Creating and Editing Content in the Modern Editor

Overview of the editor layout

When you open an email in the modern editor, the left-hand panel contains four key tabs accessible via icons:

• Create — Leverage Cici for generating and modifying email content and design 
• Build — Content blocks and row layouts to drag into your email
• Styles — Global style settings for typography, links, buttons, padding, and more
• Settings — Email-level settings including subject line, sender details, and preview text

The main canvas on the right is where your email takes shape. You can click into any element to edit it directly.

Generating content with Cici (Create tab)

The Create tab surfaces Cici, Workshop's built-in AI assistant, which can generate a complete email draft from a short description. To use Cici:

1. Select the Create tab (sparkle icon) in the left panel.
2. Type a prompt describing the email you want to create or the modifications you want added to your current email draft.

3. Cici will draft the full email or modifications directly in the editor. The more specific your prompt, the better the draft. Include details like tone, key topics, audience, and any data or quotes you want highlighted.
   
   

   You can continue refining by asking Cici follow-up questions in the prompt bar at the bottom of the Create panel. A Thought indicator shows when Cici is actively generating content. Suggested email types appear as shortcut chips below the prompt bar (Weekly newsletter, CEO update, IT update, Policy change, All hands recap). Selecting one helps Cici understand the context and produce more relevant output in the future.
    

Setting global styles (Styles tab)

The Styles tab lets you define the visual defaults for your entire email. Changes made here apply automatically to new blocks as you add them. Style categories include:

• Email background colors and width
• Text for headings (H1–H4) and paragraphs - if you plan to paste content from an external source into your email, selecting the ‘Apply style when pasting’ checkbox will ensure pasted content takes on your default style settings
• Link colors - if you plan to paste content from an external source into your email, selecting the ‘Apply style when pasting’ checkbox will ensure pasted content takes on your default style settings
• Button colors and formatting
• Padding configurations
• Divider configurations

Tip: Set your Styles before building out your email content. This ensures every block you add is already on-brand without needing manual adjustments.

Adding rows and content blocks (Build tab)

The Build tab is split into Rows and Content. 

Rows:

Rows define the structure of your email by creating columns that content blocks can be placed into. Use rows to build layouts such as two-column image and text sections, side-by-side buttons, or multi-column content.

How to use rows: Drag a row layout from the Rows tab into your email, then drag content blocks into each column. You can mix and match different row layouts throughout your email to create a more dynamic design.

Content:

Content blocks are the individual elements that make up your email and can be dragged and dropped anywhere within your layout.

• Heading – Add titles and section headers to organize your email.
• Paragraph – Add body text with support for rich text formatting, links, lists, and inline styling.
• Image – Upload an image or select one from your media library to add visual content.
• Button – Create a customizable call-to-action button that links readers to a webpage, form, or other destination.
• Divider – Insert a horizontal line to visually separate sections of your email.
• Spacer – Add adjustable white space between content blocks for improved layout and readability.
• Survey – Embed a Workshop survey directly into your email to collect employee feedback and measure engagement.
• Video – Link to a video and automatically generate a clickable thumbnail that directs recipients to watch it.

All content blocks can be dragged and dropped into your email, making it easy to build and rearrange your layout as you go.

Editing text with in-line AI tools

When you click into any text block, a floating toolbar appears above the selected text with formatting options. The AI Tools button in that toolbar gives you quick access to AI-powered edits without leaving the canvas.

To use in-line AI tools:

1. Click into a text block to select it.
2. Select AI Tools in the floating toolbar.
3. Choose from the available options such as rewrite, improve, shorten, or translate.
4. Review the suggested edit — it appears as a highlighted preview in your text.
5. Use the Tell AI what needs to be changed input to provide further instructions, or select Apply to accept, Try again to generate a new version, or Discard to revert to your original text.

Example: If you need your email body translated to Spanish for a global team, select the text, open AI Tools, and choose Translate. The translation appears as a preview that you can accept or refine before applying.

Personalizing with merge tags

Merge tags let you insert dynamic, recipient-specific values into your email — like a person's first name — so each employee receives a personalized version.

To insert a merge tag:

6. Click into a text block to place your cursor where you want the merge tag.
7. Select Merge tag in the text formatting toolbar (top right of the editor).
8. Choose the field you want to insert — for example, first_name or friend for a more casual tone.
9. The merge tag appears inline in your text (e.g., Hi | first_name (friend) |).

Merge tags are replaced with each recipient's actual data when the email is sent. If a value is unavailable for a particular recipient, a fallback (shown in parentheses) is used instead.

Tip: Common use cases include greeting lines ("Hi first_name"), manager shoutouts, or role-specific callouts. Keep fallback values friendly and neutral so the email still reads naturally if the personalization data is missing.