---
title: "AI design"
description: "Build and restyle a widget by describing it in the editor's AI design chat."
---

**AI design** is the chat inside the widget editor where you describe the widget you want and it gets built for you. Instead of setting layout, colors, and spacing by hand, you write what you are after and then keep refining it in the same conversation.

It sits in the left rail of the '**Editor**' tab, marked '**AI design**'. Each generation costs 1 credit, and the counter in the top right of the editor shows what you have left.

## How to build a widget with AI design

:::steps
1. **Describe the widget.** Type what you want into '**Type your message...**'. If you are not sure how to start, pick one of the suggested prompts underneath the box.
![The Describe your perfect widget screen with the prompt box, the Sources and Enhance prompt buttons, and suggested prompts below](https://embedsocial.com/images/docs/ai-design/1-describe-your-perfect-widget.jpg)
2. **Enhance the prompt (optional, recommended).** Click '**Enhance prompt**' and your one-line idea is expanded into a detailed brief covering layout, header, animation, brand colors, and mobile behaviour. Edit it before generating.
![The Enhance prompt button expanding a short idea into a detailed multi-line brief](https://embedsocial.com/images/docs/ai-design/2-enhance-prompt.jpg)
3. **Choose which sources feed it.** Open the '**Sources**' dropdown and tick the accounts, hashtags, or pages whose posts should appear in the widget.
![The Sources dropdown open in the AI design chat with connected accounts listed as checkboxes](https://embedsocial.com/images/docs/ai-design/3-select-sources-in-chat.jpg)
![The AI design chat with the Sources dropdown at the bottom of the message box and the Connect your source banner above the preview](https://embedsocial.com/images/docs/ai-design/5-connect-your-source.jpg)
4. **Add a reference image (optional).** Use the image button next to '**Enhance prompt**' to upload a screenshot or brand visual, and the design is built to match it.
5. **Generate.** Click '**Generate**' to spend the credit and build the widget.
6. **Keep refining in chat.** After the first build, follow-up suggestions appear as chips ('**Add hover effects**', '**Change the color scheme**'). Click one, or type your own change, and the widget updates in the preview beside the chat.
![The finished widget in the preview with the follow-up suggestion chips under the AI design conversation](https://embedsocial.com/images/docs/ai-design/6-follow-up-suggestions.jpg)
:::

> Enhance prompt is worth the extra click. A short prompt leaves the layout, motion, and brand details to chance, and the expanded brief is editable, so you can strike anything you do not want before generating.

## Connecting a source to a generated widget

If you started from a template or generated before connecting anything, the preview fills with placeholder content and a banner reads '**This is a dummy source. Connect your source →**'. Click it to swap the placeholder for your own posts.

You can also add a source without leaving the chat: open '**Sources**', click '**Connect source**', then pick the platform.

![The Choose platform modal listing Instagram, Google, Trustpilot, TikTok, Threads, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, X, Pinterest, Vimeo, RSS Feed, Custom and Request source](https://embedsocial.com/images/docs/ai-design/4-choose-platform.jpg)

'**Custom**' covers content that does not come from a social platform, and '**Request source**' asks our team for a platform we do not integrate with yet. See [Source types](/docs/social-media-aggregator/source-types/) for what each platform pulls.

Ready to build one? [See what the AI widget builder can do](/ai-widget/) or [start your free trial](/admin/continue_plugin_purchase/socialfeed29/trial?continue_onboarding=ai_widget).

## FAQ

**Q: How many credits does a widget cost?**

Each generation costs 1 credit. The credit counter in the top right of the editor shows your remaining balance.

**Q: Do I have to write the prompt myself?**

No. Suggested prompts appear under the box on a new widget, and '**Enhance prompt**' turns a one-line idea into a full brief you can edit.

**Q: Can I change the widget after it is generated?**

Yes. Keep typing in the same chat, or click one of the follow-up suggestion chips. The preview updates as you go.

**Q: Why does my widget show posts that are not mine?**

It was generated from a template with placeholder content. Click '**Connect your source**' in the banner above the preview, or pick your accounts in the '**Sources**' dropdown.

**Q: Can I design from a screenshot instead of a description?**

Yes. Upload a reference image with the image button next to '**Enhance prompt**' and the design is matched to it.

## What's next

With the design settled, narrow which posts appear using [Filters](/docs/widgets/filters/), then set the display options in [Widget settings](/docs/widgets/widget-settings/).

> If you have any questions, click the bottom right chat icon to talk with our customer success team or send us an email at [support@embedsocial.com](mailto:support@embedsocial.com) We're here for you 🙏