> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://support.cim.build/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Ask questions with AI Chat

> Use AI Chat to query your project drawings, specifications, and uploaded documents in natural language — no manual searching required.

AI Chat gives you a conversational interface directly inside your project. Instead of hunting through stacks of PDFs, you type a question and CIM Build answers using your uploaded drawings, specifications, and documents as context. You can ask about anything from material specifications and sheet notes to compliance requirements and revision history, and the AI will cite the relevant documents in its response.

## Starting a conversation

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the Chat panel">
    Click **Chat** in the left sidebar. The chat panel opens alongside your current view.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Create a new thread">
    Click **Start new chat** at the top of the chat sidebar to open a fresh conversation.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Ask your question">
    Type your question in the input area at the bottom of the panel and press **Enter**. The AI searches across your project documents and returns an answer with source references.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  Start a new conversation for each distinct topic. Response quality can decrease in very long threads as the AI has to track more context from earlier messages.
</Note>

## Advanced features

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Mentioning specific files with @">
    Type `@` anywhere in your message to reference a specific file. An autocomplete menu appears as you type, showing matching drawings, documents, and uploads from your project. Selecting a file from the menu tells the AI to draw directly on that document when forming its answer, which is useful when you want to limit the response to a particular drawing sheet or specification section.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Filtering document context">
    Click the **settings icon** next to the input area to open the document filter. You can restrict the AI's context to:

    * **Contract** documents only
    * **Tender** documents only
    * A specific **Revision** set

    Filtering is useful when you want answers based on a particular version of your documents — for example, checking a requirement against the original tender set rather than the latest contract revision.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Attaching files to a message">
    Click the **attachment button** in the input area to upload files directly into the conversation. You can attach multiple files at once — each one shows a progress indicator while it uploads. Remove any attachment before sending by clicking the remove icon next to it. Attached files are available to the AI for that message only.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Using the Prompt Library">
    The Prompt Library lets you save, reuse, and share questions you ask regularly.

    **Opening the library:**
    Click **Prompt Library** in the chat sidebar. Saved prompts are displayed as cards in a grid.

    **Using a saved prompt:**
    Click a prompt card to load it directly into the chat input, or click **Copy** to copy its content to your clipboard.

    **Creating a new prompt:**
    Click **New Prompt**, give it a title, and write the prompt content. Markdown formatting is supported in the content field, so you can structure complex prompts with lists or emphasis. Save the prompt and it becomes available to everyone on your project.

    **Editing and deleting prompts:**
    Hover over any prompt card to reveal the edit and delete icons.

    **Accessing prompts from the chat input:**
    Type `/` in the chat input to open a quick-access menu of your saved prompts without leaving the conversation.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Conversation history

Your past conversations are listed in the chat sidebar, grouped by **Today**, **This Month**, and **Earlier**. Click any thread to reopen it and continue where you left off. A spinning icon next to a thread name means the AI is still generating a response in that conversation.

<Tip>
  If you see a spinning indicator on a thread you navigated away from, click it to return and view the response once it finishes.
</Tip>