Q&A Session

Q&A Sessions let you have a conversation with AI about your note's content. Ask questions, get explanations and explore deeper, like a tutor that has read your study material.

What is Q&A Session?

Q&A Session is an AI chat focused on your specific note. Unlike general AI chatbots, this AI:

• Knows your note: your whole note is sent along with each question
• Stays on your material: answers are based on your note, and unrelated questions are politely steered back to it
• Remembers the conversation: follow-up questions take your earlier questions and answers in that chat into account
• Explains simply: answers use plain language, analogies and short paragraphs

It is a good fit for the "fill the gaps" phase of the Feynman Technique.

Starting a Q&A Session

A new chat always starts empty. Pippy greets you (if Pippy is turned on in Settings), and three quick prompts are ready to tap: "Can you summarize this?", "What are the key concepts?" and "Explain this in simple terms".

Asking Great Questions

The quality of answers depends on the quality of questions. Here's how to ask effectively:

Question Types That Work Well

Clarification Questions:

• "What does [term] mean in this context?"
• "Can you explain [concept] more simply?"
• "I don't understand the part about [topic]. Can you rephrase it?"

Why/How Questions:

• "Why does [phenomenon] happen?"
• "How does [process] work step-by-step?"
• "What causes [event/result]?"

Application Questions:

• "Can you give me a real-world example of [concept]?"
• "How would I use [concept] in [situation]?"
• "What's a practical application of [theory]?"

Connection Questions:

• "How is [concept A] related to [concept B]?"
• "What's the difference between [X] and [Y]?"
• "How does [topic] fit into the bigger picture?"

Example Questions:

• "Can you show me an example problem using [formula]?"
• "What's an example of [concept] in history/literature/nature?"
• "Walk me through a specific case of [process]."

Analogy Questions:

• "Can you explain [complex topic] using an analogy?"
• "What's [concept] similar to that I might already understand?"
• "How is [topic] like [familiar thing]?"

Question Structures to Avoid

Too vague:

• ❌ "Tell me about this note"
• ✅ "What are the three main concepts in this note?"

Too broad:

• ❌ "Explain everything"
• ✅ "Explain the relationship between photosynthesis and cellular respiration"

Yes/No (without follow-up):

• ❌ "Is photosynthesis important?"
• ✅ "Why is photosynthesis important for life on Earth?"

Outside the note's scope:

• ❌ "What's the capital of France?" (unless your note is about France)
• ✅ Questions about content actually in your note

Using Q&A Effectively

Strategy 1: Fill Flashcard Gaps

When you keep getting flashcards wrong:

Strategy 2: Explore Quiz Mistakes

When you get quiz questions wrong:

Strategy 3: Exam Preparation

Preparing for tests:

Strategy 4: Deep Understanding

When you want to truly master something:

Multi-Turn Conversations

Don't treat Q&A like a search engine, have a conversation. Within one chat, each follow-up builds on the earlier answers:

• "How does photosynthesis work?"
• "What role does chlorophyll play specifically?"
• "Can you give me an analogy for how chlorophyll captures light?"
• "So if I understand correctly, chlorophyll is like a solar panel for the plant?"

You can also check your understanding by explaining a concept back in your own words and asking whether you got it right. Answers are kept short and clear, so for a big topic ask one part at a time. Asking for a table or a list is fine, but very long outputs are not guaranteed.

The Answer Layout

Each answer appears as a card:

• Teaching Moment: the explanation itself, with formatting such as bold text, lists and tables where useful
• Key Takeaways: a short box of the main points
• Save to Personal Notes: a button under the answer that saves it as a typed personal note titled with your question. If you tap it again, it tells you the answer is "Already saved".

You can select and copy the text of any answer by long-pressing it.

While the AI works, you see a short "thinking" message. If an answer fails, you see "Couldn't generate an answer." with a Retry button.

Answers do not include references to sections of your note, so check anything important against the Reading tab.

Past Chats

Every chat is saved as a session under your note, titled with its first question.

• The page always opens on a blank chat. It does not reopen your last conversation on its own.
• To go back to an old conversation, tap the Past chats chip at the top of the screen (or "Continue from existing session" on a blank chat). The list is called All Sessions.
• Tap a session to load its messages and carry on from there.
• Tap the bin icon on a session to delete it (you are asked to confirm).

To start fresh on a topic, just leave and reopen Q&A, then ask a new question.

Common Q&A Use Cases

• Understanding terminology: "What do these terms mean: [list of unfamiliar terms from the note]?" Get oriented before you read.
• Breaking down difficult sections: "The section about [topic] is confusing. Can you break it down more simply?"
• Connecting to prior knowledge: "How does [new concept] relate to [something you already understand]?"
• Summarising: "Summarise the key points from the section on [topic] in 3 sentences."
• Practice: "Ask me a question about [concept]" and answer it in your own words. Answers are short, so ask for one question at a time rather than a full problem set.

Tips for Effective Q&A

Limitations

What Q&A can do

• Explain concepts from your note
• Give examples and analogies
• Answer clarifying questions
• Break down complex ideas and connect related concepts
• Summarise sections

What Q&A cannot do

• Answer questions that are outside your note (it steers you back to the note)
• Update or edit your note
• Cite sections of your note
• Guarantee 100% factual accuracy

When to use Q&A vs other tools

Use Q&A when you need clarification, examples, analogies or connections.

Use Flashcards when you need to memorise facts and test quick recall.

Use Quizzes when you want to test yourself across the whole note and find gaps.

Use Mind Map when you want to see the structure and the big picture.

Each tool has its place, so combine them for best results.

What's Next?

Explore other study tools:

• Visualize with Mind Maps →
• Navigate the study interface →

Or continue your learning journey:

• Master flashcard study →
• Generate and take quizzes →