IAN Think — Overview
Platform overview, user onboarding path, capability matrix, and known constraints.
IAN Think is a conversational AI platform that enables users to query, analyze, and generate content from uploaded documents and general knowledge. It operates as a stateless, session-scoped assistant — each conversation is independent, with no cross-session memory.
Audience
This page targets business users — analysts, managers, and individual contributors who interact with IAN through the web UI. No API knowledge or technical background is assumed.
Onboarding Path
Follow levels 1 through 3 sequentially. Each level builds on the previous one.
Estimated total time: ~20 minutes.
Level 1 — Core Interactions (≈ 5 min)
| Step | Objective | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Start a conversation with IAN | Getting Started with Chat |
| 2 | Upload a document and query its contents | Document Upload Basics |
Milestone: After Level 1, a user can perform end-to-end document Q&A in production.
Level 2 — Applied Usage (≈ 10 min)
| Step | Objective | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Execute common workflows: Q&A, web search, file analysis | Common Scenarios |
| 4 | Apply prompt strategies that improve output quality | Best Practices |
Milestone: After Level 2, a user can reliably produce higher-quality outputs than unguided usage.
Level 3 — Diagnostics (≈ 5 min, reference only)
| Step | Objective | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Resolve common failure modes and edge cases | Troubleshooting |
Note: Level 3 is a reference section. Users should consult it when encountering unexpected behavior, not as part of initial onboarding.
Capability Matrix
Supported Operations
| Capability | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Conversational Q&A | Free-form question answering from general knowledge | Responses are non-deterministic; verify critical facts |
| Document analysis | Upload and query PDF, Word (.docx), or spreadsheet (.xlsx/.csv) files | Text extraction only (see constraints below) |
| Summarization | Condense long-form content into key points or briefs | Specify desired length/format in the prompt |
| Content drafting | Generate emails, reports, memos, or other written artifacts | Output quality improves with explicit context and constraints |
| Document comparison | Identify differences between two uploaded files | Best results with structured or semi-structured documents |
| Web search | Retrieve current information from the web | Availability is admin-controlled; may be disabled per tenant |
Known Constraints
| Constraint | Impact |
|---|---|
| No decision authority | IAN generates recommendations, not decisions. The user is the decision-maker. |
| No accuracy guarantee | Outputs may contain factual errors or hallucinations. Always verify critical information against primary sources. |
| No image/chart comprehension | IAN processes extracted text only. Embedded images, charts, and diagrams within documents are not analyzed. |
| No system integrations | IAN cannot access email, calendar, file storage, or other enterprise systems. Input is limited to typed prompts and uploaded files. |
| Stateless sessions | Each conversation is independent. There is no memory or context carryover between sessions. |
Prerequisites
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| Browser | Any recent version of Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge |
| Credentials | Xceedance SSO, Google, or Microsoft account |
No local installation, plugins, or extensions are required.
First-time users: Complete account provisioning before proceeding → Sign In & Account Setup