AI Chat

How field engineers ask questions about shared asset documents on site.

AI Chat lets field engineers ask natural-language questions about an asset while on site. Answers draw on documents you have shared with field engineers, plus basic context about the asset, its open tasks, and published self-startable workflows.

Who sees it

AI Chat appears as a tab on the field-engineer asset page (/assets/access_key/{key}/chat). It is available when:

  1. At least one file on the asset is marked Share with field engineers, and
  2. That file has been indexed for search (supported types: PDF, HTML, TXT, CSV, Excel)

Anonymous visitors on public user workflows do not see shared files or AI Chat — both require a field engineer profile.

What it can answer

The assistant combines:

  • Your shared documents — manuals, wiring diagrams, installation notes, and similar files attached to the asset
  • Asset context — name, type, open tasks, recent completed maintenance, available self-startable workflows
  • Maintella product help — how to navigate the asset page and start workflows
  • Optional organization prompt — custom guidance configured under Admin → Organization → Field engineer AI settings

It is designed for practical questions on site: What torque for this panel?, Which steps for the monthly inspection?, What faults are open on this charger?

It is not a replacement for running a workflow or reading safety-critical procedures when regulations require the original document.

How indexing works

When you share a supported file, Maintella processes it in the background: extract text, split into searchable sections, and build an index. Until indexing completes, the file is visible for download but not yet searchable in chat.

Admins can monitor indexing status under Admin → Organization → AI indexing.

Privacy and session behaviour

  • Chat history is kept in the browser session for that access key — not in a long-term admin-visible inbox
  • The engineer can clear the conversation from the chat screen
  • Task assignment context in prompts uses roles like “assigned to you” rather than naming other engineers

Enabling AI Chat for an asset

  1. Upload files on the asset in the admin app
  2. Enable Share with field engineers on the files technicians should query
  3. Wait for indexing to finish on supported formats
  4. Confirm the AI Chat tab appears when opening the asset with a field engineer profile

For file upload and sharing details, see Asset files.