How to Create Custom AI Actions in KeyShift AI

One of KeyShift AI's most powerful features is custom actions — your own AI actions with personalized prompts, each of which can have its own keyboard shortcut.

What Are Custom Actions?

By default, KeyShift AI includes actions like fix grammar, translate, summarize, professional tone, email writing, code generation, and more. Custom actions let you go beyond these defaults and create any text transformation you can describe.

Custom actions are available on Pro and Lifetime plans.

Creating Your First Custom Action

1. Open the KeyShift app and go to the Actions tab (or open Shortcuts in your web Dashboard)
2. Click New action
3. Give it a name and write your prompt
4. Optional: give it a hotkey under Settings → Shortcuts

That's all it takes. Actions made in the dashboard sync to the desktop app within seconds.

Keyboard shortcut

Gmail — New Message

Thank you for the proposal. I think we should move forward with the Q2 timeline.

Ctrl+Shift+A

More walkthroughs: keyshift.ai/guide.

Writing Great Prompts

The quality of your custom action depends on the prompt. Here are some tips:

Be specific — Instead of "improve this text," try "rewrite this text to be more concise, removing filler words while keeping the main message intact."

Set the context — If your mode is for a specific use case, say so: "You are reviewing a customer support email. Make it empathetic, solution-oriented, and professional."

Define the output format — Want bullet points? A specific length? Say it: "Summarize this in exactly 3 bullet points, each under 20 words."

Example Custom Actions

Here are some ideas to get you started:

For Writers

• Headline Generator — "Generate 5 alternative headlines for this article text. Make them engaging and SEO-friendly."
• Passive to Active — "Rewrite this text to use active voice instead of passive voice."

For Developers

• Explain Code — "Explain what this code does in plain English, suitable for a junior developer."
• Add Comments — "Add clear, concise inline comments to this code explaining the logic."

For Students

• Study Notes — "Convert this text into organized study notes with key terms bolded and concepts grouped by topic."
• ELI5 — "Explain this concept in simple terms as if explaining to a 5-year-old."

For Business

• Action Items — "Extract all action items and deadlines from this text and list them as a checklist."
• Executive Summary — "Write a 2-3 sentence executive summary of this content for a C-level audience."

Using Custom Actions Everywhere

Once created, your custom actions appear in:

• Launcher (Ctrl+Shift+Space) — search and run any action
• Quick Actions window — browse and pick from all available actions
• Keyboard shortcuts — trigger instantly with your assigned hotkey
• Clipboard history panel — pick any clipboard item and apply an action

Tips for Power Users

• Combine with the keyshift trigger — Type keyshift and describe what you want in plain words; the same prompts work there
• Use with workflows — Custom actions work inside multi-step workflows like Meeting Notes and Content Repurpose
• Edit anytime — Update your prompts from the dashboard whenever you want to refine the output

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Custom actions are what make KeyShift AI truly yours. Experiment with different prompts and find what works best for your daily tasks.