Use natural-language questions to retrieve meeting information and available board book summaries inside the governance environment your organization already uses.
Meet AI Assist
AI Assist is a built-in chat experience in OnBoard (web and mobile). It helps directors and administrators ask questions in plain language and get meeting-related answers — meeting details, agendas, and available board book summaries — without leaving the platform.
Would you like to schedule time with Michael Staden to learn more?
Before You Get Started
AI Assist appears automatically once your organization admin turns it on. Once enabled, look for the AI Assist bar near the bottom-center of OnBoard on web, or the AI Assist button in the bottom-right corner. If you don't see it, ask your OnBoard administrator to enable it under Organization Settings Features.
Participate in the Beta
Register to use AI Assist, share feedback as you explore the feature, or request time with the Product Manager to discuss your experience directly.
Upcoming Webinars
Introducing AI Assist: See Board Prep Reimagined - October 15, 2026
Register for the WebinarJoin Tim Adair, OnBoard’s Chief Product Officer, for the launch of AI Assist: a native conversational AI experience built into OnBoard. Through a single board-prep scenario, you’ll see the full arc of what it does, from getting oriented in a packet to tracing an answer back to its source.
Previous Webinars
Michael Staden, Senior Director of Product Management, introduces AI Assist, explores the governance challenges it was designed to address and demonstrates its key capabilities.
AI Assist Technical Guide
What is AI Assist, and Why Should We Use It?
AI Assist is a built-in chat experience in OnBoard (web and mobile). It helps all users ask questions in plain language and get meeting-related help inside the product.
AI Assist is helpful because it can:
- Save time with quick summaries of meeting materials.
- Prepare us by answering questions about meetings and agendas we can access.
- Reduce manual searching by letting us ask questions instead of clicking through pages.
- Continue exploring a topic by asking follow-up questions within the same conversation.
- Build trust by avoiding unsafe guessing and focusing on grounded information.
Finding and Using AI Assist
Where Do We Find AI Assist?
After logging in to OnBoard on the web, AI Assist appears as a bar near the bottom center of the screen that reads Ask about meetings & materials.
We can drag AI Assist to any corner of the screen. When moved to a corner, it becomes a compact button. OnBoard remembers the selected position for each user.
We can also press Ctrl+K on Windows or Command+K on a Mac to open AI Assist from anywhere in OnBoard.
Mobile and Tablet Views
| NOTE: If you don’t see AI Assist, your organization may not have it enabled yet. Ask your OnBoard administrator. |
Is There a Walkthrough?
Yes. The first time we use AI Assist, a short guided walkthrough introduces:
- The AI Assist bar
- The chat panel
- Full-screen mode
- How to move the AI Assist button
The walkthrough only appears once.
How Do We Use AI Assist?
AI Assist Bar:
- Select the white AI Assist Bar in the bottom center of the screen in OnBoard.
- From the expanded list and text input field, select a prompt or type one out (examples below).
- Once the prompt is submitted, AI Assist opens as a flyout panel on the right side of the screen.
- Resize the flyout panel or expand it to full screen if you want more space.
- When you close AI Assist, it remembers the last view you used (for example, the side panel or full screen) while you stay logged in during that session.
- Enter follow-up questions to continue the conversation.
AI Assist Button
- Select the compact AI Assist button from its current corner of the screen.
- Enter a question or prompt in the text field.
- Resize the panel or expand it to full screen as needed.
- Ask follow-up questions to continue exploring the topic.
Mobile and Tablet Views
| NOTE: Selecting "Help Me Prepare" from an Agenda item in the Meeting Book will open the summary for that item in AI Assist. |
Getting Started with AI Assist
What Are Good Starter Questions?
AI Assist displays these suggested questions when we open it:
- “Summarize the board book for my next meeting.”
- “Walk me through the agenda for my next meeting.”
- “What meetings do I have coming up this quarter?”
We can also try:
- “Summarize the [Agenda Section Name, Meeting Name] in five bullets.”
- “What decisions are requested in the [Agenda Section Name] section of the [Meeting Name]?”
- “Which agenda sections have materials attached in [Meeting Name]?”
Optimizing AI Assist
What Does AI Assist Use to Answer Questions?
AI Assist uses secure, built-in connections to accessible OnBoard content, including:
- Meetings
- Agendas
- Meeting details
- Meeting materials
- Document content
- Meeting Book summaries
- Resources, where enabled
- Meeting Minutes, where enabled
AI Assist does not search the web or use information outside the OnBoard organization currently being viewed.
What Can AI Assist Help Us Find?
AI Assist can help us find and review:
- Upcoming and past meetings
- Meeting dates, times, locations, and invitees
- Agenda sections, presenters, guests, and timing
- Documents attached to agenda sections
- Board Book and document summaries
- Information contained inside meeting materials
- Topics, decisions, risks, and trends across multiple meetings
- Resources, where Resource search is enabled
Can AI Assist Answer Questions About a Meeting’s Agenda?
Yes. AI Assist can retrieve agenda section titles, timing, presenters, guests, and attached documents for meetings we have permission to access.
Example prompts:
- “What is on the agenda for the next Audit Committee meeting?”
- “Who is presenting the budget update at the April Board meeting?”
- “How much time is planned for each section of the September Board meeting?”
- “Which sections have documents attached in the Q3 Finance Committee meeting?”
Can AI Assist Answer Questions Across Multiple Meetings?
Yes. Include a topic, meeting type, or date range so AI Assist knows how widely to search.
Example prompts:
- “What has the Audit Committee discussed about cybersecurity since January?”
- “How has our cash position changed across the last three Board meetings?”
- “Compare the budget discussions from the last two Finance Committee meetings.”
- “What decisions were requested about the strategic plan this year?”
Does AI Assist Search the Text Inside Meeting Materials?
Yes. AI Assist can search content that has been processed and that we have permission to access. This can include Board Book content and individual documents attached to agenda sections.
Newly uploaded materials may take a short time to process before they become searchable.
Can AI Assist Search Resources?
In organizations where Resource search is enabled, AI Assist can search accessible files, links, and videos stored in Resources alongside meeting materials.
Resource search is still being made available to organizations, so it may not be available in every organization.
Example prompts:
- “Summarize [Resource Name].”
- “What does [Resource Name] say about our strategic priorities?”
- “Which Resources mention cybersecurity?”
- “Compare the guidance in [Resource Name] and [Resource Name].”
NOTE: If AI Assist cannot find information in Resources, your plan may not include Resources access. Contact your organization administrator to confirm your plan. |
Can AI Assist Search Meeting Minutes?
AI Assist Pro and AI Suite can search published meeting minutes you have permission to view. Minutes help AI Assist answer questions about what was discussed, decided, or assigned during past meetings.
Example prompts:
- What decisions were recorded in the minutes from the [meeting name]?
- Summarize the key discussion points from the [date] meeting minutes.
- What action items were assigned during the [meeting name]?
- What concerns were raised about [topic] in past meeting minutes?
- How has the discussion about [topic] changed across recent meetings?
NOTE: If AI Assist cannot find information in meeting minutes, your plan may not include minutes access. Contact your organization administrator to confirm your plan. |
Can AI Assist See the Page We Are Viewing?
Yes. When AI Assist can access the current page, a Using page context indicator appears above the message box.
This allows us to use prompts such as:
- “Summarize this.”
- “What is the key point on this page?”
- “What risks are identified on this page?”
- “Explain the financial results on this page in plain language.”
The available context includes the document being viewed and the current page number.
Can We Ask About a Specific Passage in a Document?
Yes. Highlight text in the document viewer, and then ask AI Assist a question about the selected passage.
A Using highlight indicator confirms that AI Assist is using the highlighted text.
Example prompts:
- “Explain this passage in plain language.”
- “What decision is being requested here?”
- “Summarize the highlighted text in three bullets.”
- “Does this passage identify any risks?”
Can AI Assist Create or Change Anything in OnBoard?
No. AI Assist is currently read-only. It cannot:
- Create meetings
- Edit agendas
- Upload documents
- Send messages
- Change settings
- Create, edit, or delete OnBoard records
We can delete our own AI Assist conversations from our personal chat history.
Can We Attach a File or Ask AI Assist to Search the Web?
Not currently. AI Assist only uses OnBoard content we already have permission to access.
File attachments and web search are not currently available, even if related options appear in the interface.
| NOTE: AI Assist works best when prompts include a meeting name, date range, topic, agenda section, or document name. This helps AI Assist find the right meeting data faster and return a more accurate answer. |
Meeting Schedules and Searchable Content
How Far Back Can AI Assist Look?
AI Assist can search meeting details, including:
- Meeting names, dates, and times
- Agendas and agenda sections
- Presenters
- Invitees
- Section timing
- Attached documents
AI Assist can search content inside documents, meeting materials, and Board Books from a rolling two years of meetings. The two-year content limit is based on the end-date of the meeting that it belongs to.
Organizations with AI Suite will have a 5-year content window.
Why Can’t AI Assist Answer Questions About a Document?
This can happen when:
- The document falls outside the organization’s searchable-content window.
- The document is still being processed.
- The document is restricted by permissions.
- The material is not available in a searchable format.
Newly uploaded materials become searchable after processing, which may take a short time.
What Should We Expect When Asking About Upcoming Meetings?
If we ask, “What meetings do I have coming up?” without providing a timeframe, AI Assist returns a selection of nearby meetings. This may include recently completed meetings.
Add a timeframe for more precise results:
- “What meetings do I have next month?”
- “What meetings do I have coming up this quarter?”
- “What meetings do I have in the next six months?”
- “Do I have any meetings next week?”
What Organization Does AI Assist Use?
AI Assist uses the organization currently being viewed in OnBoard. It does not search across multiple organizations or change organizations automatically.
If we belong to more than one organization, switch to the appropriate organization before asking a question.
Conversation History
Does AI Assist Save Our Conversations?
Yes. AI Assist automatically saves each conversation for the individual user and organization.
Each conversation:
- Receives an automatically generated title based on the first question.
- Appears in the user’s conversation history.
- Is grouped under Today, Previous 7 Days, or Older.
- Is personal to the user who created it.
There is no organization setting for turning conversation history off.
Can We Rename or Delete a Conversation?
Yes. Open the conversation menu and select Rename or Delete.
Deleting a conversation permanently removes it from that user’s history and cannot be undone.
Does AI Assist Remember Earlier Questions in the Same Conversation?
Yes. AI Assist uses earlier messages within the current conversation as context for follow-up questions.
For example, after asking about the Governance section, we could ask:
- “Now do the same for the Finance section.”
- “Put those risks in a table.”
- “Which of those items requires a decision?”
Start a new conversation when changing meetings or moving to an unrelated topic. This gives AI Assist clearer context and can produce more accurate answers.
Why Did We See a Message that the Conversation was Compacted?
Very long conversations are summarized to keep the chat within its working limit. When this happens, some older details may be condensed.
If AI Assist displays a compaction notice, start a new conversation when detailed context from older messages is important.
Can We Stop or Copy a Response?
Yes. While AI Assist is generating an answer, select the stop button to end the response.
After an answer is complete, use the copy button to copy it.
Access and Security
How Does AI Assist Keep Information Secure?
AI Assist follows existing OnBoard permissions. It only returns meetings, materials, documents, Resources, and summaries we are already authorized to open.
AI Assist is also designed not to reveal restricted content or fill missing information with outside knowledge. If it cannot find an answer within the content we can access, it should say so instead of inventing an answer.
Are Conversations Shared With Other Users?
No. AI Assist conversations are personal to each user and organization. Other users do not see our conversation history.
Writing Better Prompts
What Makes a Prompt Work Well?
Name the content we want AI Assist to review. Prompts are more accurate when they include:
- A meeting name
- A date or date range
- An agenda section
- A committee
- A topic
- A document name
- A Resource name
- A requested response format
Weaker: “Summarize the finance stuff.”
Stronger: “Summarize the Financial Review section of the March Audit Committee meeting in five bullets.”
Why Should We Name Meetings and Documents if AI Assist Knows Who We Are?
AI Assist knows our permissions, but it may not know our intent.
For example, “my last meeting” may be unclear if we participate in several committees. Naming the meeting, committee, or date helps AI Assist locate the correct content.
Additionally, meetings and documents may share similar names or cover similar topics, so identifiers are often necessary for AI Assist to locate the correct version.
Can We Say “I,” “Me,” or “My” in a Prompt?
Yes, for meetings and materials. AI Assist already works from what you have access to, so "What meetings do I have coming up this quarter?" and "Summarize the board book for my next meeting" both work well.
The thing to know: AI Assist knows what you can see, but it doesn't know your name. This is an important distinction.
For example: If asking about Agenda sections where you're the presenter, use your name, not "I." AI Assist can read the presenters listed on each agenda section, but it can't match "I" to your account. Ask it this way instead:
- "Which agenda sections list Jane Smith as a presenter in the March Board meeting?"
Can We Ask AI Assist How to Use OnBoard?
No. AI Assist answers questions about board content, including meetings, agendas, documents, and summaries. It is not an OnBoard product help assistant and cannot explain procedures, change settings, or perform tasks.
For product assistance, use the OnBoard Help Center or contact Support.
Does not work: “How do I upload a document to an agenda?”
Works: “Which documents are attached to the Q2 Budget section?”
Can We Use Phrases Such as “Next Week” or “Last Quarter”?
Yes. AI Assist understands natural date phrases and interprets them using our local time zone.
Examples include:
- “Last October”
- “Since April”
- “This quarter”
- “Next week”
- “In the next six months”
Should We Ask One Question at a Time?
Yes. One clear request per message typically produces a better answer than combining several unrelated questions.
Ask the main question first, and then use follow-up questions in the same conversation to explore the topic further.
Can We Tell AI Assist What Format to Use?
Yes. Include the desired format in the prompt.
For example:
- “Give me five bullets.”
- “Put the results in a table.”
- “Keep the answer to one short paragraph.”
- “List only the decisions being requested.”
- “Compare these meetings by topic, decision, and risk.”
If we do not request a format, summaries generally use a short, high-level format.
What Should We Do If AI Assist Cannot Find Something?
Try these steps:
- Check the spelling and wording of the meeting or document name.
- Add a specific date or date range.
- Confirm that we can open the item ourselves in OnBoard.
- Confirm that the material is within the organization’s searchable-content window.
- If the material was just uploaded, wait a few minutes and try again.
Improving AI Assist Results
How Can Meeting Administrators Improve AI Assist Results?
AI Assist becomes more useful when meeting history and materials are complete, organized, and available in OnBoard.
Meeting Administrators can help by:
- Adding materials to the appropriate agenda sections.
- Building complete Meetings in OnBoard.
- Using clear names for meetings, agenda sections, documents, and Resources.
- Creating or uploading Minutes consistently.
- Updating past meeting visibility so members can access the Agenda, Meeting Book, and other materials.
- Confirming that members have the correct permissions.
- Allowing newly uploaded documents time to finish processing.
Enabling/Disabling AI Assist
How Do I Enable or Disable AI Assist?
Organization Admins can turn AI Assist on or off for everyone in the organization.
- Go to Organization Settings.
- Select the Features tab.
- Scroll to the AI Assist section.
- Use the Enable AI Assist toggle:
- Turn it off (gray) to disable AI Assist.
- Turn it on (purple) to enable AI Assist.
NOTE: Some capabilities, including Resource search, may depend on the organization’s plan and feature availability. |
Sharing AI Assist Feedback
How Can We Share Feedback About an Answer?
Feedback options appear on individual AI Assist responses. Start with the Thumbs Up or Down icons.
- Select Thumbs Up when the answer was helpful.
- Select Give additional feedback if you have more to share.
- Select Thumbs Down when the answer was not helpful.
- After selecting thumbs down, choose what went wrong:
- Inaccurate
- Incomplete
- Misunderstood the question
- Could not find the answer
- Add a written comment if more explanation would be helpful.
- Select Submit to send your feedback.
| NOTE: Feedback is reviewed and used to improve AI Assist responses. |
Changes from Earlier OnBoard Features
Did AI Assist Replace Intelligent Assistant?
Yes. When AI Assist is enabled, Intelligent Assistant is automatically removed from the OnBoard organization.
Did AI Assist Replace Book AI?
AI Assist replaces part of the previous Book AI experience.
When AI Assist is enabled:
- The Help Me Prepare button at the top of the agenda is removed.
- Help Me Prepare buttons remain on individual top-level agenda sections.
- A section’s button stays disabled until its summary finishes generating.
- Selecting Help Me Prepare sends the section summary to AI Assist.
- We can continue asking follow-up questions about the section in AI Assist.
| NOTE: The section-level Help Me Prepare option only appears on top-level agenda sections. |
Did AI Assist Replace Advanced Search?
No. You can still use Advanced Search outside of AI Assist to search throughout OnBoard for documents, users, meetings, agendas, approvals, messages, etc.
Current AI Assist Capabilities
What Can AI Assist Do Now?
AI Assist currently supports:
- Upcoming and past meeting questions
- Live meeting, schedule, agenda, presenter, timing, and invitee information
- Meeting Book and agenda section summaries
- Document questions and summaries
- Search across processed meeting materials within the organization’s searchable-content window
- Comparisons across multiple meetings
- Page context in the document viewer
- Questions about highlighted document text
- Resource search where enabled
- Automatically saved conversation history
- Renaming and deleting personal conversations
- Follow-up questions within a conversation
- Conversation compaction for long chats
- Stopping responses while they are being generated
- Copying completed responses
- Thumbs up, thumbs down, and written feedback
- Natural date phrases
- Requested formats such as bullets, tables, and short summaries
- Keyboard access using Ctrl+K or Command+K
What should we not expect AI Assist to do?
AI Assist does not currently:
- Create, edit, or delete OnBoard records
- Upload or attach files
- Search the web
- Search across multiple OnBoard organizations at the same time
- Answer questions based on restricted content
- Use information outside the current OnBoard organization
- Provide step-by-step help for using OnBoard
- Replace human review or judgment for important governance decisions
| NOTE: AI Assist only returns information we are allowed to access. If a meeting, agenda section, document, Resource, or other item is restricted, AI Assist will not display that content. |
FAQs
-
Where can I find AI Assist?
- Look for Ask about meetings & materials near the bottom of the screen. You can move the button or press Ctrl+K on Windows or Command+K on Mac.
-
Does AI Assist work on mobile?
- Yes. AI Assist is available on both web and mobile, with one continuous conversation across both.
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Is there a walkthrough?
- Yes. A short guided tour appears the first time you open AI Assist.
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Why don’t I see AI Assist?
- Your organization may not have it enabled. Contact your OnBoard administrator.
-
What are some good starter prompts?
- Try:
- “Summarize the [Agenda Section Name] section in five bullets.”
- “What decisions are requested in the [Agenda Section Name] section?”
- “Which sections have materials attached in [Meeting Name]?”
- Try:
-
What information does AI Assist use?
- AI Assist uses meetings, agendas, materials, documents, and board book summaries you can access in OnBoard. It does not search the web.
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What can AI Assist help me find?
- It can find meeting details, agenda information, presenters, timing, materials, and summaries.
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Can AI Assist answer questions about an agenda?
- Yes. It can find section titles, timing, presenters, guests, and attached documents.
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Can AI Assist search multiple meetings?
- Yes. Include a topic, meeting type, or date range in your prompt.
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Can AI Assist search meeting materials?
- Yes. It can search processed materials that you have permission to view.
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Can AI Assist make changes in OnBoard?
- No. AI Assist is read-only and cannot create, edit, upload, send, or change anything in OnBoard.
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Can I attach files or search the web?
- No. AI Assist only uses supported content already available to you in OnBoard.
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Why can it find a meeting but not its documents?
- The documents may be more than two years old or still processing.
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Why do past meetings appear in upcoming meeting results?
- Without a timeframe, results may include meetings before and after your next meeting. Add a timeframe for more precise results.
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Can AI Assist search across organizations?
- No. It only searches the organization you are currently viewing.
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How does AI Assist protect information?
- AI Assist follows your OnBoard permissions and only returns content you can access.
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Can AI Assist find my assigned actions or approvals?
- No. Use the Actions area to review tasks, approvals, surveys, or e-signature items.
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Can AI Assist explain how to use OnBoard?
- No. Use the Help Center or contact Support for help using OnBoard features.
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Does AI Assist save my chats?
- Yes. Conversations are saved automatically and are only visible to you.
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Can I rename or delete a chat?
- Yes. Open the conversation menu and select Rename or Delete.
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Does AI Assist remember earlier questions?
- Yes, within the same conversation. Start a new chat when changing topics.
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Why was my conversation compacted?
- AI Assist summarizes older messages in long conversations. Start a new chat for the best results.
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Can I stop or copy a response?
- Yes. Use the stop button while it responds or the copy button when it finishes.
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How do I report a problem with an answer?
- Select thumbs up or thumbs down. You can identify the problem and add a comment.
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How can I write a better prompt?
- Include a meeting, date, agenda section, committee, or document name.
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Can I use “I,” “me,” or “my”?
- Yes, when asking about content you can access. AI Assist knows your permissions, but it does not know your name.
-
Can I ask which sections I’m presenting?
- Yes, but include your name. For example: “Which sections list Jane Smith as a presenter?”
-
Can I use phrases like “next week”?
- Yes. AI Assist understands natural date phrases and uses your local time zone.
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Should I ask one question at a time?
- Yes. Ask one clear question, then use follow-up questions for more detail.
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Can I choose the response format?
- Yes. Ask for bullets, a table, a short paragraph, or another format.
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What if AI Assist cannot find something?
- Check the name, add a date, confirm your access, and try again if the material was recently uploaded.
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Did AI Assist replace Book AI?
- Partly. The main Help Me Prepare button is removed, but section-level buttons remain and open summaries in AI Assist.
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How far back can AI Assist search?
- Searching inside materials covers a rolling two-year period based on the meeting end date.
- For organizations with the AI Suite, Assist covers a 5-year period for meeting materials and an unlimited period of time for files in Resources.
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What does "rolling 2 years" mean?
- It's not a one-time cutoff. It's a moving window: if a meeting is 2 years old today, its documents stop showing up in AI search results, and this keeps moving forward every day as your meetings age. A document you can search today may not be searchable next year even if you never touch it.
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Will I lose access to my older documents?
- No. Your documents stay exactly where they are in OnBoard and you can still open and read them manually at any time. What changes is whether AI search can find and answer questions from them.
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Does AI Assist keep up with new board materials automatically?
- Yes. Whatever tier you're on, new board books, meetings, and documents your board produces going forward are added automatically, within your tier's ongoing processing allowance.
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Will I be able to see how much of my AI processing allowance I've used?
- Not yet. Usage visibility is something OnBoard plans to add, but there's no confirmed timeline for it. Your Account Manager or CSM can review this with you as needed.
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What does AI Assist Pro get me?
- Full-history search, not just the rolling 2 years, plus resources and minutes added to what's searchable alongside board books.
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What does AI Suite include?
- Everything in Pro, plus a broader set of AI tools including AI Minutes, AI Agenda, AI Book, Meeting Insights, and Actions, along with Governance IQ.
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Who should I talk to about what this means for my organization specifically?
- Your OnBoard Customer Success Manager and Account Manager can review what your account currently searches, what's included at each tier, and what upgrading would cost for your package.
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If I currently have AI Suite, do I also get AI Assist Pro?
- Yes. AI Suite includes everything AI Assist Pro provides, board books, resources, and minutes in scope, plus full-history processing, in addition to the AI Suite features. There's no separate step needed to also have Pro-level document access.
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Can we upgrade later?
- Yes. Boards can move from AI Assist to AI Assist Pro, or go directly to AI Suite, whenever they're ready for more of their record in scope. Talk to your account team about the upgrade path that fits your board.
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Did AI Assist replace Intelligent Assistant?
- Yes. Intelligent Assistant is removed when AI Assist is enabled.
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What am I not getting with the included AI Assist tier that I might rely on today?
- Two things. First, search across resources and minutes, the included tier only covers board books. Second, full-history search, the included tier only covers the rolling 2 years described above.
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Can I stay on Intelligent Assistant instead of moving to AI Assist?
- No. All Intelligent Assistant customers will move to AI Assist.
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Will my team need any training on this?
- Training will be minimal, but there is some change management. Please leverage this guide for those users using Intelligent Assistant today.
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