Getting Started with Chat
First-use walkthrough for the IAN Think chat interface — five steps from sign-in to saving a conversation, with prompt guidance and session behavior reference.
Your first conversation with IAN. Five steps, about two minutes.
You type a question, IAN responds, you follow up. It works like messaging a knowledgeable colleague — except this one has read a lot more documents than any human.
Before You Start
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Sign-in | You're authenticated via Xceedance SSO at IAN Think |
| Browser | Any recent version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge |
If you haven't signed in yet, see Sign In & Account Setup.
Step 1 — Open a New Chat
- Go to IAN Think and sign in.
- Click [+ New Chat] in the center of the screen.
You'll see a model selector at the top. You don't need to change it — the default model works well for most questions.
Step 2 — Ask a Question
Click in the message box at the bottom of the screen and type your question.
Example prompts to try:
| Prompt | What it demonstrates |
|---|---|
"What's the difference between term and whole life insurance?" |
Factual comparison |
"Summarize the key points of a non-compete agreement" |
Summarization |
"Help me draft an email requesting a project extension" |
Content drafting |
"Explain what a deductible is in simple terms" |
Plain-language explanation |
Tip: Be specific.
"Tell me about claims"gets a generic answer."Walk me through how a homeowner files a property damage claim"gets a useful one.
Step 3 — Send It
Press Enter on your keyboard, or click the [Send ➜] button.
IAN processes the prompt and responds — usually within 3–15 seconds.
Step 4 — Read and React
IAN's response appears in the chat. What you do next depends on how well it matches what you need.
| Situation | What to do | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Answer is good — you want to go deeper | Type a follow-up | "Tell me more about the timeline for that" or "Can you give me an example?" |
| Answer is close but not quite right | Clarify or redirect | "I meant from the adjuster's perspective, not the customer's" or "Make it shorter and more direct" |
| Answer is off-target | Rephrase your question | "That's not what I'm looking for. Let me try again: [new question]" |
| You want a different response to the same question | Click [Regenerate] | IAN produces a new response to the same prompt |
You don't need to start over if the first answer isn't perfect — just tell IAN what to change.
Step 5 — Save or Leave
When you're done with the conversation:
| Action | How | Retention |
|---|---|---|
| Save | Click the ⭐ icon (top right) | Indefinite — stays in your Saved folder permanently |
| Leave | Close the tab | Stays in History |
| Delete | Click ⋮ (three dots) → Delete | Permanent removal — cannot be undone |
What Just Happened
You asked a question. IAN responded. You followed up, and IAN remembered everything in the conversation. That's the core interaction loop — everything else in IAN Think (documents, models, web search) builds on it.
Key Behaviors to Know
| Behavior | What it means |
|---|---|
| Memory within a chat | IAN retains the full conversation thread. You can reference earlier messages — "what about the thing I mentioned earlier?" — without repeating yourself. |
| No memory across chats | Each chat is independent. Starting a new chat starts completely fresh. IAN has no knowledge of previous conversations. |
| Privacy | Chats are encrypted and stored on Xceedance servers. They are not sent to external AI providers. Organization admins have read access for audit and compliance purposes. |