Using the Chat Interface
The Chat interface is the heart of BoxedAI. It provides a familiar, messaging-style experience for interacting with LLMs and your internal data.
Starting a New Chat
- Click the + New Chat button in the sidebar.
- Give your chat a name (optional) and an initial message.
- Press Enter to send. Use Shift+Enter for a new line without sending.
Working with AI
- Streaming Responses: The AI replies in real-time. You don't have to wait for the whole message to generate.
- Context Awareness: The AI remembers previous messages in the current chat. You can ask "Can you elaborate on that?" and it will know what "that" refers to.
- Formatting: The AI supports Markdown and LaTeX math. It can generate:
- Code Blocks: Syntax-highlighted code snippets.
- Tables: Neatly formatted data tables.
- Lists: Bulleted and numbered lists.
- Math: LaTeX expressions like
$\frac{a}{b}$and$\sqrt{x}$render as formatted equations.
AI Capabilities (Tools)
BoxedAI gives the AI access to Capabilities — tools it can use to help answer your questions. When the AI uses a tool, you'll see a collapsible card in the response showing:
- Tool name and status (running, done, or failed)
- Input: The arguments the AI passed to the tool
- Output: The result returned by the tool
Click the card to expand or collapse the details.
Available Capabilities
Your organization's admin controls which capabilities are enabled. Built-in capabilities include:
| Capability | Description |
|---|---|
| Calculator | Evaluates mathematical expressions. Ask "What's 15% tip on $84.50?" and the AI will compute it precisely. |
| File Search | Searches your uploaded documents by semantic similarity to find relevant information. |
| File Read | Reads the content of a specific uploaded file. |
The AI uses tools automatically when they would help answer your question — you don't need to do anything special.
Attaching Files (Drag & Drop)
You can attach files directly to a chat conversation:
- Drag files from your desktop into the chat window. A drop overlay will appear.
- Drop the files to start uploading. Attached files appear below the message input.
- Each file shows its processing status — wait for all files to show completed before sending.
- When you send your message, the extracted text from attached files is automatically included as context for the AI.
Attached files have temporary scope — they're tied to this chat only and won't appear in the global Objects page. See File Management for more on file scoping.
Using RAG (Chatting with Files)
To ask questions about your documents:
- Ensure the documents have been uploaded in the Objects section (see File Management), or attach them directly to the chat via drag & drop.
- In the chat, simply ask your question.
- Example: "Summarize the Q3 Financial Report I uploaded."
- Example: "What are the compliance requirements mentioned in the Safety Manual?"
- The system automatically searches your organization's knowledge base using the File Search capability.
- If relevant information is found, the AI will use it to answer and cite the source file.
Managing Chats
- Chat List: Your chats appear in the sidebar, sorted by most recent activity.
- Delete: Remove old or irrelevant chats to keep your workspace clean. Warning: This action is permanent.