The idea
Set a target word count for your document, say 3,000 words, and see how close you are as you write, without breaking your train of thought.
Why it matters
Almost every academic assignment has a word limit. Knowing where you stand without manually checking is a small but real quality-of-life improvement. It's the kind of ambient awareness that helps you pace your writing: you can see at a glance whether you're at 40% or 90%.
Where we are
This feature shipped. Choose Goals in the editor's top bar and set a Word count target (and, if you have one, a Deadline). The status bar at the bottom of the screen then shows your count against the target, for example "2,812 / 3,000 words", with a thin progress bar that turns green when you reach it. The target is saved with the document. Targets for individual sections aren't available.