Chat with Counsel

Part ofTake part as a member of staff

Ask Counsel information-security and compliance questions and get answers grounded in the shared compliance knowledge base and your own documents. This page shows how to ask, how to check the sources behind an answer, and how to manage your conversations.

Everyone who can sign in to Counsel can chat. Your chats are private within your organisation: no other user can see them.

Ask a question

Select Chat. An empty conversation opens with "How can I help?".

To start a fresh conversation from another chat, select + New.

Type your question in the message box at the bottom.

Press Enter to send.

Press Shift+Enter for a new line.

Wait for the answer. Three moving dots under Counsel show that it is working. A grounded answer can take a little while.

A conversation with Counsel: the question and an answer with formatted lists

The chat appears in the Chats list on the left as soon as you send the first message. Its title is the start of your first question.

Watch: opening a saved chat and checking its sources (about 1 min)

Tips for good answers

Ask one question at a time, and say what your situation is, for example your sector or the framework you work with.

Mention the framework by name ("under ISO 27001", "for NIS2") to steer Counsel to the right sources.

Upload your own documents first if your question is about them. See Your uploads.

Check the sources of an answer

Counsel shows where an answer comes from, so you can check it.

Numbered markers such as [1] in the text: select one to open the source it refers to.

Document chips under the answer: each shows a file name, and a page number such as "p.12" when Counsel knows it. Select a chip to open the document in a new tab. Documents from the shared knowledge base open at the cited page.

Web chips (with a globe icon): pages Counsel read on the web. Hover to see the passage it used, and select the chip to open the page in a new tab.

Always check important statements against the source. Under the message box Counsel reminds you: "AI agents can make mistakes. Check important info."

Point Counsel at one document

You can tell Counsel to give one document priority in its answer. Counsel still uses its other sources as well.

In the message box, type @, or select Reference (the @ button).

Keep typing part of the document's name, for example @iso. A list shows up to eight matching documents, with the framework family or My uploads next to each.

Use the up and down arrow keys and press Enter (or select the document) to insert it. Press Esc to close the list.

Finish your question and send it.

If nothing matches, Counsel shows "No documents match" with your search text.

Choose the knowledge for one chat

By default a new chat uses the knowledge you chose under Knowledge › Documents and Knowledge › My uploads. You can change it for one chat without changing your default.

In the chat, select Sources under the message box. The chip shows how many documents are switched on, for example 392/392.

The panel Knowledge for this chat opens. Each framework family and My uploads is a group. Select a group to expand it.

Turn a whole group on or off with its switch, or turn single documents on or off.

Type in Search documents… to find a document. Matching groups expand automatically.

Close the panel with ✕.

The Knowledge for this chat panel with a framework family expanded

The choice is saved with this chat. If you change it before sending your first message, it applies as soon as the chat is created.

Copy, retry and rate an answer

Move the pointer over an answer to see its actions:

Copy: copies the answer to your clipboard. The button briefly shows Copied.

Retry: asks the same question again and gives a new answer.

Helpful (thumbs up) and Not helpful (thumbs down): rate the answer. Counsel learns from your ratings, for you only.

To explain a Not helpful rating:

Select Not helpful.

Select Tell us why.

Type what was wrong in What was wrong with this answer? (up to 400 characters).

Select Send.

Counsel shows "Noted — this shapes what I remember about you." Your ratings are still shown when you open the chat again.

Your own messages also have a Copy action.

Answer a question from Counsel

Sometimes Counsel needs more information and asks you a question with options instead of answering straight away.

Read the question and choose one or more of the options. Each option has a short explanation.

If none fits, type your own answer in Something else….

Select Send answer. Counsel continues with your choice.

To ignore the question, select Skip, or just type a new message.

Compare two answers

Occasionally Counsel shows two answers side by side and asks "Which answer do you prefer?". This helps it learn your preferences.

Read Answer A and Answer B.

Select Prefer this under the better one, or choose About the same or Neither is good.

Optionally, say why in Why? (optional).

Counsel then keeps the answer you picked and shows "Your pick was recorded."

Manage your conversations

Your chats are listed under Chats on the left, newest first. Select a chat to open it.

To manage a chat, select More actions (⋮) on its row, then:

Rename: type a new title and confirm.

Archive: moves the chat out of the main list.

Unarchive: brings an archived chat back.

Delete: asks "Delete this chat?". Confirm to delete the chat permanently. You cannot undo this.

To see archived chats, select the archive button next to + New (tooltip "Show archived chats"). The list header changes to Archived. Select the button again ("Show active chats") to go back.

To make more room for the conversation, select Hide chats on the edge of the list. Select Show chats to bring it back.

The Chats list with the More actions menu open, showing Rename, Archive and Delete

Troubleshooting

What you see	What it means	What to do
"No chats yet."	You have not started a chat.	Ask your first question.
"No archived chats."	You are looking at the archived list and it is empty.	Select "Show active chats".
"Could not open a chat session."	Counsel could not start the conversation.	Reload the page and ask again.
"The assistant could not answer: …"	No answer was produced. The reason follows the colon.	Select Retry, or ask again later.
"(no answer)"	The answer was empty.	Select Retry, or rephrase the question.
The send button stays greyed out	The message box is empty, or Counsel is still answering.	Wait for the answer, then send.
Counsel says it cannot support an answer	The knowledge switched on for this chat may not cover your question.	Open Sources and check that the right frameworks and uploads are switched on, then ask again.

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