Your community's AI assistant is an AI chatbot (sometimes called Ask AI) that answers your questions from the community's own content, such as its knowledge base and posts. Each answer shows its sources, so you can check them.
Who can do this: Signed-in members. · Where: Web and the Mateflow app for iOS and Android. · Plan: Available when your community's plan includes AI and the community has turned on the AI assistant. How many questions you can ask each day depends on your community's plan.
Open the AI assistant
- Web: click AI Assistant in the community's navigation.
- App: open the side menu and tap AI Assistant under Discover.
Your community can give the assistant its own name, picture, and greeting. If you don't see AI Assistant, your community hasn't turned it on.
Ask the AI assistant a question
- Start a new chat. On the web, you see a greeting such as "Hello there!" and "How can I help you today?". In the app, you see your community's greeting or "Ask anything about your community — top posts, who to follow, summaries, drafts…".
- Type your question in plain language and press Enter, or click or tap a suggested prompt if your community added some.
- While the assistant looks through the community's content, you see "Thinking…". The answer then appears as it's written.
To stop a long answer, click the stop button (Stop generating). On the web, a stopped answer is marked "Generation stopped before finishing — this answer is incomplete."
Jump to an earlier question in an AI chat
On a computer, a chat with three or more questions shows a short mark for each question along its right edge. The darker mark is the one you're reading. Point at the marks to list your questions, then click one to jump to it. With a keyboard, press Tab to reach the list, use the arrow keys, and press Esc to close it. The list isn't available on touch screens or in the app.
Choose where the AI assistant's answers come from
The source scope decides which content the assistant searches:
- Knowledge Base: answer using the knowledge base only (documents and pages your community added).
- Community: answer using community posts only.
- Hybrid: search across the knowledge base and community posts.
On the web, open the Source Scope menu under the message box. In the app, tap the pill above the message box to open Answer from. You only see the options your community offers. If there's only one, you can't change it. Each question counts the same, whichever scope you pick.
Check the AI assistant's sources
Answers include numbered markers, such as [1], that point to where the information came from. On the web, hover over a marker to preview the source. The Sources cards under the answer show each source's type, title, and a short summary. Click a card to read it in a side panel, then click Open Original Source to go to it. In the app, tap the sources box under the answer, then tap a source to open it.
On the web, a percentage next to the answer is the assistant's confidence score for that response.
Use an AI answer
- Copy copies the answer.
- Convert to post (web only) copies the answer and its sources and opens the post composer ("Draft copied — paste into the editor"). Paste, edit, and post.
Manage your AI chats
The assistant keeps your past chats (sessions) so you can come back to them.
- Web: the sidebar lists your chats under Pinned, Today, Yesterday, Last 7 days, and Earlier. Click New Chat to start over, or search with Search chats.... Open a chat's More (⋯) menu to Pin (up to 10 chats), Rename, Export as Markdown, Export as JSON, or Delete it. To delete several at once, click Select.
- App: the AI Assistant screen lists your chats. Tap the pencil icon to start a new chat. Long-press a chat, or tap More, to Rename, Pin, or Delete it.
Deleting a chat can't be undone.
Daily and community AI limits
Your community's plan can limit how many AI questions each member asks per day. The community as a whole can also have a monthly limit.
- Running low: the web shows "Quota running low - {remaining} remaining out of {limit}". The app shows how many AI messages you have left today.
- Your daily limit is used up: on the web, you see "You've reached today's AI limit. Resets on {date}.", and the message box shows AI quota exhausted.... In the app, you see "You've used up today's AI quota. It'll reset soon." and Daily AI limit reached. Try again after the limit resets.
- The community's monthly limit is used up: in the app, you see Community AI limit reached. On the web, you see Too Many Requests with "This site has used up its monthly AI quota." AI questions work again after the community's allowance resets.
- Sending too quickly: wait a moment and try again. The web shows Slow Down; the app shows Too many requests.
Only your community's admins can change these limits.
AI answers can be wrong
AI answers can be incomplete or wrong. On the web, the chat reminds you: "AI can make mistakes. Please verify important information." Check the sources before you rely on an answer, and ask your community's admins about anything important, such as billing or rules.
If the assistant can't find enough in the community's content, it says so instead of answering. If you see No content to answer from, the community hasn't given the assistant any content yet. Ask an admin.
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