The AI Assistant is a chat assistant built into the Files.com Web App that lets users ask questions about their account and take actions on their behalf. You can ask about files, transfers, automations, and more. The assistant reads your logs, drafts changes, and applies them with your approval.

The assistant runs entirely within the permission scope of the logged-in user. It cannot access files, folders, or settings the user cannot already access, and it cannot perform actions the user is not already permitted to take.

Every action it performs is recorded in the audit log under the user's account, exactly as if the user had acted directly. The assistant can read file contents within your permission scope. Those contents and the results of its tools can be processed by Files.com and its AI providers to carry out your request.

Site Administrators can control access to the Assistant by user type and selected group membership, or turn off all AI features sitewide.

Like all AI systems, the assistant can make mistakes. Review its responses and confirm any proposed actions before they are applied.

Permissions and Scope

The AI Assistant runs under the session credentials of the logged-in user. It has access to the same files, folders, logs, and settings that the user's account can already access. It cannot take actions the account does not permit and cannot reach files or folders outside the user's permitted scope, regardless of how the request is phrased.

Access by Permission Level

Site Administrators have access to everything on the site: all files, folders, users, groups, logs, automations, Remote Servers, Share Links, and settings. The only exception is Child Sites, which require logging in to that Child Site directly.

Workspace Administrators have full admin access within their assigned Workspace and cannot reach the default workspace or other Workspaces.

Folder Admins have full control over their assigned folders and subfolders, including settings, permissions, and Automations v1 scoped to those folders. Accessing or managing Automations v2, including listing or viewing them, requires Site Administrator or Workspace Administrator access within the Automation's scope. Folder Admins cannot see a v2 Automation, its webhook URL, or its runs through the assistant, even when they administer its trigger folder.

Group Admins can ask about and manage users within their own group.

Standard Users can ask about and act on the files and folders their permissions allow. They cannot access site settings, logs, or other users' data.

Partner Users interact entirely within their Partner scope. Partner Administrators can additionally ask questions about and manage users within their own Partner.

Security and Privacy

The AI data-handling model applies to the Assistant and AI Tasks, including provider processing, chat retention, and audit records.

What You Can Do with the AI Assistant

The AI Assistant answers questions, and it can also make changes on your behalf so you do not have to click through the steps yourself. When it proposes a change, it shows you exactly what it plans to do and waits for your approval before doing it. Users with Assistant access can use it within their own permission scope. It can also help you get set up. That includes onboarding new Partners and users, configuring protocols and Share Links, and walking through initial site setup in general.

If you find yourself asking the assistant to run the same prompt on a repeating basis, a Site Administrator can set it up as an AI Task so it runs automatically on a schedule or file trigger instead. For recurring workflows that follow fixed rules rather than judgment, Automations are a better fit than either. Site Administrators and Workspace Administrators can create Automations within their scope; Folder Admins can create only v1 Automations for the folders they administer.

Asking Questions and Reviewing Logs

The assistant answers questions about your files, folders, transfers, and site configuration. You can ask it to find and explain issues in your logs, review what automations are active, audit access to a folder, or investigate sync errors against a Remote Server.

For a failed partner delivery, ask: "Review the Sync errors for this Remote Server over the weekend. Which runs failed, what do the records say, and which files need investigation?" This directs the assistant to the relevant period and evidence without assuming a cause. Confirm any proposed diagnosis against the connection and transfer records.

For an access review, ask: "Who has access to /Finance/Payroll, directly or through groups?" Use the findings to review the permission assignments before changing them. Log and administrative questions require an account with access to those records.

Generating Reports and Files

The assistant can analyze data on your site and produce formatted reports, charts, and exports. When it generates a file, it delivers it as a Snapshot link directly in the chat. No folder is required. You and Site Administrators can read the snapshot's files; the chat link is not a public Share Link. The snapshot expires after 24 hours.

For example: "Review active Share Links and create a CSV listing their owners, linked files or folders, expiration dates, and access settings. Identify links with no expiration date for review." The report supports a sharing review; the administrator decides which links need changes under the organization's policy.

A request can produce several files, such as a chart of transfer activity and a CSV of its source records. Name the period, measures, and output you need, and review the results against those records.

Each file is delivered as a separate Snapshot link in the chat. To save the files, simply drag and drop them into the folder you want to save them in.

Making Changes

Describe a change, and the assistant locates the resource, shows you the exact proposed action, checks for conflicts, and waits for your confirmation before doing anything. For example: "Rename the 2024-Draft folder inside /Clients/Acme/Deliverables to 2024-Final." The assistant finds the folder, confirms the new path and that nothing will be overwritten, and only proceeds after you confirm.

Applying Metadata in Bulk

The assistant can read structured files and apply Custom Metadata from their contents. For example: "Read the XML files in /Submissions/Inbound and propose Custom Metadata values using the document type, reference ID, and date fields." Specify which fields map to which metadata keys, then review the proposed values before applying them.

Getting Guidance on Features and Configuration

The assistant has access to Files.com's full public documentation and can answer how-to questions about any feature, walk you through setup steps, or explain how something works without you having to search the docs yourself.

Some examples:

"How do I set up SIEM integration?"
"How do I configure folder permissions for external users?"
"What are the steps to onboard a new Partner?"
"What is the difference between a Workspace and a Child Site?"
"How do I install the Files.com CLI and what commands are available for uploading files?"

Memory

The AI Assistant can save memories from your chats, facts about your preferences, recurring workflows, stable context, and ongoing projects. Memory is on by default, and each user manages their own from My Account.

Assistant Personalities

Site Administrators and Workspace Administrators can give the AI Assistant a Personality, a named system prompt that shapes its tone, voice, and behavior without expanding what it's allowed to do. Personalities are optional and apply to the AI Assistant only.

Enabling and Disabling the AI Assistant

Files.com is committed to making all AI features opt-out. Site Administrators control who can use the AI Assistant through the AI Features page.

The availability options for Site Administrators, Workspace Administrators, Folder Admins, and All Users are enabled by default. Access for selected group members is disabled by default. All options are additive: any enabled option that applies to a user grants access. Selecting groups does not limit access granted by another enabled option.

To offer the Assistant to selected staff without making it available to everyone, enable access for selected group members and choose one or more Groups. Leave All Users off. You can keep administrator options enabled independently, so those administrators can use the Assistant without belonging to a selected group.

Membership in at least one selected group grants access, even when every user-type option is off. With no groups selected, the group-member option grants nobody access. Groups from any Workspace on the site can be selected. This enables the Assistant for their members without expanding their access to files or settings; the Assistant still operates within each user's existing permissions.

Partner Users cannot belong to groups, so they cannot receive access through the group-member option. They can still use the Assistant when All Users is enabled.

Turning off the group-member option, clearing its group list, or removing a user from all selected groups removes only the access provided by that option. Users who qualify through another enabled option keep their Assistant access.

To turn off all AI features, including existing AI Tasks and the Remote MCP Server, use the sitewide AI settings.