Create a guide with a simplified editor (beta)

Last updated: October 13, 2026 17:08

The "Edit in Pendo" option is a simplified guide editor for creating and updating overlay and embedded guides for web, and announcements for mobile, without opening the Visual Design Studio. Add and edit guide content, manage steps, update themes, and preview your guide directly in the editor.

If your subscription has AI guide creation turned on, an AI assistant is also available in Edit in Pendo. You can describe what you want to communicate, and the assistant generates or refines guide content that you review before saving. The AI assistant doesn't access your application or visitor data. For more about our security and privacy practices, see Artificial intelligence (AI) at Pendo.

For advanced guide settings, such as styling, activation, targeting, or element placement, you'll still need to open the guide in the Visual Design Studio by selecting Edit in my app from the guide's details page.

Requirements

To create or edit guides in Edit in Pendo, you must:

Access Pendo through our US or EU environment (app.pendo.io or app.eu.pendo.io is where you sign in).
Be assigned the Guide Creator or Guide Content Editor role.

To use the AI assistant in Edit in Pendo, you must also:

Have Guides Pro included in your Pendo plan.
Have the AI guide creation subscription setting turned on. A subscription admin can manage this setting in Settings > Subscription settings > AI access. For more information, see Subscription settings.

Create a new guide

To create a guide in Edit in Pendo:

From the left menu, go to Guides > Guides.
Select Create guide.
Choose the Application and, optionally, a category to help with organization.
Choose a guide type: Overlay or Embedded.
Choose a starting option based on your guide type:
- Overlay guides. Choose from three options:
  - Start with a prompt. (Requires AI guide creation.) Describe what you want then select Create guide. The AI assistant drafts the best structure for you.
  - Walkthrough. Hover over this option and Select layout. This is best for multi-step experiences that help complete a task (web only).
  - Announcement. Hover over this option and Select layout. This is best for a one-time message such as a product update, reminder, or alert.
- Embedded guides. Choose from two options:
  - Start with a prompt. (Requires AI guide creation.) Describe what you want the banner to communicate, then select Create guide.
  - Embedded banner. Under Start with a layout, hover over Embedded banner and select Select layout.
- All of these options open a two-panel view for you to edit the content in your guide.
When you're finished, select Save guide in the top-right corner. This takes you to the guide's details page, where you can open it in the Visual Design Studio for settings that aren't available in the simplified editor. For more information using the Visual Design Studio to create a guide, see Create an overlay guide or Create an embedded guide.

Edit guide content

Whether you're creating a new guide or editing an existing one, you can update content directly in the preview panel.

In the preview, you can:

Edit text and button content. Select the text directly in the guide and make your edits.
Add, move, and delete blocks. Add text, buttons, images, videos, and code to a step, then arrange them. For details, see Add and arrange blocks.
Add a new step. Select Add step below a guide step, then apply a layout.
Duplicate or delete steps. Hover over a step and select the relevant icon.
Update the guide theme. Select the Theme dropdown from the top of the page.

When you're done, select Save guide in the top-right corner to apply your changes.

Add and arrange blocks

Blocks are the pieces of content in a guide step, such as text, buttons, and images. You can add blocks from the Building blocks panel or from the step toolbar, then move them, place buttons side by side, and delete them. Only the blocks that your guide type and app support are available.

To add a block, do one of the following:

Drag it from the Building blocks panel. Select Building blocks in the left navigation, then drag a block into the guide preview. A line shows where the block will be placed. You can also select a block in the panel to add it to the step shown at the top of the panel. To change that step, select a different step in the preview.
Add it from the step toolbar. Hover over a step, select the + icon, and then choose a block.

move block.gif

The available blocks are text (Title, Subtitle, Paragraph), buttons (Primary, Secondary, Tertiary), Image, Video, and Code. The new block is selected so you can edit it right away.

To move or delete a block, select it in the preview, then use the block toolbar:

Move up or Move down changes the block's position in the step.
Delete block removes the block. You can also press Delete or Backspace while the block is selected.

In web guides, you can place up to four buttons side by side in a row:

Add a button to a row. Drag a button from the Building blocks panel onto an existing button row. If the row already has four buttons, the button is added as a new row instead.
Reorder buttons in a row. Select a button, then select Move left in row or Move right in row. You can also use the arrow keys.
Move or align a whole row. Hover over the empty space in a row of two or more buttons and select it. Use the up and down arrows to move the row, or choose Left, Center, or Right in the panel on the left to align its buttons.

Edit an existing guide

From the left menu, go to Guides > Guides.
Select the guide you want to edit.
Select Edit in Pendo from the guide's details page.
Make your changes in the preview panel.
Select Save guide in the top-right corner. This takes you to the guide's details page, where you can open it in the Visual Design Studio for settings not available in the simplified editor.

Note: The Edit in Pendo option might be unavailable for specific guide types, such as cross-app guides, announcements in the Resource Center, or guides where you lack edit permissions. This also applies to guides in specific experiment states.

Use AI to create or edit guides

If you have Guides Pro with AI guide creation turned on, a chat panel appears on the left side of the editor. Use it to describe the guide you want to create or the changes you want to make.

When creating a guide with Start with a prompt, the AI assistant generates a draft and estimates how many steps to include. You can edit, add, or remove steps at any time.

You can select content directly in the preview to make inline changes, or use the chat to ask the AI assistant to:

Edit text blocks, images, and buttons.
Add, remove, or duplicate steps.
Switch between walkthrough and announcement formats (overlay guides only).
Adjust the tone: for example, make it more formal or concise.
Adjust the length: for example, make it longer or shorter.

When you're ready, select Save guide in the top-right corner.

AI beta limitations

The following actions aren't available in the conversational AI during the beta. The AI assistant will let you know if a request isn't supported. Use the Visual Design Studio to complete these tasks:

Add or edit polls
Adjust activation settings or step targeting
Create localizations
Limited element styling or positioning

Edit custom code blocks

If your guide includes custom code blocks, you can edit the code and preview changes in the two-panel view that opens when you select Edit in Pendo.

From the preview window on the right, select the code block <> to open the code editor. Three tabs appear in the left panel: HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.
Select a tab to make any edits to the code block.
Select Save guide to apply your changes.
Select the back icon next to Step 1: Edit your code to return to the guide preview.

Important: Guide content is public, so anyone can view what's in a code block. Don't include API keys, tokens, passwords, or other sensitive information.

Launch a live preview

While working in Edit in Pendo, you can launch a live preview to see your guide in the context of your application as you build. This lets you view your changes in real time so you can see how the guide will actually look.

Requirement: Live preview requires web SDK version 2.339.1 or later.

To launch a live preview:

In Edit in Pendo, select Preview in the toolbar.
Enter your application URL, then choose whether to open the guide preview in a new tab or a new window. If you open it in a new window, you can select a preset screen size, mobile or tablet, or enter custom dimensions, to see how your guide will display at that size.

Note: If your browser is in full screen, you won't be able to open the preview in a new window at your selected size. It will default to opening a new tab instead.
Select Launch Preview.
Your application opens with the guide displayed.

While the preview is active, the Preview button changes to Previewing, confirming that live preview is on. Closing the preview or ending the connection stops it automatically.