AI Chat - Complete Guide
AI Chat is your intelligent assistant for querying and analyzing project data using natural language. Instead of navigating through multiple screens and reports, simply ask questions and get instant answers.
Getting Started with AI Chat
Accessing AI Chat
- Click the AI Chat icon in the left sidebar
- The chat interface opens with a fresh conversation
- Type your question in the message box and press Enter
Your First Query
Try asking something simple:
"Show me all active projects"
The AI will:
- Understand your request
- Query the appropriate data
- Return formatted results
- Provide context and insights
What Can AI Chat Do?
AI Chat can query and analyze data across your entire project management system. Here is a complete overview of everything you can ask about:
Project Queries
| Example Query | What It Does |
|---|---|
| "Show me all active projects" | Lists all projects with Active status |
| "What projects is John working on?" | Shows projects where John is a team member |
| "Give me details on project WIL1002" | Comprehensive project information |
| "Which projects are over budget?" | Identifies projects exceeding estimates |
| "List projects for ABC Electric" | Shows projects for a specific client |
| "Show me projects in Houston" | Location-based project filtering |
Timesheet and Labor Analysis
| Example Query | What It Does |
|---|---|
| "Show timesheets for this week" | Current week's time entries |
| "How many hours did the team log on project X?" | Total hours for a project |
| "What is Sarah's time breakdown this month?" | Employee time by category |
| "Show overtime hours for last pay period" | Overtime analysis |
| "Who worked on Saturday last week?" | Weekend work identification |
RFI Information
| Example Query | What It Does |
|---|---|
| "Show open RFIs for project Alpha" | Lists pending RFIs |
| "What RFIs are waiting for response?" | RFIs pending answers |
| "Give me RFI #123 details" | Full RFI information with history |
| "How many RFIs were submitted this month?" | RFI volume analysis |
Client and Company Data
| Example Query | What It Does |
|---|---|
| "Show me all active clients" | Lists current clients |
| "What projects does ABC Corp have?" | Client project portfolio |
| "Give me contact info for the Johnson account" | Client details |
Subcontractor Information
| Example Query | What It Does |
|---|---|
| "List all subcontractors on project X" | Project subcontractor roster |
| "What work has ABC Electrical done this month?" | Subcontractor work history |
| "Show subcontractor details for Smith Plumbing" | Full subcontractor profile |
| "Which subcontractors are most active?" | Subcontractor activity summary |
Materials and Supplies
| Example Query | What It Does |
|---|---|
| "What materials were ordered for Building C?" | Material orders for a project |
| "Show material costs this month" | Monthly material spending |
| "Give me a material summary for project X" | Aggregated material statistics |
| "Show material invoice details for last week" | Invoice-level detail |
Equipment and Rentals
| Example Query | What It Does |
|---|---|
| "What equipment is assigned to the Wilson job?" | Project equipment list |
| "Show active equipment rentals" | Current rental inventory |
| "What is our equipment usage this quarter?" | Utilization statistics |
| "Show the equipment schedule for next week" | Upcoming equipment assignments |
| "Give me an equipment summary" | Overall equipment statistics |
Expenses and Costs
| Example Query | What It Does |
|---|---|
| "What are the total expenses on the Morrison job?" | Project expense summary |
| "Show expenses by category for this month" | Categorized expense breakdown |
| "Compare budget vs actual for project X" | Financial variance analysis |
Per Diem, Mileage, and Travel
| Example Query | What It Does |
|---|---|
| "Show per diem for the Houston crew this week" | Per diem tracking |
| "How many miles did John log this month?" | Mileage records |
| "Show travel time for remote projects" | Travel time analysis |
| "What are our travel costs this quarter?" | Travel expense summary |
Field Reports
| Example Query | What It Does |
|---|---|
| "Show field reports for last week" | Recent field report list |
| "What did the team report on the Wilson job Monday?" | Specific field report details |
| "Are there any safety concerns in recent field reports?" | Safety-focused field report review |
Truck and Tool Tracking
| Example Query | What It Does |
|---|---|
| "What tools are checked out?" | Current tool assignments |
| "Show truck assignments for the field crews" | Truck allocation |
Web Search (Commercial AI Only)
When you need current, real-time information from the internet:
| Example Query | What It Does |
|---|---|
| "What are current copper wire prices?" | Searches for current pricing |
| "Look up the latest OSHA construction regulations" | Finds regulatory information |
| "Search for ABC Construction LLC in Dallas" | Business lookup |
| "What is the weather forecast for our Houston job site?" | Current weather information |
Note: Web search requires Brave Search to be configured and is only available in Commercial AI mode. See the Web Search Setup Guide for configuration instructions.
How AI Chat Works
Smart Query Understanding
AI Chat uses an intelligent matching system to understand what you are asking about. When you type a question:
- The system identifies which data areas are relevant to your query
- The right data tools are automatically selected
- Your project data is queried (read-only — AI Chat never modifies your data)
- Results are formatted and presented with context
This means you do not need to use any special syntax or commands — just ask naturally.
Multi-Step Reasoning (Agentic Mode)
When Agentic Mode is enabled in your AI settings, the AI can automatically chain multiple queries together to answer complex questions:
Example:
You ask: "Which Houston projects have the highest labor costs relative to their budget?"
The AI will automatically:
- Find all Houston projects
- Pull timesheet and labor data for each
- Compare against budget estimates
- Rank and present the analysis
This is especially powerful for comparative analysis, trend identification, and cross-project reporting.
Tip: Agentic mode can be enabled in Account Settings → AI Configuration → Agentic Mode. See the AI Setup and Configuration guide for details.
Follow-Up Questions
AI Chat remembers your conversation context, so you can ask follow-up questions naturally:
You: "Show me the Wilson Building project" AI: [Shows project details] You: "What about the timesheets?" AI: [Shows timesheets for Wilson Building — remembers the context] You: "Just the ones from last week" AI: [Filters to last week's timesheets for Wilson Building]
The AI uses your recent conversation to understand what "the timesheets" or "active ones" refers to, making the conversation feel natural.
Understanding AI Responses
Data Tables
When querying list data, AI Chat returns formatted tables:
| Project Number | Project Name | Status | Client |
|----------------|------------------|--------|----------|
| WIL1002 | Wilson Building | Active | ABC Corp |
| JON1005 | Jones Renovation | Active | XYZ Inc |
Detailed Reports
For single-item queries, you get comprehensive details:
## Project: WIL1002 - Wilson Building
**Status:** Active
**Client:** ABC Corporation
**Start Date:** January 15, 2026
### Team Members (5)
- Mike Johnson (Project Manager)
- Sarah Williams (Foreman)
...
### Recent Activity
- 12 timesheets submitted this week
- 3 RFIs pending response
Insights and Analysis
The AI provides context beyond raw data:
"Project WIL1002 shows 15% more labor hours than estimated. The majority of overage comes from electrical work. You may want to review the original scope and consider a change order."
Private AI vs Commercial AI
| Feature | Commercial AI | Private AI |
|---|---|---|
| Processing | Cloud AI providers | Managed AI gateway |
| Data Handling | Provider's standard security | Enhanced isolation |
| Web Search | Available (Brave Search) | Not available |
| Model Selection | Choose from multiple providers and models | Pre-configured model |
| Configuration | Manual API key setup | Automatically synced |
| Internet Required | Yes | Yes (managed connection) |
| Self-Hosted Option | Available via Custom/OpenAI-Compatible | N/A |
Web Search (Commercial AI Only)
When you need current information, AI Chat can search the web using Brave Search:
- Current material prices and market data
- Latest regulations and compliance updates
- Business and company lookups
- Industry news and developments
- Weather and local information
Private AI does not have web search access. This is by design to maintain data isolation. When using Private AI, web search queries will return a message explaining that web search is not available in Private AI mode.
Token Usage
What Are Tokens?
Tokens are the units AI models use to process text. Approximately:
- 1 token is about 4 characters in English
- 1 token is about 0.75 words
- A typical query uses 100-500 tokens
- A detailed response might use 1,000-4,000 tokens
Managing Token Usage
- Be concise: Shorter, specific queries use fewer tokens
- Start new chats: For unrelated topics, start a fresh conversation to avoid sending unnecessary context
- Adjust history: Reduce the "Max History Messages" setting if you want to limit context size
- Check your provider: Monitor usage through your AI provider's dashboard
Tip: Token usage affects your API costs for Commercial AI. Check your provider's pricing page for current rates.
Tips for Effective Queries
Be Specific
Less effective:
"Show me project info"
More effective:
"Show me the Wilson Building project including team members and recent timesheets"
Include Context
Less effective:
"What's the status?"
More effective:
"What's the status of RFI #45 on project WIL1002?"
Use Natural Language
You do not need special syntax. Just ask naturally:
- "How many hours did we work last week?"
- "Which projects are behind schedule?"
- "Give me everything on the Morrison job"
- "What materials have we ordered for Building C?"
- "Compare equipment costs across our active projects"
Ask for Analysis
AI Chat can do more than just return raw data. Ask for analysis:
- "Which projects are over budget and why?"
- "What are the labor cost trends this quarter?"
- "Summarize the status of all Houston projects"
- "Are there any RFIs that have been open for more than 30 days?"
Chat Management
Starting a New Chat
Click New Chat to start a fresh conversation. This clears the context and is recommended when switching to a completely different topic.
Chat History
Your conversations are automatically saved:
- Click the chat history panel to view past conversations
- Search through previous conversations by keyword
- Pin important chats to keep them at the top of your list
- Rename chats to give them descriptive titles
- Delete conversations you no longer need
Session Tips
- Each chat session maintains its own context and history
- Start a new chat when switching topics for best results
- Pinned chats are great for recurring queries you run regularly
- Use search to find past analyses and reports
Data Safety
AI Chat operates with important safety guardrails:
- Read-only access: AI Chat can only query and read your data — it cannot create, modify, or delete anything
- Data accuracy: The AI is specifically designed to only present data from your actual project records, never fabricated information
- Tenant isolation: Your data is completely isolated — the AI can only access your organization's data
- Honest responses: If the AI cannot find the data you requested, it will tell you clearly rather than guessing