> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.beam.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Beam AI Copilot

> Ask Beam AI for help from any page: the copilot panel knows which page and agent you are looking at, answers in place, and acts on what you ask.

Beam AI is the assistant built into every workspace. On the workspace home it fills the page. Everywhere else it opens as a panel on the right, called the copilot, and it knows which page you are on and which agent you are looking at. Both places share one conversation, so a thread you start on the home is still there when you open the panel on an agent.

<Frame caption="Agent <span>→</span> Flow <span>→</span> Toggle Beam AI copilot">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/beamai/mzjYglzHZw7mcBH3/01-getting-started/beam-ai-copilot/copilot-panel-on-flow.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=mzjYglzHZw7mcBH3&q=85&s=11cae3f167291b0d61a3b3568141e41c" alt="The Beam AI copilot panel open on the right of an agent's Flow page, with the Agent Flow context pill above the Ask anything composer" width="1880" height="1096" data-path="01-getting-started/beam-ai-copilot/copilot-panel-on-flow.png" />
</Frame>

<Info>
  Beam AI is turned on per workspace. If the Beam icon is not in the top-right of the header on an agent page, it is not enabled for yours. Ask your workspace admin.
</Info>

<h2 id="what-beam-ai-copilot-is">
  What Beam AI copilot is
</h2>

<h3 id="one-assistant-two-places">
  One assistant, two places
</h3>

Beam AI shows up in two forms, and they are the same assistant with the same conversation.

| Where | What you see | Best for |
| - | - | - |
| Workspace home | A full-page chat headed **What do you want to work on?**, with suggested prompts underneath and a **Build agents** switch in the composer | Starting a piece of work from scratch, or building an agent |
| Any other page | The **Beam AI** panel docked on the right, opened from the Beam icon in the header | Asking about, or acting on, the page in front of you |

The panel keeps its state as you move around. Open it on one page and it is still open on the next. Close it and it stays closed until you open it again. The thread comes with you too, so you can ask a question on an agent's Tasks page, move to its Flow, and carry on in the same conversation.

<Note>
  The header icon is not shown on the workspace home, because Beam AI already fills that page. Open any other page to get the panel.
</Note>

<h3 id="it-knows-where-you-are">
  It knows where you are
</h3>

A pill sits above the composer and names the page copilot is reading: **Inbox**, **Integrations**, **Views**, **Skills**, **Projects**, or **Workspace Settings** at workspace level, and on an agent's pages the page name followed by the agent's name, such as **Agent Flow**, **Tasks**, **Configuration**, **Analytics**, or **Learning**. Inside a task the pill reads **Task** or **Task Node**. On a page copilot has no specific knowledge of, it reads **Workspace**.

That pill is what makes the difference between a generic chat and a copilot. On an agent's Flow you can ask it to explain the Flow or change a step. On Tasks you can ask why a task failed. In Inbox you can ask it to work through what is waiting on you. It uses the same connected integrations and skills as the workspace home, so it can also do work that has nothing to do with the page, such as drafting an email.

<Frame caption="Agent <span>→</span> Tasks <span>→</span> Toggle Beam AI copilot">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/beamai/mzjYglzHZw7mcBH3/01-getting-started/beam-ai-copilot/copilot-context-pill.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=mzjYglzHZw7mcBH3&q=85&s=4fdf979935e651d7934792c05f243d4f" alt="The bottom of the copilot panel showing the Tasks context pill with the agent name, above the composer with its plus button and send arrow" width="696" height="330" data-path="01-getting-started/beam-ai-copilot/copilot-context-pill.png" />
</Frame>

<h3 id="what-is-in-the-composer">
  What is in the composer
</h3>

The composer reads **Ask anything...** until you type. **Enter** sends, **Shift+Enter** adds a line. While copilot is working, the send arrow becomes a stop square.

The **+** button in the composer opens a menu with three things:

* **Upload file** attaches a document to your next message.
* **Add skills** lists the workspace's skills. Pick one and it is inserted into your message. Typing **/** in the composer opens the same list inline.
* **Integrations** shows what is connected and lets you connect more without leaving the chat.

You can keep typing while copilot is busy. Up to five messages wait in a queue above the composer, shown as **messages queued**, and each is sent as the previous one finishes. Expand the queue to remove one, or select **Clear All**.

<h3 id="how-it-asks-before-acting">
  How it asks before acting
</h3>

When copilot needs a decision, it asks in the panel rather than guessing. Some questions come as a set of options above the composer, one at a time, with **Back**, **Skip**, and **Next** or **Submit** underneath, and sometimes an **Other** choice for a free-text answer. Others are a plain question in the thread, and you reply in the composer.

<Warning>
  Copilot acts on what you ask, and that includes editing a Flow or rerunning a task. Say exactly what you want changed, and read its reply, because the change shows up on the page behind the panel. Closing the panel while a question is waiting is safe: the question is still there when you reopen it.
</Warning>

<h3 id="threads">
  Threads
</h3>

Every conversation is a thread. The history icon in the panel header opens **Chat History**, where you can search for a thread and switch to it, and the **+** beside it starts a **New chat**. Threads are shared between the panel and the workspace home, and they are kept, so after a reload or a fresh sign-in you can pick any of them up from **Chat History**.

<h3 id="where-other-features-open-into-it">
  Where other features open into it
</h3>

Some buttons around the product are shortcuts into the copilot with a message already sent.

* **Fix with AI** on a failed integration step opens the panel with the diagnosis already running. See [Fix with AI](/03-running-operations/debugging-testing/fix-with-ai/fix-with-ai).
* **Try in chat** on a skill card opens the panel and asks copilot to show how that skill works. See [Workspace Skills](/05-resources/workspace-skills/workspace-skills).
* **New skill** on Skills and **New project** on Projects open the panel with copilot ready to guide you through creating one.

<h3 id="who-can-do-what">
  Who can do what
</h3>

Beam AI itself is on or off for the whole workspace. Inside it, three things depend on your role.

| Control | Needs |
| - | - |
| **Add skills** in the **+** menu | **Skills** under **Beam AI** |
| **Integrations** in the **+** menu | The **Integrations** group |
| **Build agents** on the workspace home | **Create & edit** under **Agents** |

Roles are covered in [Roles and Permissions](/05-resources/roles-and-permissions/roles-and-permissions). If a control is missing for you and not for a colleague, that is why.

<h2 id="how-to-use-beam-ai-copilot">
  How to use Beam AI copilot
</h2>

<h3 id="open-and-close-the-panel">
  Open and close the panel
</h3>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open any page except the workspace home">
    An agent's Flow, Tasks, Inbox, Integrations: any of them. The Beam icon is at the right end of the header.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select the Beam icon">
    The panel opens on the right, headed **Beam AI**. An empty thread shows **Describe a task. Beam handles it.** above the composer. Otherwise it opens on the thread you last had open.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Resize it if you want">
    Drag the edge between the page and the panel. It stops at about 40 percent of the window.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Close it with the Close icon">
    The rightmost icon in the panel header closes it. The header icon comes back, and the panel stays closed on every page until you open it again.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<h3 id="ask-about-the-page-you-are-on">
  Ask about the page you are on
</h3>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Check the pill above the composer">
    It should name the page and, on an agent, the agent. If it reads **Workspace**, copilot has no specific knowledge of this page and answers in general terms.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Type your question and press Enter">
    Be concrete about what you want. "Why did the last task fail?" on Tasks, or "Add a Slack message after the summary step" on Flow.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Answer what it asks">
    If copilot needs a choice, pick an option and select **Next** or **Submit**, or choose **Other** and type. If it asks a plain question in the thread, reply in the composer.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Check the result on the page">
    A change copilot makes shows up on the page behind the panel. On a Flow, the canvas updates as it edits. Check the Flow before you publish it.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  If you would rather understand than act, say so. "Explain, do not change anything" gets you a description and leaves the page as it was.
</Tip>

<h3 id="use-a-skill-or-a-file-in-a-message">
  Use a skill or a file in a message
</h3>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Select + beside the composer">
    The menu opens with **Upload file**, **Add skills**, and **Integrations**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick what to add">
    **Upload file** opens a file picker and the file attaches to your next message. **Add skills** opens a searchable list; select a skill and it is inserted into the composer. For a skill, typing **/** in the composer does the same without the menu.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Finish the message and send it">
    Add anything else you want copilot to know, then press **Enter**.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Frame caption="Agent <span>→</span> Tasks <span>→</span> Toggle Beam AI copilot <span>→</span> +">
  <img src="https://mintcdn.com/beamai/mzjYglzHZw7mcBH3/01-getting-started/beam-ai-copilot/copilot-plus-menu.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=mzjYglzHZw7mcBH3&q=85&s=8b0e95f898a4ce33301890b2ededc230" alt="The plus menu open beside the copilot composer, listing Upload file, Add skills and Integrations" width="696" height="380" data-path="01-getting-started/beam-ai-copilot/copilot-plus-menu.png" />
</Frame>

<h3 id="switch-or-start-a-thread">
  Switch or start a thread
</h3>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Select the history icon in the panel header">
    **Chat History** opens with your threads, newest first. Type in **Search for a thread...** to filter it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select a thread to switch to it">
    The panel loads that conversation. The context pill still reflects the page you are on, not where the thread started.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Select + for a new one">
    The **New chat** icon in the header, or the **+** at the top of **Chat History**, starts a fresh thread. The old one stays in the list.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<h3 id="build-an-agent-from-the-workspace-home">
  Build an agent from the workspace home
</h3>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Go to the workspace home">
    Select **Beam AI** in the left navigation. The page reads **What do you want to work on?**
  </Step>

  <Step title="Turn on Build agents">
    The switch is in the composer. The heading changes to **What would you like to automate today?** and the suggested prompts become agent templates.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Describe the agent">
    Say what it should do, when it should run, and which tools it needs. Copilot asks about anything it cannot infer, then builds the agent and posts a link to it.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Open the agent and check its Flow">
    The link takes you to the new agent's Flow. The panel comes along with the same thread, so you can ask for changes right there.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  **Build agents** is only on the workspace home. In the panel, copilot works in ask mode, and **Add skills** and **Integrations** are not available while Build agents is on.
</Note>

<h2 id="troubleshooting">
  Troubleshooting
</h2>

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="There is no Beam icon in the header">
    **Cause**: Either you are on the workspace home, where the panel is not needed, or Beam AI is not enabled for this workspace.

    **Solution**:

    * Open any other page, such as an agent's Flow. If the icon appears, you were on the home.
    * If it is missing everywhere, Beam AI is off for the workspace. Ask your workspace admin.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The pill reads Workspace and copilot does not know what I am looking at">
    **Cause**: The page you are on does not share its context with copilot. Copilot still works, but it cannot see this page.

    **Solution**:

    * Move to the page that holds what you are asking about: the agent's Flow, Tasks, or Configuration, the task itself, or Inbox.
    * Or tell it in the message: name the agent, the task, or the step.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Add skills or Integrations is greyed out or missing from the + menu">
    **Cause**: Greyed out means **Build agents** is on. Missing means your role does not include the matching capability.

    **Solution**:

    * On the workspace home, turn **Build agents** off. Both items are usable again.
    * If they are missing, ask an admin to check your role: **Skills** under **Beam AI** for **Add skills**, and the **Integrations** capabilities for **Integrations**. See [Roles and Permissions](/05-resources/roles-and-permissions/roles-and-permissions).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="The composer says the queue is full">
    **Cause**: Five messages are already waiting while copilot works on the current one.

    **Solution**:

    * Wait for one to finish, or expand the queue above the composer and remove a message, or select **Clear All**.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<h2 id="next-steps">
  Next steps
</h2>

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Fix with AI" icon="wand-magic-sparkles" href="/03-running-operations/debugging-testing/fix-with-ai/fix-with-ai">
    The copilot's repair loop for a failed integration step.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Workspace Skills" icon="wrench" href="/05-resources/workspace-skills/workspace-skills">
    Browse the skills you can hand to copilot with Add skills or a slash.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Creating Agents" icon="compass" href="/02-building-agents/agent-fundamentals/creating-agents/creating-agents">
    The other ways to start an agent, and what to do after copilot builds one.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Roles and Permissions" icon="lock" href="/05-resources/roles-and-permissions/roles-and-permissions">
    The Beam AI capabilities that decide who sees Add skills and Integrations.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>


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