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AI agent chat

The Tether Agent is an in-app AI assistant you can chat with from anywhere in the application. Ask it questions, hand it files, and let it carry out multi-step work — with you approving any action that changes data before it’s applied.
Agent availability varies by organization and role. The agent pages require agent read permission, and some capabilities — like managing shared memories or templates — require additional permissions or an administrator role. See Roles and permissions.

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The chat widget

The chat widget is available throughout the app in two layouts:
  • Compact popup — a floating panel in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
  • Sidebar panel — a full-height panel docked to the right edge, alongside the page you’re on.
Toggle between them with the expand/collapse button in the widget header (Expand to sidebar / Collapse to popup). The header also has:
  • A maximize button (Open full view) that opens the conversation as a full session page.
  • A close button (Close chat) to dismiss the widget.
Type a message and press Enter to send (Shift+Enter adds a line break). While the agent works, a Tether Agent is thinking… indicator shows, responses appear in the conversation in real time, and a stop button lets you cancel the run. If the agent proposes a plan or needs your approval or a file, the widget hands off to the full session page automatically so you can respond there.

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Attaching files

Click the paperclip (Attach file) in the message box to attach one or more files, or drag files onto the widget — a Drop files to attach overlay confirms the target. Attached files appear as removable chips above the message box. You can also paste images directly (PNG, JPEG, WebP, or GIF, up to 10 MB each). The agent can also request a file from you mid-task with an upload card, which may include a template to download.

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Starting a chat

There are two entry points:
  • Sidebar — click New chat (the sparkles button) at the top of the sidebar. If you’re currently viewing a live chat session, a confirmation dialog asks Start a new chat? before leaving it — choose Start new chat or Cancel.
  • Command palette — press Cmd+K (or Ctrl+K), type your question, and choose Ask Tether Agent with your text. The widget opens and sends your prompt as the first message. See Command palette.

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Approvals: you stay in control

The agent never changes data on its own. When a step would modify something, the session shows an Approval Required card before anything is applied:
  • The card names the Tool being run and summarizes the Action, along with a preview of what will change — the entities involved and the key quantities.
  • The proposed input is shown in an editable table, so you can adjust values before approving.
  • Click Approve to let the step run (it becomes Approve with edits if you changed anything), or Reject to block it.
For larger pieces of work, the agent can first propose a plan. A Plan Proposal card shows the plan for review with Approve, Reject, and Edit buttons — Edit lets you revise the plan text and then Approve with Edits.
Review approval cards carefully — approving applies the change with the values shown, including any edits you made.

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Full pages

Beyond the widget, the Agent section in the sidebar has dedicated pages:

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Session detail

The session page pairs a chat pane with a workspace showing the agent’s work as it happens, in three tabs:
  • Plan — the task list and any plan proposals, with progress.
  • Active Items — approvals and file-upload requests waiting on you, with a count badge.
  • Tether Agent Log — a per-tool record of what the agent has done.
You can minimize the chat pane (Minimize chat) to keep working while the conversation continues in the compact widget, and bring it back with Restore Chat.

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Memory

The Memory page holds durable facts the agent recalls across sessions, in two sections: Organization memories, shared with everyone in your org, and Your memories, visible only to you. Click Add memory to save a fact as a label and value (for example, “Preferred warehouse”), and edit or delete entries at any time. Writing organization memories requires its own permission.

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Templates

Administrators can manage Session Templates — named, categorized session setups with a system prompt — from the Manage Templates action on the Chat Sessions dashboard. Templates can be created, edited, and deactivated; new sessions can start from a template.

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Best practices

The first message names the session and sets the agent’s direction. “Why is SKU TSHIRT-NVY-M short in the plan?” gets a better session than “help with inventory.”
The agent works best with the actual file — attach the CSV or export you’re discussing rather than describing it.
The preview lists the entities and quantities that will change. Use the editable input table to correct values instead of rejecting and re-explaining.
Preferences you repeat every session — a default warehouse, a naming convention — belong in Memory so the agent recalls them automatically.

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Troubleshooting

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Next Steps

Command palette

Start an agent chat straight from Cmd+K

Roles and permissions

Understand the permissions behind agent access

Supply planning

The planning data the agent can help you interrogate

Inventory dashboard

Inventory views to pair with agent questions