Getting the most out of chats

Someone — a friend, a family member, or a business — has built an assistant for you on Deputise. The assistant is there to help with the specific things that person wanted help to be available for. This guide shows you how to chat with it well, what to do when it gets stuck, and what's happening behind the scenes.

What the assistant actually is

The assistant is an AI that's been set up by a real person (its "owner") with instructions and information about a particular topic. It's not a general-purpose chatbot — it's been pointed at one job, like helping with a heating system, walking through a phone, or answering questions about a holiday let.

A few things to keep in mind:

It works best on the topic it was built for. Off-topic questions will often get a polite redirect or a guess.
It's a guide, not an oracle. Treat answers like advice from a knowledgeable friend — useful, but worth sanity-checking when the stakes are high.
It can make mistakes. Every chat carries a small "This is an AI assistant, it can make mistakes" note for a reason.
Behind it is a real person who can step in when needed.

Stay roughly on-topic

Because the assistant has been built for a purpose, you'll get the best answers by sticking near that purpose. If your friend built you a "Help with the cottage" assistant, ask it about the cottage — heating, Wi-Fi, the bins, the quirky shower. Ask it for restaurant recommendations and you'll get something generic at best.

If you're not sure what the assistant is for, the welcome message at the start of the chat usually gives it away. So does its name.

Asking good questions

The single biggest thing you can do is be specific. The assistant doesn't know what's in your head — only what you type.

Say what you're trying to do, not just what's wrong. Instead of "the heating isn't working", try "the radiators in the lounge are cold but the boiler seems to be on".
Mention the make, model, or version where it matters. Instead of "how do I block a number", try "how do I block a number on an iPhone 16".
Describe what you've already tried. Saves the assistant suggesting things you've ruled out.
Add a photo if it helps. You can attach an image to a message — handy for error screens, weird symbols, or "what is this thing on the wall".
One question at a time. Two or three tangled questions in one message tend to get a tangled answer.

A good rule of thumb: if you imagine the owner reading your message over your shoulder, would they know enough to help? If not, add the missing detail.

Following up

You're in a conversation, not running a search engine. Use that.

If the answer isn't quite right, say so: "that didn't fix it" or "I meant the kitchen radiator, not the lounge one".
If you don't understand something, ask. "What does 'pressure gauge' mean?" is a perfectly good message.
If the assistant gives you a list of steps, work through them and report back what happened. You'll get better next steps.

The assistant remembers what's been said earlier in the same chat, so you don't need to re-explain everything each time.

When the assistant can't help

Sometimes the assistant won't know the answer, or it'll go in circles, or the question really needs a person. That's fine — that's what the owner is there for.

You can ask for a person at any time. Phrases that work:

"Can you get [owner's name] to help?"
"I want to talk to a person."
"Please pass this on to someone."

When you do that, the assistant will pass your question to the owner with a note about what you were asking and why it couldn't help. You'll see a confirmation in the chat that your question has been passed on, and the chat will pause until they reply.

The owner gets an email with the conversation, so they can pick it up when they have a moment. When they respond, you'll get an email letting you know, and you can carry on the conversation from where you left off — sometimes with the owner replying directly, sometimes back to the assistant.

A couple of things worth knowing:

The assistant won't escalate on its own. It might ask "shall I pass this to [owner]?" if things are stuck — answer yes or no.
Don't ask for a person for trivial things if you can help it. The owner is a real person with a day job.
For genuine emergencies (medical, fire, danger), don't wait on the assistant or the owner — call the relevant emergency service.

Knowing the assistant's limits

Some things the assistant probably won't be good at:

Anything outside its topic. A "help with my Mum's iPad" assistant doesn't know about your tax return.
Real-time facts. Some assistants can search the web, many can't. If the answer needs to be from this morning's news, double-check it.
Account-specific information. It doesn't know your bank balance, your booking reference, or your personal calendar unless the owner has specifically given it that context.
Things only the owner knows. "Where does Dad keep the spare key?" — only Dad knows. Ask for a person.

If an answer feels confidently wrong, trust your instincts and either push back ("are you sure? I think it's actually X") or escalate to the owner.

Privacy basics

Worth knowing what's stored and who sees what:

Your messages are saved. Conversations are kept so you can come back to them and so the assistant has context.
The owner can see escalations. When you ask for a person, the owner sees the recent chat that led up to it — that's how they know what you need help with.
The owner can see usage stats about their assistants in aggregate (how many people are chatting, how many messages), but day-to-day chats aren't something they're reading over your shoulder.
Don't share things you wouldn't want the owner to see. Card numbers, passwords, sensitive personal details — there's no good reason to put any of those into the chat. The assistant doesn't need them.

If something in a chat is making you uncomfortable, you can stop replying, or ask for a person and raise it directly with the owner.

Quick checklist before you hit send

Is my question on-topic for this assistant?
Have I included the specifics (model, version, what I've tried)?
Am I asking one thing, not three?
Would a photo help?

That's most of it. Be specific, stay on-topic, follow up, and ask for a person when you genuinely need one. The assistant does the rest.