Working with an AI Copilot in a DAW

An AI copilot in a DAW is an assistant you can talk to that also operates the software: it can create tracks, write MIDI, add effects, adjust levels, generate audio and tell you what's in the project. Used well, it removes the tedious parts of production and lets you try ideas in seconds. Used badly, it makes a lot of changes you don't understand.

What it can do

SoundGen's assistant lives on the Agent page and as an "Ask AI" sidebar on other pages. In the Studio it can drive the transport, tracks, clips, MIDI, plugins, sends, automation, the mixer, tempo and markers, export and more. It can also measure the mix — render a section and report peak, true peak, loudness, stereo width and the energy in each frequency band — so a change can be checked in numbers rather than just asserted.

Studio actions need a project open; ask it to open or create one first.

Ask for outcomes, specifically

The assistant does best when you describe the result you want and give the details that matter:

• Vague: "Make it better."
• Better: "The vocal is getting lost in the chorus. Bring it forward without making it harsh."
• Vague: "Add drums."
• Better: "Add a four-on-the-floor house beat at the project tempo, 8 bars, with open hats on the off-beats."

Useful things to include:

• Which part: track names, sections ("the second chorus"), bar numbers.
• The goal: what problem you're solving or what feeling you want.
• Constraints: "keep the bass level where it is", "don't change the tempo", "only use the built-in instruments".

Review every change

Each action the assistant takes appears as a card showing what it did, with an Undo button. Low-risk edits run on their own; destructive ones ask you first. Get into the habit of:

1. Reading the cards. Know which tracks, effects and settings changed.
2. Listening. Play the affected section before and after. If the assistant made a mix change, ask it to measure the mix before and after so you can see what moved.
3. Undoing freely. Undo is the point of the cards. Try an idea, listen, keep it or throw it away.

Before a big pass — "do a full mix" — ask it to take a snapshot first, so a single revert gets you back.

Good tasks to hand over

• Setup: "Create a project at 128 BPM in F minor with tracks for kick, bass, chords and lead."
• Repetitive edits: "Duplicate this 8-bar pattern to fill the first verse." "Rename the tracks to match what they play."
• Starting points: "Add a gentle compressor to the vocal bus." "Write a bass line following these chords." You then adjust by ear.
• Questions about the project: "Which tracks are clipping?" "What's the integrated loudness of the master right now?"
• Learning: "Why does adding this reverb make the mix muddy?" Ask it to explain before it changes anything.

Keep your judgement in charge

• Your ears decide. The assistant measures and suggests; whether the song sounds right is your call.
• One change at a time when something matters. If you ask for five things at once and the result is worse, you won't know which one did it.
• Learn from what it does. Look at the settings it chose. Over time you'll recognise the moves and make them faster yourself.
• Stay specific about taste. "More aggressive" means different things in different genres. Say what you mean: "more distortion on the bass, louder snare, faster hi-hats".