How to draft a protocol, timeline, flowchart and custom figures with AI

BioRender’s AI figure generation tools help you get to a first draft faster by turning simple text prompts into visual figures. The tools Generate Protocol, Generate Timeline, and Generate Flowchart output editable drafts populated with BioRender's trusted, scientifically accurate icons and text, taking you from a blank canvas to a first draft ready for your final edits. The Generate Custom Figure tool uses a text description or sample image to create a flat image, which is not yet editable in BioRender. The output generates a figure, all with the same look and feel as the rest of your BioRender figures.

For all tools, you can regenerate figures and iterate quickly. The Protocol, Timeline, and Flowchart tools will automatically surface related icons based on your prompt, which you can drag in to adjust your figure draft. Within the Generate Custom Figure tool, there is an option to modify the image with an additional round of prompting and regeneration before adding the final image to your canvas.  

What is a protocol figure?

A protocol figure (or visual protocol) is a step-by-step diagram that illustrates an experimental workflow using images and text. It turns a written protocol into a clear visual guide, making methods easier to understand, share, and reproduce.

How AI figure drafting works for Generate Protocol

What is a timeline figure?

A timeline figure is a diagram that shows events, milestones, or stages along a chronological axis arrow. In BioRender, timeline figures are commonly used to map study designs, experimental schedules, research phases, or project plans, highlighting sequence and duration at a glance.

How figure drafting works for Generate Timeline

What is a flowchart figure?

A flowchart figure is a diagram that maps a process or decision pathway using connected boxes, arrows, and labels. It breaks a sequence into clear, logical steps and can include simple decision points. In BioRender, flowchart figures are often used to illustrate scientific workflows, troubleshooting paths, analytical logic, SOPs, or high-level project steps.

How figure drafting works for Generate Flowchart

What is a custom figure?

A custom figure is an AI-generated single, flat image built from a text prompt or image reference. This tool is ideal when your needs go beyond the structured figure types and you want to generate any kind of scientific figure from scratch. Custom Figure Generation is available for Premium users on the new BioRender Canvas. Editable components (text, lines, arrows, shapes, and image components) are coming soon.

How to Generate a Custom Figure

Please note: These features are available for Premium users who have opted in to the new BioRender Canvas. Click here to learn more about opting in. 

Summary of figure generation tools

How AI figure drafting works for protocols, timelines and flowcharts

Generating your draft

1. Open your BioRender Canvas.
2. Click the AI button in the left toolbar.
3. Select one of the figure drafting tools: "Generate Protocol" or "Generate Timeline" or "Generate Flowchart".
4. Type a short text description of the steps in the process you’d like to illustrate.
5. Click the arrow to generate your draft.

The AI will:

• Analyze your prompt
• Generate a layout with accompanying text for each step
• Include icons to visualize each step (except for flowcharts)
• Run a search for relevant icons and templates to support or refine your visualization

How to prompt

For best results, consider including a title for your protocol, timeline, or flowchart and describe the steps using bullet points.

Even if you provide rough notes or high-level steps, the tool will expand your input into a text caption for each step, giving you a meaningful starting point to refine.

In addition to generating a draft for you, our tool will automatically run a search based on your figure prompt, surfacing related templates and icons you can quickly drag in to refine or adjust the output. 

Example prompt for AI Protocol Draft:

Produce a protocol for chemical bacterial transformation, with the following steps:

Step 1: Add plasmid to chemically competent bacteria cells on ice
Step 2: Transform bacteria via heatshock in waterbath
Step 3: Plate transformed bacteria on a petri dish with spreader
Step 4: Incubate plates overnight in incubator
Step 5: Pick successfully transformed colonies

Example prompt for AI Timeline Draft:

Create a clinical study design showing the following:

Step 1: patients undergo MRI images of tumor site
Step 2: tumor tissue samples are assessed under microscopy
Step 3: next-generation sequencing is performed for tissue samples on illumina platform
Step 4: data is fed into deep learning model
Step 5: development of personalized therapeutics

Example prompt for AI Flowchart Draft:

Flowchart generation supports multiple prompt types: process names, step lists, detailed descriptions, JSON/Mermaid notation. You can experiment with what works best for the flowchart you have in mind.

Example 1: Name of a well-known process

Make a flowchart of the scientific method and include a loop back when results don't support the hypothesis.

Example 2: Step-by-step list

Step 1: Ask a question
Step 2: Do background research 
Step 3: Construct a hypothesis 
Step 4: Test with an experiment 
Step 5: Analyze results and draw a conclusion 
Add a decision point labeled “Hypothesis supported?” 
From the decision: Yes → Report results No → Revise hypothesis and loop back to “Construct a hypothesis”

Example 3: Paragraph description

Make a simple flowchart that walks through the scientific method from top to bottom. Start with ‘Ask a question,’ then ‘Do background research,’ and ‘Construct a hypothesis.’ After that, show ‘Test with an experiment,’ followed by ‘Analyze results and draw conclusion.’ Include a decision diamond that asks ‘Hypothesis supported?’ If the answer is yes, the flow should go to ‘Report results.’ If the answer is no, it should go to ‘Revise hypothesis’ and loop back to the hypothesis step.

Example 4: Mermaid notation

flowchart TD 
A[Ask a question] --> B[Do background research] 
B --> C[Construct a hypothesis] 
C --> D[Test with an experiment] 
D --> E[Analyze results and draw conclusion] 
E --> F{Hypothesis supported?} 
F -->|Yes| G[Report results] 
F -->|No| H[Revise hypothesis] 
H --> C

All of these inputs will create a flowchart similar to this, fully editable in BioRender! 

Refining and editing your draft

Once your fully-editable AI-generated draft appears, you can:

• Edit the prompt and regenerate a new version.
• Make changes to the text or layout.
• Modify or replace any icon for easy adjustments.

Tip: To quickly and easily replace any icon in your BioRender figure, simply select the icon you want to replace, click the “Replace selected icons” tool, and choose a new icon from the search panel.

Please note: Our AI-powered figure drafts are created using BioRender’s scientifically accurate, peer-reviewed icons. While we aim to generate high-quality drafts, we strongly recommend reviewing and customizing your figures to ensure they’re accurate and tailored to your needs.

How Generate Custom Figure works

Generating your custom figure

1. Open your BioRender Canvas.
2. Click the AI button in the left toolbar.
3. Select Generate Custom Figure. 
4. Type or paste your description.
5. (Optional) Attach a reference image - useful if you're recreating an old figure or working from a reference photo.
6. Click the arrow to generate your draft - the tool will produce 3 preview options to choose from
7. Select the preview you want to move forward with.
8. (Optional) Use the Modify this image field to refine your selected figure with a follow-up prompt.
9. Click Add to Canvas when you're happy with the result. The figure added to canvas will be a single, flat image. Conversion to editable figure components is coming soon.

The Custom figure generator will:

• Generate 3 preview options based on your prompt
• Produce a clean, BioRender-style flat image
• Allow you to refine your selected figure using follow-up prompts before adding image to canvas

How to prompt

For best results, be specific about the key elements, layout, and relationships you'd like in your figure.

You can type a description of the figure you want, paste in text from a paper abstract or SOP, or attach a reference image or sketch to guide the output. Use the Modify image step to regenerate with adjustments rather than re-starting from scratch.

Example prompt for AI Custom Figure Draft:

Generate a clean scientific figure illustrating asymmetric division of a CD8+ T cell. A single naïve T cell divides into two daughter cells with distinct fates: one long-lived memory-like cell enriched in newly synthesized mitochondria (green), and one short-lived effector-like cell enriched in older mitochondria (red). Indicate that selective mitochondrial turnover contributes to this asymmetry. Include a small recycling or autophagy symbol near the dividing cell. Use a white background, minimal labels, and a simple legend.

Help us improve our AI figure generation tools

We’d love to hear from you! Your feedback helps us make the AI Figure Generator even better, whether something worked perfectly, missed the mark, or sparked an idea for improvement.

After generating a figure, you’ll see two ways to share feedback directly within the tool:

1. Give Feedback button
2. 👍 👎 icons just above your prompt

Clicking any of these opens a feedback window where you can tell us what went well and what could be improved. Not sure where to start? Here are a few helpful questions to guide your response:

• What worked well or felt especially useful?
• Was anything missing, confusing, or inaccurate?
• How satisfied were you with the result, on a scale of 1–10?
• What changes would you make to finalize the figure?
• Is there anything you wish this tool could do in the future?

Whether it’s a quick comment or detailed suggestions, every bit of input helps us improve the tool and shape its future based on your real-world needs.

Thank you for taking the time to help us build better tools for science communication!

Data Privacy

Before using the AI Generator, you will see a message outlining how your prompts and figures may be reviewed by the BioRender team to improve the tool. Our goal is to give you a great experience while always protecting the privacy and security of your data. Your data is never used to train our AI models and is not shared externally. Read more about it here.

Troubleshooting

Didn’t get the figure you expected?

If the generated figure doesn’t match your prompt, try the following:

• Use more specific or detailed language in your prompt
• Break complex workflows into smaller steps 
• Check if your request includes any unsupported elements or instructions, like anatomy diagrams or highly specialized illustrations

AI not showing in the editor?

• Make sure you’re using the new BioRender Canvas
• Make sure you’re using the latest version of Google Chrome
• Refresh your browser and clear your cache
• If you are part of an organization, contact your administrator to inquire whether your team should have access to AI tools
• If the issue persists, contact our Support team at support@biorender.com

Does the figure look incomplete or are there missing icons?

• Regenerate the figure using the original or a revised prompt
• Manually search for and insert missing icons from the icon library
• Use grouped elements to reorganize or adjust the layout for clarity

Prompt history not available?

The prompt composer only retains the most recent prompt during your active session. If you enter a new prompt, the previous one is replaced. Prompt history isn’t saved across sessions—navigating away from your canvas or closing it will clear the composer.

Frequently asked questions

Can I regenerate a figure without starting from scratch?

Yes. You can edit the original prompt and regenerate the figure as many times as needed. The system will provide updated versions based on your changes.

What kinds of figures are best supported by AI generation?

Currently, these tools work best for experimental protocols, chronological timelines, and simple flowcharts. Complex diagrams, like graphical abstracts or detailed anatomical visuals, are not yet supported.

Can I manually edit AI-generated figures?

Absolutely. Once the figure is added to your canvas, you can modify it like any other illustration: ungroup, resize, replace icons, update text or adjust the layout.

Related resources

• How to generate BioRender-like images from your uploads (BioRender Style)
• How to use the new BioRender canvas
• How to access and manage the AI Credits Add-On in BioRender
• BioRender Blog: BioRender and AI: Empowering Science Communication with AI

Need help?

1. Email: support@biorender.com
2. Live Chat: Available by clicking on the "Help" bubble in the app on the bottom right-hand corner.