A system, method and computer program product for cognitive copy and paste. The method includes: receiving, at a hardware processor of a computer system, an input representing a selection of a content captured from a source application program, and receiving an input representing an identified target application program that will receive the selected content to be copied and rendered in the target application program. The selected content is analyzed to determine a context for the selected content; and a rendering of the selected content at a location within the destination application based on the determined context, the rendering achieving a best representation of the selected content on the destination application. The analyzing includes invoking a natural language processor to determine an intent, meaning, or an intended use of the selected content based on the determined context, and employs a support vector machine for determining a best format change when rendering.