that appears too early interrupts my thought process, but one that appears too late arrives after I'm on the next thought.
One question at a time is wrong.
A sidebar that surfaces up to six questions lets the writer work through a set at their own pace instead of waiting for the next analysis pass.
The extension watches the document, runs its own analysis, and puts the questions in a sidebar pinned to the right edge of Google Docs. The whole loop fits inside a normal writing session: write, pause, questions appear, respond, get a suggested revision, decide.
How it works
You write. Open any Google Doc and start drafting. Writing Probe stays in the background
You pause. After a short pause, and only once there's enough text for context, it analyzes your recent writing.
Questions appear. A sidebar opens with short, direct probe questions. Each one points at a specific passage where the reasoning needs to be clearer or better supported.
Passages are highlighted. The relevant passages are marked with a subtle amber underline.
You respond. Type your answer in the sidebar in response
A revision is suggested. It uses your answer to generate a revised version of the highlighted passage that incorporates your clarified thinking.
You decide. Click Copy & Paste to move the revision into your document, or dismiss it and revise the passage yourself.
What the questions feel like
Short and direct, written to sound like a reader pushing back rather than a classroom prompt.
“You say this happens often, what evidence shows it is common?”
“What does better mean here: better for whom, and by what measure?”
“This assumes readers already accept your premise. What if they don't?”
“You've made three claims in a row. Which one actually matters most?”
Under the hood
Smart triggering
Waits for a 2.5-second pause, requires at least 25 new words since the last call, and stays dormant until the doc has 50+ words of context.
Inline passage highlighting
Each question is tied to its passage with a light amber underline. Only one set of highlights is active at a time, so old ones clear automatically when new probes appear.
Multiple probes per pass
Each analysis pass can surface questions across several paragraphs at once, so you work through a small set at your own pace instead of one question at a time.
No re-surfacing old questions
It tracks which paragraphs it has already probed this session and won't keep asking about the same passage. Once your paragraphs are cycled through, it resets and starts fresh.
High-quality revisions
After you answer, it rewrites the highlighted passage to reflect your clarified thinking while matching your existing tone and style.
What it's not
It does not check grammar, write for you, or enforce a certain style.
Probe modes
v2 lets you choose how the questions are framed, depending on what you are working on. A Cloudflare Worker holds the key server-side, so you get a monthly usage allowance instead of an API key to paste in.
What v1 shipped with
A sidebar of up to six question cards per pass, amber underlines tying each question to its exact passage, a suggested revision after every response, nothing to set up beyond installing it, and a monthly usage allowance that resets on its own.
Biggest v1 blocker
Before the extension could read anything, first-time users had to flip on an obscure Google Docs setting buried in the menus.
v2 fix
v2 removes the step completely. The tool works the moment it installs and users don't have to configure anything.
Accept-flow friction
After accepting a suggestion, users still had to hunt through the document to find the passage they were replacing.
v2 fix
v2 scrolls straight to it and pulses the amber highlight so you land on the right spot.