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Every chat starts with two decisions: what to ask, and what to ground the answer in. You ask in natural language, with no special syntax required, and you control exactly which Brains, files, and web context the answer draws on.

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Start a chat

1

Open Chats and click New chat

Click New chat to begin. Your past conversations are listed in the sidebar, grouped by week and month.
2

Choose what to ground the answer in

In the input bar, use Choose brain(s) to query to pick one or more Brains, toggle Web on to also search the web, and use the paperclip to attach a one-off file just for this question.
3

Type your question and send

Ask in natural language. Not sure how to phrase it? Click Enhance prompt and VirtualBrain rewrites your prompt into a sharper, more specific question.
VirtualBrain chat input bar showing the Choose brain(s) to query selector, the Files picker, the Web toggle, the paperclip attachment, and the Enhance prompt option

The chat input bar: choose Brains, toggle Web, attach a file, and enhance your prompt

To query several Brains at once (say, a data room alongside your sector research), select more than one in Choose brain(s) to query. Cross-Brain questions need nothing else.

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Ask better questions

Specific questions get specific, well-sourced answers:

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What the answer draws on

You decide what the retriever works from, and each method behaves differently: These combine. Drag in files and query a Brain at the same time, and both the attachments and the Brain’s relevant documents feed the answer.
When you need to be sure a particular document is used, attach it or select it directly; Brain-wide retrieval keeps only the documents that fit the question.

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What carries across turns

Each question arrives with what came before it, which is why “make that shorter” or “now compare it to last year” works without you restating anything. Three things travel with it. The running summary is rewritten after every exchange rather than accumulating, so a figure you’ve since corrected or a direction you’ve abandoned drops out rather than shaping later answers.

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Follow up on a deliverable

Open a deliverable in the side panel and the input bar shows Follow-up question on, naming the document. Anything you ask next is answered against it, so you can request an executive summary of the analysis beside you without re-describing what it contains. Click the × on the pill to ask an unrelated question instead.
A chat with a regional sales analysis open in the right-hand panel, and the input bar showing a Follow-up question on pill naming that deliverable

With a deliverable open, the input bar marks your next question as a follow-up on it.

Start a new chat when the subject genuinely changes. The summary still holds the old objective, and your first answers in the new direction will lean on it.

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Prompt for precision

  • Be specific: Name the metric, the period, the document. “EBITDA margin trend 2021 to 2023” beats “tell me about performance”.
  • One question at a time: Ask, verify, then follow up. That’s easier to check, and to trust, than a single sprawling request.
  • Enhance your prompt: When a prompt isn’t landing, let VirtualBrain sharpen it for you rather than guessing at phrasing.
  • Turn on Web when you need it: Toggle Web search for market data and external context; leave it off to stay strictly within your documents.

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Next step

Once you send the question, the Mainframe shows its research as it works. See Sourced Answers to follow what it consulted and verify every claim against its source.