# AI answers and Ask AI chat

> Source: https://support.usebluehill.com/help-center-ai-assistant  |  Updated: 2026-10-26T22:19:30Z

AI features need the AI plan feature. The **AI assistant** card tells you when they are not enabled yet.

## Two kinds of help

- **AI answers** are instant, single answers. A visitor types a question into search, or starts a contact request, and gets an answer written from your articles with numbered citations. They are on by default.
- **Ask AI** (conversational chat) is a multi-turn chat with saved conversations for signed-in portal users. It is off by default and needs AI answers to be on.

## The AI assistant card

<img src="https://api.usebluehill.com/wiki/media/public/org_5a6906d4877a411f83f525d10e20355c/9ed9372c3e39b0d97126f042f8809152.png" alt="The AI assistant card" width="808" height="1106" />

Open **Support → Support settings → Help center**, pick the site, and scroll to **AI assistant**.

| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| **AI answers** | The main switch. Saves immediately. |
| **Tone** | **Friendly** (default), **Professional** or **Concise**. |
| **Answer length** | **Short**, **Medium** (default) or **Long**. |
| **Model** | **Fast** (default) or **Quality**. Quality uses a larger model, which is slower and costs more per answer. |
| **Custom instructions** | Up to 1000 characters that shape wording and emphasis, for example how to refer to your product. The assistant still answers only from your published articles; instructions cannot override that. |
| **Disclaimer** | A line shown under every answer. The default is *AI-generated — verify important details in the linked articles.* |
| **Starter questions** | Up to five questions shown as chips on the home page and in the chat's empty state. Each opens search with an instant answer. |
| **Suggest follow-up questions** | **People also ask** chips under each answer. |
| **Show "Still need help? Contact us"** | An escalation link under the answer that opens the contact form with the question filled in. Needs the contact form to be on. |
| **Conversational chat** | Turns on **Ask AI** for signed-in portal users. |

Switches save immediately. Fields are saved with **Save AI settings**.

## Semantic search index

The **Semantic search index** block shows how many articles are indexed, how many chunks exist, how many are out of date and when the index was last built. The index lets search and the assistant match meaning rather than exact words, and it is refreshed automatically as articles change. **Rebuild index** forces a full rebuild, for example after a large import.

If the block says **Not enabled on this server (keyword search only)**, ask us to turn semantic search on.

## What visitors get

**On the search page.** An **AI answer** card sits above the results. The answer streams in with numbered citations and a **Sources** list, followed by the disclaimer, **Was this helpful?** with **Yes** and **No**, the **People also ask** chips, **Continue in chat** when the chat is on, and **Still need help? Contact us**. A **No** vote asks what was missing. When the articles do not cover the question, the card says so and points at the results below.

**In the ⌘K palette.** Typing a question shows an **Ask the assistant** row; choosing it shows the same compact answer in place.

**On the contact page.** **Get an instant answer** in the **Before you submit** panel answers the draft request before the visitor sends it.

**Ask AI chat.** With conversational chat on, the header gains **Ask AI**, a floating **Ask AI** pill appears on every page, and AI answers end with **Continue in chat**. The chat opens as a side panel or as a full page with a list of past conversations grouped by day, **New chat**, renaming and deleting. On an article page the panel starts with **Asking about *that article***. Every answer cites its sources, offers follow-ups and can be rated.

The chat needs a signed-in portal account. Signed-out visitors see **Sign in to chat with the assistant** with **Sign in** and **Sign up** buttons. Daily limits apply; when one is reached the chat says so and suggests trying again tomorrow.

## See what people ask

**Analytics → Knowledge base** has an **AI assistant** section with the top questions, the unanswered ones, the articles the assistant cites most and the helpful rate of its answers. Admins can also open every chat conversation and read the transcript. See [AI assistant](./help-center-analytics#ai-assistant).

The Help center tab's AI strip summarizes the same numbers and its **Tune** button brings you back to the card.

Next: [Search engines, SEO health and search appearance](./help-center-search-engines-and-seo).