«Count what can be counted»: a helper for the client brief

The «Count what can be counted» helper reads the client brief, PDFs and project renders and counts everything given in numbers, with the same calculators and the studio price list. With the «Studio products» key it matches the brief's items with products of your library, fills in sizes with a quote and page and asks only for what is missing. It does not write the estimate for you: it does not invent sizes or name prices. Only what you select goes into the estimate. Available in beta to everyone, no invitation needed.

Learn more: Help · Features.

Reviewed: 2026-10-19

How to use it

In the «Estimate» tool of an order, click «Count what can be counted» in the «Calculate and add» block. From the «Calculator» tool, the helper opens with the «Count what can be counted» button in the «Did the client send a whole brief?» bar.
In the «What the client sent» field, paste the brief text or the sizes you copied out of a DWG: zones, materials, sizes. Up to 20,000 characters fit.
In «Project files», select PDFs and images with renders and plans, or click «Upload file». For a PDF, click «Choose pages» and select the pages with renders and plans: we read them as images, and the PDF text is read in full.
Click «Read the brief». A reading usually takes 30–90 seconds, and you can close the window: the reading continues.
The helper sorts the items by the zones of the brief. «Counted» means the rows are ready. «Sizes needed» means numbers are missing: click «Enter sizes» and type them in. «Count by hand» means the calculator cannot handle this item.
Select the items you need and click «Add selected to the estimate». Fine-tune the details and prices right in the estimate rows.
The questions for the client that the helper found are collected under the zones and in the «Questions and notes» block.

Studio products in a reading

With the «Studio products» key the helper gets the list of your library's products (your published ones and AURA's examples) and matches the brief's items with them: a bar counter, a podium, a backdrop, an arch, steps.
A product item shows «Studio product», where it came from («picked by the helper» or «found by its name») and the sizes from the brief with their quote and place: «Length 3000 mm, «bar counter 3000×1100 mm», Brief.pdf, p. 1».
What the brief does not say, the helper asks: «To clarify: Depth: usually 600 mm». Click «Enter what is missing», check the value and click «Count with these values». «All parameters» opens the product's other parameters.
If the helper picked the wrong one, choose a product in the «Another product» list. An item without a product has «Count as a studio product».
Select the item and click «Add selected to the estimate»: the product goes in as one product row with its own calculation, as from the calculator.

The helper fills in only the numbers it found in the text of the brief: each has its quote and page. A number the text does not have is not filled in and is listed in «Not found in the brief text».
A number is filled in only when the brief writes the same unit next to it (in the quote or right after it): «3.6 m long» becomes 3600 mm, never 3.6 mm, and «length 360 cm» becomes 3600 mm even when the helper quoted only «length 360». A number without a unit counts as a size only when it reads as millimetres (100 or more), and a lone number such as «1.5» with no words is not a quote.
An option (covering, finish) and a flag (lighting) are filled in only when the quote names them. Otherwise they are marked «not stated outright in the brief, confirm it».
Sizes like «4000×2000×600 mm» are laid out in the order the product writes its sizes in the estimate (for a podium length × depth × height). If the product has no such order or the brief gives another count of numbers, the sizes are not filled in: the helper shows what the brief says and asks you to enter them.
The quantity of a product row is taken from the brief only in pieces or sets: «2 pcs» give two counters, while «18 m²» of a podium give one podium for the whole area.
A size read on a picture is marked «from a picture, confirm it»: the product is not counted until you confirm it.
If a rule of the product does not let it be counted (for example, steps higher than 1500 mm), the item goes into the estimate as a «count by hand» row with the reason.
The questions the helper found for a product («Facade film colour?») go to «Questions to the client» of a new quote once the product is in the estimate.

Sizes from the floor plan and an estimate draft for production

In a Design project open «Send to production» and press «Estimate draft for production». AURA opens the assistant in the estimate of the project's latest order, and creates the order if there is none yet. The «Send to production» window of the project estimate has a tick for the same, «Draft the estimate with the assistant right away».
The «Floor plan» block has «Sizes from the floor plan: N objects» ticked. The assistant gets the installations, stages, trusses and the walls you named yourself, with the width, depth and height as drawn on the plan. Tables and chairs are not included: «Add to the estimate» of the floor plan adds them.
If the project has a description, it is already in the «What the client sent» field. Otherwise press «Insert the project's description» and add to the brief: materials, finishes, what matters to the client.
Press «Read the brief». The assistant sorts the positions into the calculators and takes the materials and prices from your studio's norms and price list. Check the positions and press «Add the chosen to the estimate».

The sizes come from the plan, not from a picture. A height the plan does not give is not invented: the assistant asks about it. If the plan has no installations or stages with sizes, draw them on the project's floor plan.
This is a draft. Everything the assistant assumed is marked: «not found in the text», «Sizes needed», «Count by hand». A person confirms the composition, the sizes and the prices.
Reading the brief with the floor plan costs the same as an ordinary reading and counts toward the same daily limit.

Limits

A single reading takes no more than 12 images. For a PDF without selected pages, the first 8 pages are taken as images.
No more than 10 readings a day; how many are left is shown at the bottom of the window.
One reading of the brief costs 2 pendants if your wallet is on; the price is shown above the «Read the brief» button. The project owner pays, and if the reading fails, the charge is returned. Entering sizes, «Specify», changing the product and recounting are free.
Numbers the helper did not find in the brief text are marked «not found in the text». Such an item is not counted until you confirm the numbers in its form.
If it says «The helper is unavailable», the estimate calculators work as usual: count the items with them.

Good to know

The numbers are calculated by a formula, not by a neural network: the helper only finds the sizes and picks a calculator, while the totals are calculated by the estimate calculators and the decor calculator using the studio price list.
The helper reads text and files as data, not as commands.
Until you click «Add selected to the estimate», nothing changes in the estimate. Adding again updates the same rows («Already in the estimate: adding updates the row»).
Helper rows in the estimate are marked «Assistant» in the «Source» column.
«New reading» starts the reading over; the previous result stays in the estimate if you have already added it.
«Do it for me» (a beta by invitation, the button next to «Load from Excel» in the order's estimate) runs this same reading herself: AURA reads the brief, asks about items without sizes and adds the counted rows to the estimate herself, deleting nothing. The reading costs the same 2 pendants, AURA's work 3 more.

Frequently asked questions

Did the helper get a size wrong? Expand the item, click «Specify» and correct the numbers: the rows are recalculated by the formula.
Can I upload a DWG? No. Copy the sizes from the DWG into the text field or attach a PDF of the drawing.
Is this the same AI helper that suggests tasks in «Documents»? No. «Count what can be counted» works only with the estimate and does nothing with tasks.
How does the helper count drapery? Like the «Calculator»: for a wall only. A ceiling drapery goes to «Count by hand». The «Drapery fabric» row stays «no price» until you click «Specify» and enter the «Fabric cost» per running metre.
Why did the helper not fill in the depth if it is «usually 600»? The usual value comes from your product, not from the brief. The helper shows it and asks, and counts only after you confirm it.

Brief analysis from the phone

In a production order or its estimate, tap «Count what can be counted». Add text, PDFs and photos through files, the gallery or the camera. For a PDF, check the selected pages. An empty selection means the first eight pages.

Check the cost before starting. The app saves the request number and, if the connection is lost, first checks its outcome. Closing the screen does not stop the processing on the server.

In the finished analysis, choose the items. Check the sizes found, the source and the parameters; confirm the corrected values separately. Recalculation shows a preview without writing to the estimate. Adding the chosen lines is done after confirmation.

The assistant extracts items from the brief. The production calculators count with the numbers you enter yourself. Incomplete and manual items may be left without a cost price.