Records Chatbot Component

Function

a!recordsChatField( label, labelPosition, instructions, additionalInstructions, helpTooltip, initialMessage, suggestedQuestions, recordType, identifier, fields, relatedRecordData, showWhen, height, buttonStyle )

Creates a chatbot for chatting about a record on a summary view.

This component uses Appian AI Copilot to answer questions about a record and related record data, enabling users to interact with conversational AI to get quick insights. This component requires no third-party integration to get started. All you need to do is configure the parameters to begin chatting with your data fabric.

See also:

• AI-Powered Discovery in Process HQ
• AI Copilot
• About Record Types

Parameters

Usage considerations

Reliability of responses

As with any generative AI feature, this component may produce invalid or undesirable answers. Generative AI models sometimes produce "hallucinations," or responses that contain inaccurate information. Users should verify information in chat responses for accuracy.

This component may not provide consistent answers. In other words, the response the component provides today might differ from an answer to the same question with the same data tomorrow.

Compliance

This component is powered by private AI, meaning that your inputs and outputs are protected and remain within the boundaries of your Appian Cloud site at all times.

You will receive the following error until the feature is enabled on your site: This function is currently unavailable. Please contact your system administrator if this problem persists.

Before working with Support to enable this feature, review its compliance to ensure it aligns with your organization's security requirements.

Then, contact Appian Support to enable this feature.

This feature is available for environments in select regions.

If your Appian environment isn't in a supported region, you can elect to send your data to a supported region. This doesn't change your environment's region. Contact Appian Support to learn more.

Security

This function returns data according to the record-level security you have configured.

Compatibility

This component can't be used in a Side by Side layout.

Using the identifier parameter

You must specify the identifier of the record you want to chat with. This is typically the primary key field.

For record types with a composite primary key, pass the identifier as a record map with values for all fields that make up the key. For example: recordType!Part Supplier(partId: 4, supplierId: 45).

To dynamically pass in the record identifier, use a rule input where the Type is set to your record type.

Using the additionalInstructions parameter

Depending on where you plan to make records chat available to your users, you may want to control the component's output. You can do this by including your requirements in the additionalInstructions parameter. The text included in this parameter is sent to the model as part of the prompt.

For example, if your users will be interacting with records chat in a dashboard designed for executives, the users will probably want short and succinct replies to their questions. As the developer, you can specify that you want short replies in the additionalInstructions parameter so the model powering the component knows what an appropriate response would be in that context.

Use this parameter to specify other logic, format, or other requirements you want the model to apply in the model output.

Using the fields parameter

By default, this function will return the fields from the base record type. If you also want to return related record fields, you can reference the fields or the relationship in the fields parameter.

If you are querying a one-to-many relationship, a maximum of 100 related records will be returned. For example, when querying customers and their related support cases, the query will return up to 100 related support cases for the customer.

Using the relatedRecordData parameter

The relatedRecordData parameter allows you to filter, sort, and limit related record data from a one-to-many relationship using the a!relatedRecordData() function.

Example: You query the Customer record type and only want to return the last three cases associated with each customer. Since a customer can have many cases, the query will return up to 100 cases related to each customer by default. In the relatedRecordData parameter, you could use the a!relatedRecordData() function to limit the result to three and sort the cases so the most recent appears first.

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a!recordsChatField(
  recordType: recordType!Customer,
  identifier: ri!id,
  fields: {
      recordType!Customer.id,
      recordType!Customer.firstName,
      recordType!Customer.lastName,
      recordType!Customer.relationships.case.id,
      recordType!Customer.relationships.case.title,
      recordType!Customer.relationships.case.description,
      recordType!Customer.relationships.case.createdOn,
      recordType!Customer.relationships.case.createdBy,
  },
  relatedRecordData: a!relatedRecordData(
    relationship: recordType!Customer.relationships.case,
    limit: 3,
    sort: a!sortInfo(
      field: recordType!Case.fields.createdOn,
      ascending: true
    )
  )
)

When applying a filter or sort to a!relatedRecordData(), your record field or related record field reference must start from the related record type specified in the relationship parameter. See additional usage considerations for using the a!relatedRecordData() function.

Aggregating related record data

The a!aggregationFields() function is not supported with a!recordsChatField().

If you need to aggregate related record data, use a!queryRecordType() instead.

Appian Mobile and Appian for Windows considerations

This component is not supported in the Appian Mobile or Appian for Windows app. To use records chat, view the interface in a browser.

Improve response quality

To help users get more accurate and relevant answers from the records chatbot component, make sure your record type is easy for the model to understand. Use clear, descriptive language when configuring the following fields in your record type:

• Display names: Use display names that a non-technical user would recognize. Avoid abbreviations or internal terminology. For example, use Employee ID instead of emp_id.

• Field descriptions: Add a short description for each field that explains what the data represents. Include an example value when helpful. Example: A unique ID assigned to each employee, such as 12345 or E1023.

• Record type description: Write a complete sentence summarizing what the record type contains and how it's used. This helps the chatbot understand the data's context. Example: This record type stores employee details, such as names, job titles, and contact information, for use in HR processes and employee directory lookups.

These improvements help the chatbot interpret user questions more accurately and return better answers in chat.

Feature compatibility

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