> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hiveinspect.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Hive AI Agent: Ask Questions About Your Hive Inspect Data > Use the Hive AI Agent (Ask Agent) on the Hive Inspect dashboard to ask about your inspections, schedule, contacts, payments and metrics in plain language. In the dashboard: **Ask Agent** at the top right of any page, or press **⌘J** (Mac) / **Ctrl+J** (Windows). The **Hive AI Agent** answers questions about your business in plain language, using your company's own data in Hive: inspections and your schedule, contacts, automations, text messages and emails, report views, reviews, payments, pay splits, time and mileage, services, and your business metrics. It can also answer "how do I…" questions from these help docs. In the dashboard it's called **Ask Agent**, and it's in **Beta**. It's the same assistant as the [AI tab in the mobile app](https://docs.hiveinspect.com/how-tos/mobile-ask-agent.md). ![The Hive Inspect dashboard with the Ask Agent panel open on the right: the note The Agent can make mistakes. Double-check its responses., a Suggestions list starting with What's on my schedule this week?, and an Ask a question box with a send button. The Ask Agent button is highlighted in the header](https://mintcdn.com/hiveinspect-43c85ed1/g7IcV7J1wK2XmtEO/images/how-tos/hive-ai-agent.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=g7IcV7J1wK2XmtEO\&q=85\&s=5ed51cb3399f56129cc19339240d9e4b) ## Open the agent 1. Click **Ask Agent** in the header, next to your profile picture. The panel opens on the right. 2. To close it, click the **Collapse** button (top right of the panel), or press **Esc** while you're typing in it. **⌘J** / **Ctrl+J** opens and closes it from anywhere in the dashboard. The panel stays open while you move between pages, so you can keep asking as you work. Drag its left edge to make it wider or narrower. In a narrow browser window it opens full screen instead, with a **Close** button. ## Ask a question 1. Type your question in **Ask a question…** and press **Enter** (or click the **send** arrow). **Shift+Enter** adds a new line. * Click one of the **Suggestions** to fill the box with it. It isn't sent until you press **Enter** or **send**, so you can change it first. 2. While the agent works, it shows each step it takes, such as "Loading the schedule" or "Searching inspections". 3. The answer appears below your question. Click **2 steps** (or however many) to see what it looked up. ![An Ask Agent conversation: the question What's on my schedule this week? in a blue bubble, an expanded 2 steps list with Loading your organization context and Loading the schedule ticked, and the answer listing 4 inspections from Monday, October 19 to Sunday, October 25 with times, addresses, clients and services, ending One of them, 512 Cedar Lane, still has an unpaid fee](https://mintcdn.com/hiveinspect-43c85ed1/g7IcV7J1wK2XmtEO/images/how-tos/hive-ai-agent-answer.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=g7IcV7J1wK2XmtEO\&q=85\&s=7e8f94849b26f9fa00adc5659b028a95) Ask follow-up questions in the same chat, such as "Which of those are unpaid?". The agent says which dates it used, in your company's time zone. Long lists are summarized, so ask for a narrower date range to see everything. ### Ask about the inspection you're looking at When an inspection is open, "this inspection" means that one. Open it and ask, for example, "Has the client signed the agreement for this inspection?" or "Which automations went out for this inspection?". ### Good questions to ask * **Schedule:** "What's on my schedule this week?", "Which inspections are scheduled tomorrow?" * **Inspections:** "Which inspections at Maple Avenue do we have?", "Is the report for my latest inspection published?" * **Contacts:** "How many inspections has Jordan Taylor booked with us?" * **Automations and messages:** "Which automations failed in the last 7 days?", "What was the last text from Alex Rivera?" * **Report views:** "Has anyone viewed the report for my latest inspection?" * **Payments** (needs financial access): "Which inspections are still unpaid this month?" * **Metrics** (needs business metrics access): "How many inspections did we complete this month?", "Who are our top buyer agents year to date?" * **How Hive works:** "How do I connect QuickBooks?" These answers come from the help docs and end with a **Source:** link to the page. ## What it can and can't see The agent only reads your data. It never sends an email or text, and it never changes anything in Hive. It sees your company only, never another company's. Each person sees the same things in the agent that their account can see in the dashboard: | To ask about | You need | | - | - | | Your own schedule and inspections, contacts, text messages, report views, services, automations and help docs | Nothing extra: everyone on your team | | Every inspection and other team members' schedules | **Schedule Management**. Without it, the agent only sees inspections assigned to you. | | Prices, payments, invoices and refunds | Owner or admin, or **Financial Data Access** | | Reviews, discount codes and service prices | Owner or admin, or **Business Tools** | | Business metrics, time tracking and mileage | Owner, or **Business Metrics** | | Pay splits | Owner, or **Manage Team** | If you ask about something your account can't see, the agent tells you which access is missing. Ask your company owner to change your permissions in [Teams](https://docs.hiveinspect.com/settings/team-settings.md#what-each-permission-does). It doesn't read what's written inside your reports, such as findings and comments. It can tell you a report's name and whether it's published. ## The chat * The **New chat** button (pencil and square, top right of the panel) clears the chat and starts again. * Your chat is kept in this browser tab, so it's still there after you reload the page. Other tabs and other people on your team can't see it, and it's gone when you close the tab. * The agent remembers the last 20 messages of the chat when it answers. * The agent can make mistakes, as the note at the top says: "The Agent can make mistakes. Double-check its responses." Check important numbers on the page they come from, such as **Metrics** or the inspection itself. ## Is the Hive AI Agent on? The Hive AI Agent is on for every company, including new sign-ups, so there's nothing to set up. To check, go to **Business Tools → Hive AI**: the **Hive AI Agent** card shows **Enabled**. If it shows **Coming soon**, Hive has turned it off for your company. ![The Hive AI Agent card on the Hive AI page with a green Enabled badge, the description Chat with an AI agent about your inspections, schedule, contacts, and business metrics. Answers respect each team member's permissions and link to the help docs., and the note This feature is managed by Hive. Contact support to make changes.](https://mintcdn.com/hiveinspect-43c85ed1/g7IcV7J1wK2XmtEO/images/how-tos/hive-ai-agent-card.png?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=g7IcV7J1wK2XmtEO\&q=85\&s=da15a49eed3fc9024ef1501a2e93cb8e) Everyone on your team gets the **Ask Agent** button, on the dashboard and on the mobile app's AI tab. If yours says **Coming soon**, [contact support](https://docs.hiveinspect.com/how-tos/get-help.md). ## Limits and messages * A question can be up to 4,000 characters. * Each person can ask up to 10 questions a minute and 60 an hour. Past that you see "Too many metrics chat requests; please wait a moment". * The agent makes up to 6 lookups per question and has about 2 minutes to answer. Messages under a question, with what to do: | Message | What to do | | - | - | | "That question took too long to answer. Try a narrower question." | Ask about a shorter date range or one person. | | "Too many tool calls for one question. Try a narrower question." | Split it into two questions. | | "The AI Agent's tools are unavailable right now. Please try again in a moment." | Wait a minute, then click **Retry**. | | "The AI Agent hit a problem answering that. Please try again." | Click **Retry**. | | "The model returned no answer. Please rephrase the question." | Ask it a different way. | Click **Retry** under a failed answer to ask the same question again. ## Common questions > **Why don't I see the Ask Agent button?** > > The Hive AI Agent is on for every company, so first reload the page. If the button still isn't there, check **Business Tools → Hive AI**: if the **Hive AI Agent** card says **Coming soon**, it's turned off for your company. [Contact support](https://docs.hiveinspect.com/how-tos/get-help.md) to turn it on. > **Can the agent change things or send messages for me?** > > No. It only looks things up and answers. To change an inspection or send an email, do it in the dashboard as usual. > **Why can't it answer payment or metrics questions?** > > Those need the matching permission on your account, such as **Financial Data Access** or **Business Metrics**. Ask your company owner to turn it on in **Teams**. > **Why does it only see some inspections?** > > Without **Schedule Management**, the agent only sees inspections assigned to you, the same as your Inspections list. An empty answer may mean the inspection isn't assigned to you. > **Can my team see my chat?** > > No. Your chat is kept in your own browser tab only. > **Can I connect my own AI assistant, like ChatGPT or Claude, instead?** > > Yes, if your company has API access. See the [MCP server](https://docs.hiveinspect.com/api/mcp.md) in the API docs. It's a separate feature from the Hive AI Agent, turned on separately. ## Where to go next * [Ask Agent in the mobile app](https://docs.hiveinspect.com/how-tos/mobile-ask-agent.md): the same agent on your phone, with voice input. * [Team settings](https://docs.hiveinspect.com/settings/team-settings.md#what-each-permission-does): what each permission lets a team member see. * [Hive Inspect API](https://docs.hiveinspect.com/api/introduction.md): connect other tools to your Hive data. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.