Screen-Aware AI Assistant
On-screen AI guidance grounded in what you're looking at right now. Not what you can remember to describe in a chat box.
Reviewed July 21, 2026. GuideLayer publishes this page; we mark our own product clearly and stick to facts we can re-check on each vendor's site.
Describing a UI from memory is lossy. You forget a menu name, misremember where the toggle moved, or spend three sentences on layout when the assistant just needs to see the button.
Screen-aware AI closes that gap: the model gets context from what's visible, not from your reconstruction of it, the core idea behind AI that can see your screen.
GuideLayer captures on demand, reads the accessibility tree, and lifts the exact element with a Focus Lift and a Margin Cue. Not approximate coordinates, and not just a description you have to double-check yourself. See our AI assistant for Mac pillar for the full product stack.
What actually works
Accessibility-tree targeting
Focus Lift lands on the element node, not a guessed pixel region. If the button moved, it finds it again.
On-demand capture
ScreenCaptureKit snapshots when you trigger a question. Not continuous recording.
Works on any Mac app
Native apps, browser tabs, Electron tools. Not locked to one SaaS product's DOM.
Result Packets over your workflow
Answers float above the app you're in as a Result Packet, result, evidence, and an undo when it's real. No full-screen takeover.
Workflow examples
Find a buried setting
System Settings moved the pane again. You know what you want, not where it lives.
- 01Open Settings. Ask GuideLayer how to change the setting.
- 02Screen context goes to the model. Focus Lift lands on the control.
- 03Follow through without reading a 12-step help article.
Unfamiliar admin panel
Client's dashboard, vendor portal, internal tool. Docs don't match this instance.
- 01Ask about what's on screen: "where do I export users?"
- 02GuideLayer reads the live UI and lifts the export button.
- 03Save the walkthrough if you'll need the same path again.
Cross-app workflow
Task starts in Mail, finishes in Preview, sends through a web portal.
- 01GuideLayer follows across apps as you switch.
- 02Each step grounded in the current window.
- 03Voice keeps your hands on the trackpad.
Screen-aware AI is only useful if the pointing is accurate and the result gets checked. Approximate regions and unverified "done" messages are just a slower way to guess, compare GuideLayer vs Cortiq for another screen-overlay approach.
Related guides
Try GuideLayer on your Mac
Stuck in an app? Download for Apple Silicon. GuideLayer points to the control you need. Connect the AI you already use.