Many of the most valuable AI Assist questions rely on historical context. The quality of those answers depends on the historical content available in OnBoard and how that content is organized.
This article explains how Organization Administrators can prepare historical meetings and resources to help members get more meaningful, accurate, and relevant AI Assist responses.
Historical Content Matters
Why Does Historical Content Matter?
AI Assist can only answer questions using content that exists in OnBoard and that the user has permission to access.
When historical meetings, documents, and governance resources are available, users can quickly explore past discussions, decisions, and organizational knowledge without searching through years of board materials.
Examples include:
- What has the board discussed about cybersecurity?
- When was the strategic plan approved?
- What concerns did the Finance Committee raise last year?
- How has this initiative changed over time?
Without sufficient historical content in OnBoard, AI Assist may have limited context for answering these types of questions. Organization admins should take the following steps to prepare historical meetings and resources so that members can use AI Assist to draw from a strong foundation of institutional knowledge.
Step 1: Identify What Users Will Ask
Before adding historical content, think about how your board members, committee members, executives, and administrators will use AI Assist.
Start by identifying the questions users are most likely to ask, such as:
- What has the board discussed about cybersecurity?
- When was the strategic plan approved?
- What recommendations came from the Audit Committee?
- How has a topic changed over time?
- What decisions were made about a specific initiative?
These questions can help you determine which meetings, committee records, and governance resources should be prioritized. Rather than focusing on how much content to add, focus on adding the content that will help AI Assist answer the questions your users care about most.
Step 2: Start with Your Most Relevant Historical Meetings
You do not need to migrate every historical meeting before introducing AI Assist.
Instead, begin with meetings that users are most likely to reference, including:
- Recent board meetings
- Recent committee meetings
- Strategic planning meetings
- Meetings related to major initiatives or projects
- Meetings that are frequently referenced by leadership
Starting with the most relevant meetings allows you to build useful historical context quickly while expanding your meeting history over time.
NOTE: The amount of historical content available to AI Assist varies by package. For details, see Compare OnBoard AI Assist.
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Step 3: Recreate Historical Meetings Whenever Possible
When building historical context, recreate meetings in OnBoard whenever practical rather than uploading a completed board book as a single PDF.
A recreated meeting preserves important information such as:
- Meeting details
- Agenda sections
- Supporting documents
- Presentations and reports
This structure gives AI Assist more context and allows users to receive more precise answers and citations when asking questions about past discussions.
| Need help creating or publishing historical meetings? Check out our Help Center Meetings articles! |
Step 4: Build Complete Meeting Agendas
Historical meetings should be organized the same way you would organize an upcoming meeting.
For each meeting:
- Create agenda sections.
- Add supporting documents to the appropriate agenda section.
- Include reports, presentations, and discussion materials when available.
- Publish the meeting once it is complete.
- Add minutes to provide context of what was discussed in the meeting.
The more complete the meeting record, the more context AI Assist has available when answering questions about that meeting.
| NOTE: Linked minutes or minutes published with Minutes Builder or AI Minutes will only be available in AI Assist Pro and AI Suite. For more insights, See our Complete Meetings article. |
Step 5: Include Committee Meetings
Many important board discussions begin at the committee level.
When available, include historical meetings for committees such as:
- Audit Committee
- Finance Committee
- Governance Committee
- Executive Committee
- Other committees that regularly support board decisions
Including committee records helps users research topics across both committee and board discussions and provides AI Assist with a more complete organizational history.
Step 6: Add Governance Resources
Meetings are only one part of your organization's historical knowledge.
Organizations with AI Assist Pro or AI Suite should consider uploading governance materials to Resources that users may need to reference, including:
- Strategic plans
- Bylaws
- Governance policies
- Committee charters
- Board handbooks
- Long-range planning documents
These resources can provide important context for AI Assist questions that may not be answered by meeting materials alone.
| For more insights, see our Creating and Managing Resources article. |
Step 7: Use Clear and Descriptive Document Names
Document names help both users and AI Assist identify the correct information.
Whenever possible, use names that clearly describe the content of a document.
Less descriptive
- Minutes.pdf
- Report.pdf
- Presentation.pdf
More descriptive
- Finance Committee Minutes March 2026.pdf
- Strategic Plan FY2027.pdf
- Audit Report Q4 2026.pdf
Clear naming conventions make it easier to distinguish between similar documents and improve the user experience when reviewing citations.
Step 8: Verify Visibility and Permissions
AI Assist follows the same permissions and visibility settings used throughout OnBoard.
Before introducing AI Assist to users, verify that:
- Historical meetings are published
- Appropriate groups can access the content
- Governance resources are visible to the intended audience
- Permissions reflect your organization's requirements
Users can only receive answers based on content they are authorized to access.
| For more information, see our articles on Visibility States and OnBoard Permissions. |
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