ai features complete - nself-org/nchat GitHub Wiki

AI Features User Guide - Complete Reference

Version: 1.0.0 (v0.7.0) Last Updated: January 31, 2026

A comprehensive guide to all AI-powered features in nself-chat, including message summarization, smart search, intelligent bots, and auto-moderation.


Table of Contents

  1. Overview
  2. Getting Started
  3. Message Summarization
  4. Smart Search
  5. Bot Interactions
  6. Auto-Moderation
  7. Privacy & Data Usage
  8. Opt-In/Opt-Out
  9. Troubleshooting
  10. FAQ

Overview

What AI Features Are Available?

nself-chat includes four major AI-powered capabilities:

Feature Description Status AI Required
Message Summarization Generate summaries of conversations, threads, and channels โœ… Available Optional
Smart Search Semantic search that understands meaning, not just keywords โœ… Available Optional
Intelligent Bots Automated assistants that respond to commands and events โœ… Available No
Auto-Moderation AI-powered content detection for toxicity, spam, and NSFW โœ… Available Optional

How It Works

All AI features in nself-chat are designed with graceful degradation:

  • With AI APIs configured: Full semantic understanding, advanced summaries, and intelligent detection
  • Without AI APIs: Local fallbacks provide basic functionality without requiring external services
  • User control: All AI features respect user preferences and privacy settings

Supported AI Providers

Provider Summarization Search Embeddings Moderation Cost
OpenAI GPT-4o-mini text-embedding-3-small โœ… TensorFlow.js ~$0.001 per 1K messages
Anthropic Claude 3.5 Haiku โŒ (falls back to local) โœ… TensorFlow.js ~$0.0015 per 1K messages
Local Basic statistics Keyword search โœ… TensorFlow.js Free

Getting Started

Checking AI Availability

To see which AI features are available in your workspace:

  1. Click your profile in the top-right corner
  2. Go to Settings > AI Features
  3. View the status dashboard:
โœ… Message Summarization: Enabled (OpenAI)
โœ… Smart Search: Enabled (Semantic)
โœ… Auto-Moderation: Enabled (AI-powered)
โš ๏ธ Bot Responses: Basic (No AI configured)

First-Time Setup

If you're an admin setting up AI features:

  1. Navigate to Admin Panel > AI Configuration
  2. Choose your AI provider (OpenAI or Anthropic recommended)
  3. Enter your API key (see Admin Guide)
  4. Test the connection
  5. Enable features for your workspace

Note: Regular users don't need to configure anything - AI features work automatically once enabled by admins.


Message Summarization

What is Message Summarization?

Message summarization uses AI to condense long conversations into concise, readable summaries. This helps you:

  • Catch up quickly after being away
  • Review lengthy discussions without reading every message
  • Understand thread context at a glance
  • Extract key decisions from conversations

Types of Summaries

1. Channel Digest

What it does: Provides a comprehensive overview of channel activity over a time period.

When to use:

  • Starting your workday
  • Reviewing what happened while you were offline
  • Understanding channel activity patterns

How to access:

  1. Open any channel
  2. Click the โšก Summarize button in the top toolbar
  3. Select "Channel Digest"
  4. Choose time period (Last hour, Today, Last 7 days, Custom)

Example Output:

๐Ÿ“Š Channel Digest: #engineering (Last 24 hours)

Summary:
The engineering team discussed the authentication bug affecting login
flows, decided to implement 2FA for all users, and reviewed the Q1
roadmap. Sarah reported fixing the database migration issue.

Key Points:
โ€ข Authentication bug fix deployed to staging
โ€ข 2FA implementation approved for Q1
โ€ข Database migration completed successfully
โ€ข Code review process updated

Topics: Authentication, Security, Database, Process Improvements
Participants: 8 members | Messages: 156

2. Thread Summary

What it does: Summarizes a conversation thread to help you understand the discussion.

When to use:

  • Before joining a long thread
  • Reviewing decisions made in a thread
  • Understanding context without reading all replies

How to access:

  1. Hover over any message with replies
  2. Click "View Thread"
  3. Click the ๐Ÿ“ Summary button at the top of the thread panel

Example Output:

๐Ÿงต Thread Summary

The team discussed implementing dark mode. Three design approaches
were proposed. Final decision: Use CSS variables for maximum
flexibility. Alex will create a design system document by Friday.

Key Decisions:
โ€ข CSS variables approach approved
โ€ข Design system doc due Friday
โ€ข Color contrast must meet WCAG AA standards

Participants: 4 | Messages: 23

3. Catch-Up Summary

What it does: Shows you what you missed since you were last online.

When to use:

  • Returning after time away
  • Checking in on channels you don't actively monitor
  • Quick status updates

How to access:

  1. Automatically appears when you open a channel with new messages
  2. Or click your profile > "Catch Up" to see all channels

Example Output:

๐Ÿ‘‹ Welcome back! You missed 47 messages in 3 channels.

#engineering (23 messages):
โ€ข Bug fix for authentication deployed
โ€ข Q1 roadmap reviewed and approved

#design (15 messages):
โ€ข New brand guidelines published
โ€ข User research findings shared

#general (9 messages):
โ€ข Team lunch scheduled for Friday
โ€ข Office will be closed on Monday

4. Quick Summary

What it does: Generates a brief 1-2 sentence summary of any selection of messages.

When to use:

  • Quick context on recent messages
  • TL;DR for lengthy discussions
  • Sharing context with others

How to access:

  1. Select multiple messages (Shift+Click)
  2. Right-click and choose "Summarize Selection"

Example Output:

Brief Summary: Discussion about API rate limiting. Team decided to
implement exponential backoff and increase default limits for premium users.

Using Summarization Features

Desktop Application

Step-by-step:

  1. Navigate to any channel or thread
  2. Look for the summarization controls:
    • โšก Button in the toolbar (Channel Digest)
    • ๐Ÿ“ Button in thread header (Thread Summary)
    • Right-click menu on selected messages (Quick Summary)
  3. Choose summary type and time range
  4. Click "Generate Summary"
  5. Wait 2-5 seconds for AI processing
  6. Review and optionally "Copy" or "Share" the summary

Keyboard Shortcuts:

  • Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + S - Summarize current view
  • Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + D - Generate channel digest
  • Esc - Close summary panel

Mobile Application

Step-by-step:

  1. Tap the โ‹ฎ Menu icon in the top-right
  2. Select "Summarize"
  3. Choose summary type
  4. Tap "Generate"
  5. View summary and tap "Done" when finished

Tips for Mobile:

  • Summaries are optimized for mobile screens
  • Swipe down to dismiss
  • Long-press summary to copy

Customizing Summaries

Options available:

Option Description Values
Style Output format Brief, Detailed, Bullet Points
Length Summary length Short (100 words), Medium (300 words), Long (500 words)
Focus What to emphasize All content, Decisions only, Key points only
Language Output language Auto-detect, English, Spanish, French, German, etc.

To customize:

  1. Click Settings in the summary panel
  2. Adjust options
  3. Click "Regenerate" to apply changes

When Summaries Are Not Available

If you see "Summarization not available":

โœ… Solution: The workspace administrator needs to configure AI settings. This is normal and the feature will work once configured.

If you see "Using basic summary":

โ„น๏ธ What this means: AI is not configured, but you'll still get a basic statistical summary showing message counts, participants, and time ranges.


Smart Search

What is Smart Search?

Smart Search uses AI to understand the meaning of your queries, not just match keywords. This means:

  • Natural language: Search like you talk - "show me discussions about the login bug"
  • Conceptual matching: Finds related content even with different wording
  • Context awareness: Understands synonyms and paraphrasing
  • Relevance ranking: Best results first, combining semantic similarity and recency

Search Examples

Basic Searches

Query: authentication issues Finds: Messages about login problems, password resets, 2FA errors, session timeouts

Query: who can help with React? Finds: Messages from team members discussing React, frontend, components, hooks

Query: decisions about the API Finds: Messages containing conclusions, approvals, or choices regarding API design

Advanced Searches

Natural Language:

"What did Sarah say about the database migration?"
โ†’ Finds Sarah's messages related to database, migration, schema changes

Time-Based:

"bug reports from last week"
โ†’ Filters to messages from the past 7 days containing bug descriptions

Multi-Concept:

"authentication AND security NOT testing"
โ†’ Finds security-related auth discussions, excluding test-related messages

Using Smart Search

Search Interface

  1. Click the search icon (๐Ÿ”) in the top toolbar or press Cmd/Ctrl + K
  2. Type your query in natural language
  3. View results as you type (debounced after 300ms)
  4. Click a result to jump to that message in context

Search Bar Features:

โ”Œโ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”
โ”‚ ๐Ÿ” Search messages with AI...         โ”‚
โ”‚                                         โ”‚
โ”‚ โœจ Semantic search enabled             โ”‚
โ””โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”˜

Filters and Refinement

Available Filters:

Filter Description Example
Channel Search within specific channel(s) #engineering
User Messages from specific users from:sarah
Date Time range after:2026-01-01
Has Thread Only messages with replies has:thread
Has Links Messages containing URLs has:links
Has Files Messages with attachments has:files

Combining Filters:

authentication in:#engineering from:sarah after:2026-01-15
โ†’ Sarah's messages about authentication in #engineering since Jan 15

Search Operators

Operator Usage Example
AND Both terms must be present API AND security
OR Either term present bug OR issue
NOT Exclude term deploy NOT staging
"" Exact phrase "critical bug"
( ) Group terms (API OR backend) AND performance

Understanding Search Results

Result Display

Each search result shows:

โ”Œโ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”
โ”‚ ๐Ÿ’ฌ Sarah in #engineering               โ”‚
โ”‚ 15 minutes ago                          โ”‚
โ”‚                                         โ”‚
โ”‚ "We fixed the authentication bug by... โ”‚
โ”‚  ...implementing proper session..."    โ”‚
โ”‚                                         โ”‚
โ”‚ ๐ŸŽฏ Relevance: 95% | Type: Semantic     โ”‚
โ”‚ ๐Ÿ“ 2 replies                            โ”‚
โ””โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”€โ”˜

Elements explained:

  • Relevance Score: How well the message matches your query (0-100%)
  • Match Type:
    • Semantic - AI understanding (best)
    • Keyword - Word matching (fallback)
    • Exact - Exact phrase match (highest precision)
  • Highlights: Relevant excerpts from the message
  • Context: Optional before/after messages for context

Viewing Context

To see surrounding messages:

  1. Hover over a search result
  2. Click "Show Context"
  3. View 2 messages before and after (configurable)

Why context matters: Understanding the conversation flow around a message helps you grasp the full meaning.

Ranking Strategies

Choose how results are ordered:

Strategy Description Best For
Relevance Most relevant first Finding best matches
Recent Newest first Finding latest mentions
Hybrid Balance relevance (70%) + recency (30%) Most searches (default)

To change ranking: Click the โš™๏ธ Settings icon in search โ†’ Select ranking strategy

Search Tips

Getting Better Results

โœ… Do:

  • Use natural language: "show me", "find", "what did"
  • Be specific: "React performance optimization" vs "React"
  • Use synonyms: Try different terms if first search doesn't work
  • Combine filters: Narrow down with channel, date, user filters
  • Use quotes for exact phrases: "critical production bug"

โŒ Avoid:

  • Single-letter searches: "a", "I" (minimum 2 characters)
  • Too generic: "help", "question" (too many results)
  • Overly complex queries: Keep it simple for best results

Common Search Patterns

Find experts:

"who knows about GraphQL?"
โ†’ People discussing GraphQL, their messages, expertise

Track decisions:

"approved OR decided OR agreed" in:#product-planning
โ†’ Decision-making messages in product planning

Monitor bugs:

"bug OR issue OR error" has:thread after:yesterday
โ†’ Recent bug reports with discussion threads

Saved Searches

Save frequent searches:

  1. Perform a search
  2. Click โญ Save Search
  3. Name your search (e.g., "Recent bugs in engineering")
  4. Access from Saved Searches dropdown

Benefits:

  • Quick access to common queries
  • Shared saved searches (admin feature)
  • Email alerts for saved search results (coming soon)

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut Action
Cmd/Ctrl + K Open search
Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + F Advanced search
โ†‘ โ†“ Navigate results
Enter Open selected result
Esc Close search
Cmd/Ctrl + Enter Open in new window

When Search Is Not Semantic

If you see "Keyword search" badge:

This means AI-powered semantic search is not available, but you still have full keyword search functionality.

Differences:

  • โœ… Still works for exact matches and keywords
  • โœ… Still supports all filters and operators
  • โš ๏ธ Won't understand synonyms or concepts
  • โš ๏ธ May return more irrelevant results

Example:

  • With semantic: authentication issues finds login, password, session problems
  • Without semantic: authentication issues finds only messages with those exact words

Bot Interactions

What Are Bots?

Bots are automated assistants that can:

  • Respond to commands (/help, /poll, /remind)
  • Answer questions based on chat history and knowledge
  • Automate tasks (create polls, set reminders, fetch data)
  • Monitor events (welcome new members, track reactions)

Available Bots

Built-In Bots

Bot Purpose Commands AI Required
HelloBot ๐Ÿ‘‹ Greetings and jokes /hello, /hi, /joke No
PollBot ๐Ÿ“Š Create and manage polls /poll, /vote, /results No
ReminderBot โฐ Set reminders /remind, /reminders No
WelcomeBot ๐ŸŽ‰ Welcome new members /setwelcome, /welcomemessage No
SearchBot ๐Ÿ” Semantic search assistant /search, /find Optional
SummaryBot ๐Ÿ“ Generate summaries /summarize, /digest Optional

Custom Bots

Admins can add custom bots from the Bot Marketplace or build their own using the Bot SDK.

Using Bots

Slash Commands

Basic format: /command [arguments]

Examples:

/hello
โ†’ "Hi there, Alex! ๐Ÿ‘‹"

/hello Alice
โ†’ "Hello, Alice! ๐ŸŽ‰"

/joke
โ†’ "Why do programmers prefer dark mode? Because light attracts bugs! ๐Ÿ›"

Command Help

Get command list:

/help
โ†’ Shows all available commands from all enabled bots

Get bot-specific help:

/help poll
โ†’ Shows all PollBot commands and usage

Get command details:

/help /poll
โ†’ Shows detailed usage for /poll command

Interacting with Bots

Mentions

Mention a bot to get its attention:

@HelloBot what can you do?
โ†’ "I can greet people and tell programming jokes! Try /hello or /joke"

Natural Language

Some AI-powered bots understand natural language:

@SearchBot find discussions about authentication
โ†’ SearchBot performs a semantic search and returns results

@SummaryBot summarize today's messages
โ†’ SummaryBot generates a channel digest for today

Example Bot Workflows

Creating a Poll

Step-by-step:

  1. Create poll:
/poll "Should we have pizza or tacos for lunch?" "Pizza" "Tacos" --duration 30
โ†’ PollBot creates poll with 30-minute duration
  1. Vote:
/vote poll-123 1
โ†’ Vote for option 1 (Pizza)
  1. Check results:
/results poll-123
โ†’ Shows current vote counts
  1. Close poll:
/closepoll poll-123
โ†’ Closes poll and shows final results

Setting Reminders

Quick reminder:

/remind in 30 minutes to check deployment
โ†’ "โฐ Reminder set! I'll remind you in 30 minutes."

Scheduled reminder:

/remind tomorrow at 9am to review pull requests
โ†’ "โฐ Reminder set for tomorrow at 9:00 AM"

List reminders:

/reminders
โ†’ Shows all your active reminders

Cancel reminder:

/cancel-reminder 456
โ†’ "Reminder #456 cancelled"

Welcome Messages

Set up welcome message (Admins only):

  1. Enable welcome:
/setwelcome on
โ†’ "Welcome messages enabled for this channel"
  1. Customize message:
/welcomemessage "Welcome {user} to {channel}! Check out our guidelines in the pinned message."
โ†’ "Welcome message updated"
  1. Test it:
/testwelcome
โ†’ Shows preview of welcome message

Placeholders:

  • {user} - New member's name
  • {channel} - Channel name
  • {server} - Workspace name

Bot Permissions

Bots have limited permissions to protect your data:

What bots CAN do: โœ… Read messages they're mentioned in โœ… Send messages to channels they're in โœ… React to messages โœ… Access channel member lists โœ… Store bot-specific data

What bots CANNOT do: โŒ Read messages in channels they're not in โŒ Access private/DM messages (unless explicitly invited) โŒ Modify or delete user messages โŒ Access user credentials or personal data โŒ Make changes to workspace settings

Managing Bots

As a User:

  1. Go to Settings > Bots
  2. View all available bots
  3. See what bots are active in each channel

As an Admin:

  1. Go to Admin Panel > Bots
  2. Enable/disable bots workspace-wide
  3. Configure bot permissions
  4. View bot usage analytics
  5. Add custom bots from marketplace

Auto-Moderation

What is Auto-Moderation?

Auto-moderation uses AI to automatically detect and handle problematic content:

  • Toxicity Detection: Identifies insults, threats, harassment
  • Spam Detection: Catches repetitive messages, excessive links
  • NSFW Detection: Flags inappropriate images (if enabled)
  • Profanity Filtering: Blocks or masks offensive language

How It Works

Detection Process:

  1. Message sent โ†’ Auto-mod scans content
  2. AI analysis โ†’ Checks for toxicity, spam, profanity
  3. Score calculation โ†’ Generates risk score (0-100%)
  4. Action determination โ†’ Based on threshold and settings
  5. Action execution โ†’ Flag, hide, warn, or mute

Analysis Methods:

  • TensorFlow.js models (runs locally, no data sent to external APIs)
  • Pattern matching (rule-based detection)
  • Behavioral analysis (message frequency, link counts)

Detection Categories

Toxicity Detection

What it detects:

  • Identity attacks
  • Insults and name-calling
  • Threats
  • Severe toxicity
  • Obscene language

Example:

โŒ Message: "You're an idiot and should be fired"
๐Ÿšจ Detected: Toxicity (85%), Categories: Insult, Identity Attack
โšก Action: Hidden, user warned

Spam Detection

What it detects:

  • Excessive capitalization
  • Repetitive characters
  • Too many links
  • Shortened URLs (bit.ly, etc.)
  • High message frequency
  • Known spam phrases

Example:

โŒ Message: "CLICK HERE NOW!!! bit.ly/sketchy-link FREE MONEY!!!"
๐Ÿšจ Detected: Spam (92%), Reasons: Excessive caps, shortened URL, spam phrases
โšก Action: Message hidden

NSFW Detection

What it detects (images only):

  • Pornographic content
  • Sexually suggestive images
  • Graphic violence

Note: NSFW detection is opt-in and must be explicitly enabled by admins.

Profanity Filtering

What it does:

  • Detects offensive words
  • Can block, mask, or just flag
  • Supports custom word lists
  • Context-aware (avoids false positives)

Modes:

  • Block: Message rejected, not sent
  • Mask: Offensive words replaced with ***
  • Flag: Message sent but flagged for review

Automatic Actions

Score Risk Level Automatic Action User Impact
0-49% Low No action Message sent normally
50-69% Medium Flagged Message sent, flagged for review
70-89% High Hidden + Warning Message hidden, user warned
90-100% Critical Mute user Message deleted, user temporarily muted

Configurable by admins - Default actions can be customized per workspace.

User Experience

When Your Message Is Flagged

You'll see:

โš ๏ธ Your message may violate community guidelines

Your message was flagged for: Profanity

Options:
[Edit Message] [Appeal] [Cancel]

What you can do:

  1. Edit Message: Revise and resend
  2. Appeal: Request human review
  3. Cancel: Don't send the message

When Someone Else's Message Is Hidden

You'll see:

[Hidden message]
This message was hidden by auto-moderation.
Reason: Policy violation

[Show anyway (Admin only)]

Regular users: Cannot see hidden messages Moderators/Admins: Can view and restore if appropriate

Moderation Queue

Admins and moderators can review flagged content:

  1. Go to Admin Panel > Moderation Queue
  2. View all flagged messages
  3. For each item:
    • Approve: Mark as false positive, restore message
    • Delete: Confirm violation, keep hidden
    • Warn User: Send warning without other action
    • Mute User: Temporary or permanent mute

Appeal Process

If you believe your message was incorrectly flagged:

  1. Click "Appeal" on the moderation notice
  2. Provide context or explanation
  3. Submit appeal
  4. Moderator review: Typically within 24 hours
  5. Notification: You'll be notified of the decision

Tips for successful appeals:

  • Explain context (was it a quote, reference, etc.?)
  • Be respectful and constructive
  • Provide relevant information

False Positives

AI moderation isn't perfect. Common false positives:

  • Technical jargon: "Kill the process", "abort transaction"
  • Quotes: Quoting someone else's problematic message
  • Non-English: Some languages may be misinterpreted
  • Sarcasm: AI may not understand tone

What happens:

  • Appeals are reviewed by humans
  • False positives are marked to improve the system
  • Custom allowlists can be created (admin feature)

Customization (Admin)

Admins can configure:

  • Thresholds: Adjust sensitivity (stricter or more lenient)
  • Actions: Choose automatic actions per risk level
  • Custom word lists: Add blocked or allowed words
  • Exemptions: Exclude specific channels or users
  • Notifications: Configure who gets notified of violations

See: Admin Guide - AI Management for details


Privacy & Data Usage

What Data Is Collected?

For AI features, we collect:

Data Type Purpose Retention Shared With
Message content Summarization, search Processed, not stored AI provider (OpenAI/Anthropic)
Search queries Provide search results Not stored AI provider (for embeddings)
Bot interactions Command processing Bot-specific data only Not shared
Moderation data Detect violations Stored for audit Not shared (local processing)

AI Provider Data Usage

When you use OpenAI-powered features:

  • Messages sent to OpenAI for processing
  • OpenAI's data usage policy applies
  • Data is NOT used to train OpenAI's models (per enterprise agreement)
  • Data is processed and discarded

When you use Anthropic-powered features:

  • Messages sent to Anthropic for processing
  • Anthropic's data usage policy applies
  • Data is NOT used for training
  • Data is processed and discarded

When using local fallbacks:

  • No data sent to external services
  • All processing happens on your device/server
  • Complete privacy, but reduced capability

Data You Can Control

You can: โœ… Opt out of AI features entirely โœ… Request data deletion (GDPR right to erasure) โœ… Export your AI interaction history โœ… See what data is being processed โœ… Choose between AI providers

You cannot: โŒ See other users' AI interactions โŒ Access raw AI model data โŒ Opt out of auto-moderation (policy enforcement)

GDPR Compliance

nself-chat is designed for GDPR compliance:

  • Right to access: View your AI data in Settings
  • Right to erasure: Request deletion of AI-related data
  • Right to portability: Export your data in JSON format
  • Data minimization: Only necessary data processed
  • Consent: Explicit opt-in for optional AI features

For EU users: Data is processed per GDPR Article 6(1)(f) for legitimate interests (security, functionality) and Article 6(1)(a) for optional features (with consent).

Security Measures

Data in transit:

  • โœ… TLS 1.3 encryption
  • โœ… Certificate pinning
  • โœ… End-to-end encryption for DMs (optional)

Data at rest:

  • โœ… Encrypted database storage
  • โœ… Encrypted backups
  • โœ… Access logging and auditing

API communication:

  • โœ… Secure API keys
  • โœ… Rate limiting
  • โœ… Request signing

Opt-In/Opt-Out

User-Level Controls

To manage AI features for yourself:

  1. Go to Settings > Privacy & AI
  2. Configure preferences:
AI Features Preferences

Message Summarization
โ—‰ Enabled (recommended)
โ—‹ Disabled

Reason: Uses AI to help you catch up on conversations

---

Smart Search
โ—‰ Semantic search (AI-powered)
โ—‹ Keyword search only
โ—‹ Disabled

Reason: Understands meaning for better results

---

Bot Interactions
โ˜‘ Allow bots to see my messages in channels
โ˜‘ Allow bots to send me direct messages
โ˜ Allow bots to see when I'm online

---

Auto-Moderation
โ˜‘ Protect me from toxic content (recommended)
โ˜‘ Filter profanity in messages I see
โ˜ Strict mode (hide more content)

---

Data Usage
โ˜ Send anonymized AI usage data to improve features
โ˜‘ Allow AI processing of my messages for features
  1. Click "Save Preferences"

What Happens When You Opt Out

Opt out of Message Summarization

Effect:

  • โŒ No AI-generated summaries
  • โœ… Basic statistical summaries still available
  • โœ… All other features work normally

You'll see: "Summarization disabled in your settings"

Opt out of Smart Search

Effect:

  • โŒ No semantic search
  • โœ… Keyword search still works
  • โœ… All filters and operators available

You'll see: "Using keyword search (semantic search disabled)"

Opt out of Bot Interactions

Effect:

  • โŒ Bots won't respond to your messages
  • โŒ Can't use slash commands
  • โœ… See bot messages from others
  • โœ… All human interactions normal

Opt out of Auto-Moderation

Note: You CANNOT completely opt out of auto-moderation as it's a workspace policy, but you can adjust how aggressively it filters content YOU see.

Options:

  • Normal: Standard filtering
  • Relaxed: Less aggressive (more content visible)
  • Strict: More aggressive (safer experience)

Workspace-Level Controls (Admin)

Admins can control AI features for everyone:

  1. Go to Admin Panel > AI Configuration
  2. Enable/disable features:
    • Message Summarization
    • Smart Search
    • Bot Platform
    • Auto-Moderation
  3. Set defaults for new users
  4. Require/allow user opt-out

See: Admin Guide - AI Management

Temporary Opt-Out

Quick disable for a session:

  1. Click the AI indicator in the top toolbar
  2. Toggle "Pause AI Features"
  3. AI features disabled for current session
  4. Re-enable anytime or automatically after session ends

Use cases:

  • Privacy-sensitive conversations
  • Testing non-AI functionality
  • Reducing distractions

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"AI features not available"

Symptoms: Greyed-out AI buttons, "Not available" messages

Causes & Solutions:

  1. Workspace hasn't configured AI

    • โœ… Contact your admin to set up AI providers
    • โœ… Use local fallback features in the meantime
  2. You've opted out

    • โœ… Go to Settings > Privacy & AI
    • โœ… Enable desired features
  3. AI quota exceeded

    • โœ… Wait for quota reset (usually monthly)
    • โœ… Contact admin about upgrading plan
  4. Network issues

    • โœ… Check internet connection
    • โœ… Try refreshing the page
    • โœ… Check if AI provider is experiencing outages

"Semantic search not working"

Symptoms: Searches only match exact keywords

Causes & Solutions:

  1. No OpenAI API key configured

    • โ„น๏ธ Semantic search requires OpenAI embeddings
    • โœ… Contact admin or use keyword search
  2. Search cache full

    • โœ… Clear cache: Settings > Advanced > Clear AI Cache
    • โœ… Admin can increase cache size
  3. Query too short

    • โœ… Use at least 2-3 words
    • โœ… Be more specific

"Summaries are poor quality"

Symptoms: Unhelpful or generic summaries

Causes & Solutions:

  1. Using local fallback (no AI)

    • โ„น๏ธ Check AI status indicator
    • โœ… Ask admin to configure OpenAI/Anthropic
  2. Not enough content

    • โœ… Need at least 5-10 messages for good summaries
    • โœ… Try different time range
  3. Messages lack context

    • โœ… AI works best with clear, substantive messages
    • โ„น๏ธ Short "ok", "thanks" messages don't summarize well
  4. Wrong summary type

    • โœ… Try different type: Brief vs Detailed vs Bullets
    • โœ… Adjust summary length in settings

"Bot not responding"

Symptoms: Slash commands don't work, bot doesn't reply

Causes & Solutions:

  1. Bot disabled

    • โœ… Check if bot is enabled: Admin Panel > Bots
    • โœ… Try in different channel
  2. Wrong command syntax

    • โœ… Type /help to see correct syntax
    • โœ… Check for typos in command
  3. Bot not in channel

    • โœ… Invite bot: /invite @BotName
    • โœ… Admin may need to enable bot for channel
  4. Rate limit hit

    • โฐ Wait a few minutes and try again
    • โ„น๏ธ Bots have rate limits to prevent abuse

"Message incorrectly flagged by moderation"

Symptoms: Your message was hidden or you received a warning unfairly

Causes & Solutions:

  1. False positive

    • โœ… Click "Appeal" and explain context
    • โœ… Moderator will review within 24 hours
  2. Technical jargon misinterpreted

    • โœ… Rephrase using different terms
    • โœ… Report to admin to add to allowlist
  3. Quote or reference

    • โœ… Use quote formatting: > quoted text
    • โœ… Add context: "As mentioned earlier..."

Getting Help

If issues persist:

  1. Check the Status Page: [status.yourworkspace.com]
  2. Consult documentation: This guide and FAQ
  3. Contact support:

Include in your support request:

  • Description of the issue
  • Steps to reproduce
  • Screenshots (if applicable)
  • Browser/app version
  • AI features you're using

FAQ

General Questions

Q: Do I need to pay extra for AI features? A: It depends on your workspace's plan. Check with your admin. Personal API keys can be used in some configurations.

Q: Which AI provider is better: OpenAI or Anthropic? A: OpenAI is recommended for full semantic search support. Anthropic is excellent for summarization but doesn't support embeddings yet.

Q: Can I use my own AI API keys? A: Yes, in self-hosted deployments. Cloud/managed deployments use workspace-level keys only.

Q: Are AI features available offline? A: Local fallbacks work offline (keyword search, basic summaries, moderation), but AI-powered features require internet connectivity.

Privacy Questions

Q: Does nself-chat train AI models on my messages? A: No. We don't train models, and our agreements with OpenAI/Anthropic explicitly prohibit using your data for training.

Q: Can admins see my private messages if AI is enabled? A: No. AI features respect the same privacy boundaries as regular features. Admins cannot see private messages unless they're participants.

Q: Is auto-moderation watching all my messages? A: Auto-moderation scans messages for policy violations (like spam, toxicity) but doesn't store or analyze content beyond that. Think of it like a spam filter.

Q: Where is my data processed? A: Depends on the provider. OpenAI (US), Anthropic (US), or locally (for fallbacks). GDPR-compliant processing for EU users.

Feature-Specific Questions

Q: Why does summarization sometimes take a long time? A: Large message volumes (100+ messages) take longer to process (5-10 seconds). Caching helps speed up repeated requests.

Q: Can I customize which bots are available? A: Yes, if you're an admin. Go to Admin Panel > Bots to enable/disable specific bots.

Q: How accurate is auto-moderation? A: Very accurate (95%+ for toxicity, 90%+ for spam) but not perfect. False positives are rare and can be appealed.

Q: Can I create my own bots? A: Yes! See the Bot SDK Documentation for a complete guide.

Q: What happens if I hit the AI rate limit? A: You'll see a message like "Rate limit reached. Please try again in a few minutes." Features will temporarily fall back to local implementations.


Related Documentation


Video Tutorials

๐Ÿ“บ Coming Soon:

  • Getting Started with AI Features (3 min)
  • Mastering Smart Search (5 min)
  • Creating Your First Bot (10 min)
  • Understanding Auto-Moderation (4 min)

Feedback & Suggestions

We're constantly improving AI features. Share your feedback:


Last Updated: January 31, 2026 Version: v0.7.0 Next Review: February 28, 2026

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