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AI Assistant

The AI Assistant is a chat assistant built into the Files.com Web App that lets any logged-in user 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. File contents are not transmitted to AI providers.

Site Administrators can enable or disable the feature by user type, 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 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 scoped to those folders.

Read-only Administrators can ask questions about site configuration, logs, and users but cannot apply changes. They can take actions within folders where they hold separate folder permissions.

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

Files.com processes AI Assistant interactions in accordance with the Files.com Privacy Policy. The assistant displays a notice about AI limitations and accuracy when you open it. Your use of the AI Assistant is subject to the Files.com Terms of Service.

AI Providers and Model Training

Files.com uses third-party AI providers including Anthropic, OpenAI, and AWS to power the AI Assistant. Our agreements with those providers require that your data is handled in accordance with the Files.com Privacy Policy. Your inputs are not used to train AI models.

AI providers do not have access to your file contents. The AI Assistant can access metadata, logs, and configuration data within your permitted scope, but it does not read or transmit the contents of your files to AI providers.

Files.com employees can access chat contents for quality control and improvement of the AI Assistant.

Data Retention

Files.com retains chat session records and messages for 30 days.

Audit Logging

All actions the AI Assistant takes on your behalf are recorded in the audit log under your user account. They appear alongside your own direct actions with no distinction in how they are attributed.

What You Can Do with the AI Assistant

The AI Assistant handles both read-only questions and write actions. For write actions, it shows you exactly what it plans to do and waits for your approval before making any change. For recurring workflows that run on a schedule or trigger automatically, Automations are a better fit than the AI Assistant.

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.

Some examples:

  • "Show me everything uploaded to /Contracts/Pending last week and who uploaded it."
  • "What happened with the sync errors to the claims gateway over the weekend?"
  • "Which automations failed last night and why?"
  • "Which users have not logged in for the past 90 days?"
  • "Show me all files deleted this month and who deleted them."
  • "What automations are currently active, and what do they do?"
  • "How many Share Links are active on my site, and how many are missing an expiration date?"
  • "Who has access to the /Finance/Payroll folder?"
  • "Copy all files in /Projects/2026/Final to /Archive/2026 and rename each one to include today's date."
  • "Create a Share Link for the /Deliverables/ClientA folder that expires in 7 days."

Generating Reports

The assistant can analyze files within a folder, including upload history, and produce a formatted report. For example: "Analyze all the files in /Projects/Active, including who uploaded them and when, and provide a full report with charts and graphs. Output the report as a PDF into /Shared/Reports." The files that the assistant generates are saved directly to your Files.com account and appear as clickable links in the chat.

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: "For each XML file in /Submissions/Inbound, examine the file contents and apply Custom Metadata to each file that matches the keys and values in the XML file."

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:

Enabling and Disabling the AI Assistant

Files.com is committed to making all AI features fully opt-out. Site Administrators can disable the AI Assistant for specific user types or turn it off entirely for the site.

Disabling all AI features blocks the AI Assistant and the Remote MCP Server. The Local MCP Server, which uses standard API keys, is not affected by this setting.

Site Administrators can also restrict the AI Assistant by user type. Access for Site Administrators, Workspace Administrators, Folder Admins, and all regular users can be controlled independently. All four default to enabled.