AI Assistant Block – a chat on the dashboard¶
The AI Assistant Block puts an AI assistant into the dashboard as a chat. The assistant answers within the permissions of the user who is looking at it, so it never shows records that user may not see.
This page is part of the widget reference.
1. At a glance¶
| Purpose | A chat with an AI assistant |
| Typical use | A help desk assistant on the start page; an assistant that answers questions about the user's own records |
| Related | AI assistants |
2. Settings¶
In addition, the widget has the settings every widget has, except "Auto Refresh".
| Setting | Meaning | Default |
|---|---|---|
| "AI Assistant" | The assistant that answers in this chat. Its purpose and tools decide what it can do. | none – required |
| "Chat Identification" | An expression that identifies the conversation. A new chat starts when the value changes. | one conversation per user and assistant |
| "First Chat Message" | A message sent to the assistant automatically when a new chat starts | none |
| "Hide First Chat Message" | The first message is used as an instruction but not shown to the user | off |
| "Enable Attach Record" | Condition whether the user may attach records to the conversation | allowed |
| "Enable Attach File" | Condition whether the user may upload files. The assistant has to accept files as well. | allowed |
| "Attached Records" | Records attached from the start: entity and record id (or several ids) | none |
| "Attached Files" | Files attached from the start: a file uploaded in the editor, or the files of a files block by their identifier | none |
| "Chat Message History Action" | An action run for every message sent or received, for example to write the conversation into an entity | none |
| "Hide Conversation Placeholder" | Hides the hint of an empty chat and releases its space | off |
| "Input Placeholder" | Placeholder of the input field | "Type a message... (Enter to send, Shift+Enter for newline)" |
| "Send Button Text" | Caption of the send button | "Send" |
3. Behaviour¶
- Conversations are personal. The current user is always part of the conversation key, so users never share a chat. A user who returns to the dashboard continues where they left off.
- Records and files attached from the start stay attached even if the user may not attach anything themselves – they are just not shown.
- The "Chat Message History Action" gets the message in the special variables "AI Chat Message", "AI Chat Identifier", "AI Chat Message Direction" (Outgoing for the user, Incoming for the assistant), "AI Chat Message Timestamp" and further details in "AI Chat Message Event Data".
- Height: with a height or maximum height set in "Size", the chat fills the widget. Without one it keeps its own maximum height, so a long conversation does not push the dashboard apart.
- The widget is not refreshed automatically.
4. Example¶
An IT help desk on the start page. "AI Assistant" "IT help desk", "First Chat Message"
"Greet the user by first name and ask what the problem is.", "Hide First Chat Message" on, "Size"
height 520px.