Reading a page and understanding it are not the same thing. You can reach the end of a section, feel like it went in, and still be unable to say what it was about. When you are studying, that gap is the whole problem.
FocusFlow v2.11.0 adds three Pro AI tools built for that gap — Words to know, Simplify this section and Check my understanding. They live in Reader Mode's Insights panel, right next to the section you are reading, and Check my understanding works on any page too.
🔤 Before You Read: Words to Know
Words to know picks up to 10 hard words from the section you are reading and gives you a plain-language definition of each — so the vocabulary is out of the way before you start.
- The picking happens on your device. When you press the button, only those single words are sent for a definition, one at a time — never the section's text.
- Definitions appear as each one lands. If you reach your AI limit partway through, it stops and shows the words it already defined.
- The list isn't saved. It goes away when you hide it, move to another section or close the reader.
When to use it: a textbook chapter, a technical article, or anything in a field where the terms are the hard part.
🪄 When It Doesn't Land: Simplify This Section
Simplify this section rewrites the whole section you are reading in short, simple sentences — and puts the plainer version in place of the section on your screen, so you keep reading in the same spot.
- The rewrite is labelled "Simplified by AI", so you always know which text you are looking at.
- Choose Show original to switch back. The original also comes back when you move to another section or close the reader.
- If the section is very long, only its first part is simplified, and the reader tells you so.
- Exports still save the original text.
When to use it: you've read the paragraph twice and it still hasn't landed. Simplify it, get the idea, then go back to the original with the idea in hand.
✅ After You Read: Check My Understanding
Check my understanding asks you a few multiple-choice questions about what you just read — the quickest way to find out whether it really went in.
- Press Check my understanding.
- Answer the questions one at a time (the counter shows where you are, for example Question 1 of 5) and press Check answer.
- Each answer shows whether you got it right and the passage from the text that supports it, so a wrong answer points you straight back to the part to re-read.
- At the end you see your score, such as 4 of 5 correct.
You can run it in two places:
- In Reader Mode — from the Insights panel, on the section you are reading.
- On any page — open Advanced Settings → AI Tools tab → Check my understanding. It uses your selection, or the whole page when nothing is selected.
Your answers stay on your device. They are checked in your browser, are never sent anywhere, and nothing about them — not even your score — is saved.
📚 Putting Them Together
The three tools fit the way a study session already runs:
- Words to know before you start the section.
- Read it. Reach for Simplify this section if a passage won't come clear.
- Check my understanding when you reach the end — and re-read the passages behind any questions you missed.
You can use any one of them on its own; nothing requires the others.
🎟️ What They Cost
All three are part of FocusFlow Pro and use your monthly AI credits — 1,000 per month, at 1 credit per 1,000 bytes of text sent (about 1,000 characters of English), minimum 1:
- Words to know — each word is a definition: free when the built-in dictionary knows it, 1 credit when it doesn't. Up to 10 words per press.
- Simplify this section and Check my understanding — priced by the length of the text sent, up to 20,000 bytes.
- Repeating the same request within 30 days uses a cached answer and is free.
The AI Reading Assistant page has the full cost table.
🔒 What Each Tool Sends
- Words to know — single words, never the text.
- Simplify this section — the whole text of the section you are reading, once per press. The button says so.
- Check my understanding — in Reader Mode, the whole text of the section; on any page, your selection or the article text. Never your answers.
Nothing is sent until you press a button. The privacy policy says exactly what each tool sends.
Related Reading
- FocusFlow's AI Reading Tools: Summarize, Simplify, Define, Check My Understanding & More — every AI tool, on any page.
- FocusFlow v2.11.0: PDF Export, Page Dark Mode & Smarter AI Tools — everything else in this release.
Try It Today
Words to know, Simplify this section and Check my understanding are part of FocusFlow Pro, which works in Chrome and desktop Firefox — not yet in Edge or Firefox for Android. Step-by-step help lives in How to Use → New AI Tools.
Install FocusFlow Free on Chrome
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Check my understanding do?
It asks you a few multiple-choice questions about the text, one at a time. Each answer shows the passage from the text that supports it, and you see your score at the end. In Reader Mode it uses the section you are reading; on any page, your selection or the whole page.
Are my quiz answers sent anywhere?
No. Your answers, and your score, are checked on your device, are never sent anywhere and are not saved. Only the text the questions are about is sent.
What does Words to know send?
Words to know picks up to 10 hard words from the section on your device, then sends only those single words for definitions, one at a time. It never sends the section's text.
Does Simplify this section change the page for good?
No. The plainer version replaces the section on your screen, labelled Simplified by AI, until you choose Show original, move to another section or close the reader. Exports still save the original text.
How many credits do the study tools use?
Words to know costs nothing for words the built-in dictionary knows and 1 credit for each word it does not, up to 10 words. Simplify this section and Check my understanding cost 1 credit per 1,000 bytes of the text sent, up to 20,000 bytes. Repeating a request within 30 days is free.
Which browsers support the study tools?
They are part of FocusFlow Pro. FocusFlow Pro works in the FocusFlow extension for Chrome and desktop Firefox. It is not yet available in Edge or in Firefox for Android.