# Ask AI

> Use the Ask AI assistant to query your channel data in plain language and take actions like creating, scheduling, and sending broadcasts, with confirmation required before any change.

Source: https://sendbroadcast.net/docs/ask-ai

Ask AI is a built-in assistant that answers questions about the current channel in
plain language and can take actions on your behalf. It reads your live channel data (
subscriber counts, broadcasts, segments, sequences, analytics, and system status) and
can create, update, schedule, and send broadcasts, build segments, enroll subscribers,
and more.

Read-only lookups run instantly. **Any action that changes data requires your explicit
confirmation** before it runs, and every read and write is recorded in a per-channel
activity log.

## Opening the assistant

Click the **Ask AI** tab on the right edge of any dashboard page to slide open the
assistant drawer. The drawer stays open as you navigate, so you can keep a conversation
going while you move around the app. Use the expand button to widen it, or press
`Escape` to close it.

![The Ask AI drawer open with a greeting, suggested prompts, and a message composer](https://sendbroadcast.net/assets/docs/ask-ai/ask-ai-drawer-empty-afb54ec3.png)

The empty state offers a few **suggested prompts** based on the page you're on, for
example, summarizing your last broadcast's performance or drafting a re-engagement
email. Click one to get started, or type your own question. Press `Enter` to send and
`Shift+Enter` for a new line.

## Conversations and history

Each thread is scoped to you and the current channel. Click the title at the top of the
drawer to open the **history switcher**, where you can jump back into a recent
conversation or start a new one. Conversations are titled automatically from your first
message.

![The conversation history dropdown listing recent Ask AI conversations with relative timestamps](https://sendbroadcast.net/assets/docs/ask-ai/ask-ai-history-switcher-1d81da93.png)

Reopening a past conversation restores the full exchange:

![An Ask AI conversation showing a question about active subscribers and a formatted answer](https://sendbroadcast.net/assets/docs/ask-ai/ask-ai-conversation-7c6882a3.png)

## What Ask AI can look up

Read-only questions are answered immediately, without confirmation. The assistant can:

- Count and search subscribers, and preview how many subscribers a segment would match
- List broadcasts, segments, and sequences
- Pull analytics for a broadcast (opens, clicks, deliveries)
- Report system health, available updates, and a summary of recent errors
- Report license status, and list API token scopes and tokens
- Explain how your subscribers' personal data is stored and protected

> **Tip:** Read-only answers come from your live channel data, so they always reflect
> the current state. Ask AI can still make mistakes; double-check anything important.

## Taking actions (confirmation required)

When you ask Ask AI to change something, it doesn't act silently. It proposes the
action and pauses for your approval with a clear summary of exactly what will happen.
Nothing runs until you click **Confirm**.

![An amber confirmation card asking the user to confirm sending a broadcast to active subscribers before it runs](https://sendbroadcast.net/assets/docs/ask-ai/ask-ai-write-confirmation-3a724497.png)

Actions that require confirmation include:

- Creating, updating, **scheduling**, and **sending** broadcasts
- Creating segments and sequences, and adding a step to a sequence
- Enrolling subscribers into a sequence
- Tagging subscribers

Because **send** and **schedule** deliver real email to real subscribers, read the
confirmation summary carefully before approving: these can't be undone once sent.
Click **Cancel** to dismiss a proposed action without running it.

## Activity log

Every lookup and action the assistant performs in a channel is recorded under
channel **Settings → AI Activity**. Each entry shows when it ran, which user's conversation
triggered it, the action and whether it was a read or a write, its status, the affected
record, and, for confirmed writes, who approved it. Use the **Writes only** filter to
focus on actions that changed data.

![The AI activity log table listing read and write actions with status and the user who confirmed each write](https://sendbroadcast.net/assets/docs/ask-ai/ask-ai-activity-audit-07a45fb4.png)

## Configuring a provider

Ask AI uses your own AI provider key (bring-your-own-key). Configure it once for the
whole installation under **Application → AI Settings**:

![The AI Settings page with a provider dropdown, API key field, and model picker](https://sendbroadcast.net/assets/docs/ask-ai/ask-ai-settings-922397ba.png)

1. Choose a **Provider**: Anthropic (Claude), OpenAI, or OpenRouter.
2. Paste your **API key**. It's stored encrypted and never displayed again.
3. Optionally pick a **Model** for that provider, or leave it on the provider default.
4. Click **Save AI settings**.

Once a provider and key are saved, the Ask AI tab becomes available in every channel.
The key applies to the whole installation, so you only configure it once. The same
settings also power [Autopilot](https://sendbroadcast.net/docs/autopilot) email generation. **Clear AI settings**
removes them.

### Configuring with environment variables

Instead of the settings page, you can configure the provider in `/opt/broadcast/app/.env`
and restart. Broadcast uses these only when nothing is saved on the **AI Settings** page;
a saved setting always wins.

| Variable | What it sets |
|----------|--------------|
| `AI_PROVIDER` | `anthropic` (the default), `openai`, or `openrouter` |
| `ANTHROPIC_API_KEY`, `OPENAI_API_KEY`, `OPENROUTER_API_KEY` | The key for the chosen provider |
| `AI_MODEL` | Optional. A model ID for the chosen provider; leave it out to use the provider default |

```bash
AI_PROVIDER=anthropic
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=sk-ant-...
```

### Rate limits

To keep usage and costs predictable, Ask AI limits how many messages can be sent per
signed-in user: **15 per minute** and **200 per hour** by default. Adjust these with the
`ASK_AI_MESSAGES_PER_MINUTE` and `ASK_AI_MESSAGES_PER_HOUR` environment variables.

## What's Next?

- [Managing Subscribers](https://sendbroadcast.net/docs/managing-subscribers): build and organize your audience
- [Broadcast Emails](https://sendbroadcast.net/docs/broadcast-emails): send the broadcasts Ask AI helps you draft
- [Autopilot - AI Newsletter Generation](https://sendbroadcast.net/docs/autopilot): automate newsletter drafts from your content sources