The Ask OrionAI panel
Open OrionAI from any page with the sparkle button or Ctrl+K, ask about what you are looking at, and follow the datasets it cites.
The Ask OrionAI panel opens beside whatever you are working on, so you can ask a question without leaving the page.
#Open the panel
- Press the sparkle Ask OrionAI button in the top bar (it is there on phones too), or
- press Ctrl+K (Cmd+K on a Mac) from anywhere, or
- type a question into the search box at the top of the page and press Enter.
On a dataset, form or dashboard you can also click one of the Ask OrionAI chips at the top of the page, such as Summarise, Review this form or Explain this dashboard. The panel opens and asks that question about the page.
Press Esc or the × to close it. The expand button opens the full Answers page with your last question.
#It reads the page you are on
| On this page | OrionAI reads | Try asking |
|---|---|---|
| A dataset | Its type, region, owner, columns, extent and description | "What could I analyse with this?" |
| A form | Its questions, its submission count and dates, and how often each question is left empty | "Which questions are often skipped?" |
| A dashboard | Its widgets and the numbers they show | "What stands out here?" |
| A project | Its maps, linked forms and datasets, and which getting-started steps are done | "What should I do next?" |
| The Data Explorer | Your search, filters and the results on screen | "Which of these is best for my analysis?" |
A chip above the question box shows what the panel is reading, for example Looking at dataset: Kenya wards. Press its × to leave the page out and ask a general question.
OrionAI only sees what the page already shows you, and it searches the catalogue as you, so it never uses data you cannot open.
#Sources
When an answer relies on a dataset from the catalogue, it links it by name, and the datasets it used appear as chips under the answer. Click one to open it.
#Ask OrionAI to make a change
OrionAI can do things for you. Ask in plain words, for example "Create a project called Malaria survey and add the Kenya health facilities dataset to it".
| It can | Undo |
|---|---|
| Create a project, rename it or rewrite its description | Archives the new project, or restores the old text |
| Add catalogue datasets to one of your projects | Removes them from the project |
| Create a map, in a project or on its own, with the datasets you name | Deletes the new map |
| Add datasets as layers to one of your maps | Puts the map back as it was |
| Rename one of your maps | Restores the old name |
| Improve a dataset's title or description (if you may edit it) | Restores the old text |
| Revise the draft of one of your forms: add, remove or reword questions, add a GPS question, make questions required, fix choices | Restores the previous draft |
| Add a chart or number to one of your dashboards, from a form's answers or a dataset's columns | Removes the widget |
Form changes only touch the form's draft. The live form changes when you publish the draft from the form page. OrionAI can revise forms built in the OrionGIS form builder; for forms uploaded as XLSForm, edit the file and upload it again.
OrionAI never changes anything on its own. Each change appears as a card showing exactly what will change:
- Read the card. Press Confirm to make the change, or Cancel.
- When it's done, press Open to go to the result.
- Press Undo on the card to reverse it.
OrionAI uses your own permissions, so it can only change what you could change yourself. If a map is open in Map Studio with unsaved changes, save or reload it before adding layers from the panel.
#Questions about submissions
On a form, OrionAI counts the submissions themselves, so ask for exact numbers:
- "Which submitter has the most rejected submissions?"
- "How many submissions came in each day this week?"
- "How did people answer the water source question?"
It can group submissions by submitter (with approved, rejected and has-issues counts), by review state, by day, or by the answers to one question.
#Project memory
On a project's overview, and on maps that belong to a project, OrionAI remembers your recent questions and the changes made there, so you can ask "what did we do last time?".
#Make a map
Press Make a map under the question box to open a new Map Studio draft. The Map Studio assistant then builds the map from your question, using real GIS tools.
In Map Studio, Ctrl+K opens the map's own assistant instead of the panel, because that assistant can change the map you have open.
#Credits
Each question uses one OrionAI credit. The panel shows how many credits you have left this month; your plan sets the allowance (see Billing).
#Client accounts
Client accounts can ask about the forms and dashboards shared with them. OrionAI answers from what is on the page; it does not search the catalogue or make changes for these accounts.
Something missing or unclear? Tell us — we update the guide as the platform grows.