Troubleshooting

This guide covers the everyday questions that come up when you're using assistants someone has shared with you: signing in, starting chats, tidying up your recent chats, and getting the mobile app.

If you also build assistants for other people, there's a separate troubleshooting guide for builders covering credits, editing assistants, and answering escalations.

Signing In

Deputise uses email-based sign-in. There's no password to remember, because we email you a secure link each time you sign in.

Go to the sign-in page and enter your email address
Click Send Secure Login Link
Check your email for a message from Deputise
Click the link in the email, which brings you straight back to Deputise and signs you in

If Google sign-in is available for your account, you can also use the Sign in with Google button instead of the email link.

Creating an Account

If you've never used Deputise before:

On the sign-in page, click New to Deputise? Create an account
Enter your full name and email address
Complete the verification challenge if you see one
Click Create Account, and we'll email you a sign-in link to confirm your address

If someone has invited you to use one of their assistants, you don't need to create an account separately. Clicking the invitation link will guide you through the right steps automatically.

Accepting an Invitation

When someone shares an assistant with you, you'll get an email invitation:

Click the link in the invitation email
If you already have a Deputise account on that email, you'll be signed in automatically and the assistant will be added to your list
If you're new to Deputise, you'll be asked to enter your name to set up your account, with your email filled in for you from the invitation
Once you're in, the assistant is in your sidebar, ready to chat with

If you ever see a message saying the invitation was sent to a different email address, sign in with that address instead. Invitations are tied to the specific email they were sent to.

The email hasn't arrived

Check your spam or junk folder, where sign-in emails sometimes end up
Make sure you typed your email correctly. For security reasons, Deputise won't tell you if an address isn't recognised
Wait a minute or two, since email delivery can be slightly delayed
If it still hasn't come through, request a new link

The link says it's expired or already used

Sign-in links can only be used once, and they expire after a short period. If you click a link and see an error:

Go back to the sign-in page
Enter your email and request a new link
Use the most recent email you've received, because older links won't work

You see a "private beta" message

New sign-ups are restricted while private beta is enabled. If you've been invited to use someone's assistant, use the invitation link from your email rather than signing up directly. If you're trying to register on your own, contact us for access.

You signed in with Google before but it's not working now

Try the sign-in method you used before. If it is unavailable or fails, contact support with the error you see.

For anything related to your name, email address, subscription, or credits once you're signed in, see managing your account.

Starting Chats

Once you're signed in, the sidebar is the home base for everything.

Everything you need is in the sidebar, top to bottom:

Your assistants, the ones that have been shared with you, each one a link into its chats
Any invitation still waiting on an answer, marked Invited
The Recent chats section, your conversations with the most recently updated first, and a View all link to the full list

If the assistant list is empty, nobody has shared an assistant with you yet. Ask the person who set the assistant up to send you an invitation.

Starting a New Chat

Find the assistant in the sidebar
Click the speech-bubble button on its row to start a new chat with it
Type your question and send it, and the assistant will reply

Clicking the assistant's name instead opens its space, showing every chat you have had with it.

Continuing a Recent Chat

Each chat in Recent chats has its full history saved. To carry on:

Click the chat in the list
Read back through the previous messages if you need a reminder
Type your next message, and the assistant remembers what you've discussed

When the Assistant Can't Help

Sometimes the assistant won't have an answer. You can ask to speak to a person, and the assistant will pass your question on to whoever built it. Replies appear in your chat. See when the assistant can't help for notifications and the 48-hour response window.

Managing Recent Chats

The Recent chats list in your sidebar shows your conversations, sorted by when they were last updated.

Resuming a Chat

Click anywhere on a chat in the list to open it, or click the menu (three dots) and choose Resume chat.

Deleting a Chat

If you don't want to keep a chat any more, you can remove it:

Click the menu (three dots) on the right-hand side of the chat
Choose Delete chat
Confirm in the dialogue that appears

Deleting is permanent. The conversation and its messages are removed from view and cannot be restored. The privacy policy explains when stored data is deleted and which records are retained. As soon as a chat is deleted, the next most recent one takes its place in the list.

If all you want is to tidy the list up without losing the chat, there is nothing to do: a chat you stop using sinks down the list on its own as newer ones are updated.

Getting the Mobile App

We're working on native apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android so you can chat with your assistants on the go, with notifications and voice input.

The apps aren't live on the stores yet. The mobile page is where we'll announce them. In the meantime, Deputise works in any modern mobile browser, so you can sign in and chat from your phone today.

Still Stuck?

If something's not working the way you'd expect, send us an email and we'll take a look. Include what you were trying to do and what happened so we can help you faster.

Troubleshooting