Skip to main content

Starting a Chat

The Chat page (/c) is where you actually use Genie. This page covers how to open it and pick a knowledge base.

Opening the Chat pageโ€‹

Two ways:

  • Click your name in the header โ†’ Chat
  • Type /c in the URL bar after genie.dhlrdlab.com

When you open /c, Genie loads an empty chat with no KB selected โ€” you pick the KB in the dropdown below the input box.

Chat icon on the Apps Dashboard

The ๐Ÿ’ฌ chat icon in the Apps Dashboard action column is currently a tooltip-only no-op in this build. It does not deep-link a specific KB into the chat. Use the name menu โ†’ Chat path and pick the KB from the selector instead.

The Chat layoutโ€‹

Three panels make up the page:

PanelPurpose
Left sidebar (dark)Yellow GENIE header, a New Chat button, an Application History link, and your recent chats across all knowledge bases you have access to (mixed together, most recent first).
Centre areaYour conversation. Empty until you ask the first question.
Right slide-out sheet (appears on demand)The Chat Analysis Sheet โ€” Thought Process, Supporting Content, Citations. See Sources.

The bottom of the centre area is the input bar with:

  • A knowledge base dropdown on the right
  • A multi-line text input in the middle
  • (Optional) a microphone icon when speech input is enabled
  • A send-arrow icon (tooltip: "Submit question") โ€” there is no text label on the button

Picking a knowledge baseโ€‹

Before you can type a question, you must select a KB:

  1. Click the knowledge base dropdown in the bottom-right of the input bar.
  2. The dropdown lists every KB you have access to (via direct assignment or via an Entra group).
  3. Click the KB you want to query.

The input box becomes active and the placeholder reads Ask Genie.

The KB selector locks after the first message

Once you send your first question in a session, the KB dropdown becomes read-only for the rest of that conversation. This protects answer context โ€” every message in a session is grounded in the same KB. To switch KBs, click New Chat in the sidebar (or open a new browser tab).

What if my dropdown is empty?โ€‹

You don't have access to any KB. Genie automatically renders the Request Access form in the centre area instead of an empty chat โ€” see Request Access.

If the system has no KBs at all and you are a Super Admin, you'll see a Create First App button instead.

Starting a new chatโ€‹

Click the New Chat button in the left sidebar at any time to wipe the current conversation and start fresh. The URL changes back to /c and the KB selector becomes editable again.

What about the URL?โ€‹

  • /c โ€” a brand-new empty chat
  • /c/{session-id} โ€” a saved chat session you're resuming or revisiting. The session ID is auto-assigned after your first answer streams in.

You can copy a /c/{id} URL to revisit the same conversation later (only you can open it โ€” chats are private).