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Using AI Chat

Use the Chat page for longer conversations about your finances — spending analysis, report questions, and multi-step planning. The right-panel AI assistant is still there for quick questions while you browse transactions.

When to use Chat vs the right panel​

Use Chat (left nav)Use the right panel
Open-ended analysis (“break down my discretionary spending last month”)Quick help on the transaction you are viewing
Reading charts and tables inlineA short category or screen-context question
Managing conversation historyOne-off suggestions while reviewing the register

Both surfaces share the same conversations. A message you send in the panel appears in Chat, and vice versa.

Prerequisites​

  • Big Picture Money is unlocked
  • Enable AI is turned on in Settings (see Configure an AI provider)
  • You have acknowledged the data disclosure if you send messages with transaction or screen context

Open Chat​

  1. In the left navigation, click Chat (below Reports).
  2. Confirm the main area shows a Chat heading.
  3. On the left, you see New chat and your conversation list (or an empty state: No conversations yet).
  4. In the center, type in the message box and click Send (or press Enter; Shift+Enter adds a new line).

Start a chat from Home​

When AI is enabled, Home shows a Chat about your finances invite at the top of the page (above Action required, when that section is present).

  1. Open Home.
  2. Confirm the invite card with a centered message box is visible.
  3. Type a question (for example, “How much did I spend on groceries last month?”).
  4. Press Enter or click the send control on the box.
  5. Confirm you land on Chat with that new conversation selected and your message in the thread.

Follow progress and stop a reply​

While the assistant works, the thread shows progress pills (for example Thinking, Gathering data, Writing response) and a short detail line under them. The detail uses readable names such as List Transactions, Run Report, or Search Help — not technical identifiers with underscores.

  1. Send a question that needs ledger data (for example, “Break down my spending last month”).
  2. Confirm the pills advance and the detail line updates with the active tool’s readable name (and a short summary when available).
  3. To interrupt before the reply finishes, click Stop (the Send button becomes Stop while a reply is in progress).
  4. Your message stays in the thread. No partial assistant reply is added.

Review the work log and copy a reply​

After the assistant finishes:

  1. In the footer of the assistant message, find Worked for … (for example Worked for 12s) next to Copy.
  2. Click Worked for … to expand the step list for that reply (readable tool names and short summaries). Click again to collapse it.
  3. Click Copy to put the reply on the clipboard as markdown. Tables copy as markdown tables; charts copy as a short placeholder such as [Chart: Spending by category].
  4. Quit and reopen the app, open the same conversation, and confirm you can still expand Worked for … for that message.

There are no thumbs-up or thumbs-down controls on replies.

Ask how a feature or report works​

  1. On Chat, ask a product question such as “What does Income vs expense include?” or “Do credit card payments count as spending?”
  2. While the reply runs, watch for Help-related detail such as Search Help or Get Help Article in the progress detail or later in Worked for ….
  3. Confirm the answer matches the built-in Help (transfers and Balance adjustment rows are not counted as everyday spending on those reports; card purchases can still count).

Start a new conversation​

  1. On the Chat page, click New chat.
  2. Type your question and click Send.
  3. After the assistant replies, the conversation list shows a short generated title (for example “Grocery spending last week”) instead of your full first message.
  4. You can rename the title later from the conversation menu.

Continue a conversation from the right panel​

  1. Open the right panel while browsing (for example on Transactions).
  2. In the AI assistant section, send a message.
  3. Click Chat in the left navigation.
  4. Confirm the same messages appear in the full-screen thread.

Ask for charts and tables​

  1. On Chat, ask a natural-language question that calls for a visual summary, for example: “Show me spending by category last month.”
  2. The assistant replies with a short summary and may embed a chart or table built from your real transaction data — not estimated numbers invented by the model.
  3. Charts and tables include labels and totals you can read without relying on color alone.
  1. When the assistant references a transaction, account, category, or report, it may show a clickable link (for example a payee, amount, and date).
  2. Click a transaction link to open a Preview pane on the right with transaction details and Open in register.
  3. Click other link types to jump to the matching page (for example Categories & Rules or Reports).

Apply or dismiss suggested changes​

When the assistant proposes a change — category, tags, transaction edit, delete, goal, saved view, report, and similar — it shows a preview card that summarizes what will change (for example before → after amounts). Nothing is written until you confirm.

  1. Review the structured summary on the preview card (not only raw technical detail).
  2. Click Apply to save the change, or Dismiss to leave your data unchanged.
  3. Deletes use the same Apply / Dismiss controls — there is no separate re-type step.

Change a balance adjustment amount​

  1. Select or describe a Balance adjustment transaction whose amount is wrong (for example after aligning to the bank).
  2. Ask Chat to change the amount (for example from -95.98 to -29.96).
  3. Confirm the preview shows the amount change and does not propose a category.
  4. Click Apply.
  5. Confirm the register shows the new amount and running balance; the row stays uncategorized.

Apply several suggestions at once​

  1. When the thread has more than one pending preview card, find the thread-level Apply all listed (or equivalent) control.
  2. Confirm the control lists every pending change.
  3. Consent once to apply that set, or use Apply on individual cards instead.

Manage conversation history​

  1. On Chat, select a conversation in the list to load it in the center pane.
  2. Open the ⋯ menu on a row:
    • Rename — set your own title (the app will not overwrite it with a generated title)
    • Archive — hide the thread from the default list
    • Delete — remove the conversation and all its messages permanently
  3. To delete, confirm in the dialog that messages will be removed.

After you unlock your data file, global search indexes your AI conversations (title and message text).

  1. Click the search field in the title bar, or press Ctrl+K (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+K (macOS).
  2. Type a word or phrase you remember from the conversation title or a message.
  3. In the dropdown, look for a result with the Chat badge.
  4. Press Enter or click the result to open Chat with that conversation loaded.

Search opens the thread only — it does not jump to a specific message inside the conversation.

When AI is disabled​

If Enable AI is off in Settings:

  1. Chat still appears in the left navigation.
  2. The page shows a short message to configure the assistant and a link to Settings.
  3. You cannot send messages until AI is enabled.
  4. Home does not show the chat invite.

On the Chat page itself, the right panel does not show a second copy of the assistant — the full page is the chat surface.

Expected result​

  • Chat opens at /chat with a conversation list, message area, and Send button.
  • While a reply is in progress, progress pills and detail text show readable tool names (no underscore-style ids), and Send becomes Stop.
  • After a reply, the assistant footer shows Worked for … and Copy; expanding the work log lists steps; Copy places markdown on the clipboard.
  • New messages (including the work log) persist after you quit and reopen the app.
  • Sidebar and Chat show the same thread for a given conversation.
  • Generated titles are short and descriptive; renamed titles stay as you set them.
  • Charts and tables reflect your ledger data.
  • Preview cards never change categories, tags, transactions, goals, views, or reports until you click Apply.
  • Balance adjustment amount edits can be Applied from Chat; category changes on balance adjustments are refused.
  • Thread-level Apply all listed only writes after you see the full list of pending changes.
  • Past conversations appear in global search with a Chat badge after unlock.
  • With AI disabled, Configure AI assistant is shown and the composer is hidden.
  • From Home with AI enabled, typing in the invite and pressing Enter (or send) opens Chat on that new conversation.
  • No thumbs-up / thumbs-down controls appear on assistant replies.