--- title: How to ask the analyst a question url: https://tideswell.xyz/docs/analyst/ask-a-question description: Type a question on the home page, choose how deeply it should think, and follow up in the same conversation. --- > Documentation index: fetch https://tideswell.xyz/llms.txt to discover every page before exploring further. # How to ask the analyst a question The analyst is on your home page. Type a question in the composer and press **Enter** to send, or **Shift+Enter** for a new line. See for what it can reach. ## What happens when you ask? [#what-happens-when-you-ask] A short status line names what it is checking before any text arrives, so you can see it working rather than watching a blank screen. The answer then streams in as formatted text with headings, bullets and tables. Products it names appear as chips you can click to open that product's record. Underneath, chips name what it looked at, such as "Queried Shopify sales" or "Checked inventory". One that failed to read carries a warning tint, which is your signal that the answer is built on less than it wanted. See . ## How should you phrase a question? [#how-should-you-phrase-a-question] Like you would ask a colleague, and with the comparison built in. "How did we do last week" gets you a number. "How did we do last week against the week before, and what drove the difference at product level" gets you something you can act on. Three habits that improve answers: * **Name the period.** Last 7 days, since the first of the month, the same week last year. * **Ask for the why, not just the what.** Adding "and what is driving it" changes the shape of the answer. * **Ask for a ranking.** "Ranked by size of the opportunity" turns a list into an order of work. Questions can run to 1000 characters, which is far more than you need. Each person can ask up to 30 questions an hour, and past that it asks you to try again shortly. ## How do you choose how hard it thinks? [#how-do-you-choose-how-hard-it-thinks] The model picker in the composer offers three: **Haiku** for a fast answer, **Sonnet** for a balanced one, and **Opus** for a deep one. Sonnet is the default. Use the fast one for a lookup you already know the shape of. Use the deep one when the question is genuinely analytical and the answer is going to inform a decision about money. For most questions the default is right, which is why it is the default. ## Can you ask follow-ups? [#can-you-ask-follow-ups] Yes. A conversation remembers the thread, so "and what about the week before" works without repeating the context. That is usually the fastest way to work: ask a broad question, then narrow it in two or three follow-ups rather than trying to write one perfect question. ## How do you find a past conversation? [#how-do-you-find-a-past-conversation] The left sidebar lists your recent conversations, holding the 50 most recent. Click one to reopen it, and **New chat** to start fresh. Conversations are yours. Each one has its own address, so a conversation can be reopened exactly where you left it. ## Why did it refuse to answer? [#why-did-it-refuse-to-answer] Three reasons, and it names which. **A question about one person.** The analyst works in aggregates and has no way to look up an individual customer, email or order. Use instead. **A permission you do not hold.** Supplier, purchase order and decision questions need those areas' view permissions, and it tells you which one to ask an admin for. See . **Something not connected.** Klaviyo questions need Klaviyo connected and store questions need Shopify connected, and it says so in its caveats rather than guessing. ## Why is the composer replaced with a message? [#why-is-the-composer-replaced-with-a-message] Because the analyst has been switched off for your workspace. The composer reads that it is turned off right now, and the digest buttons are unavailable. That is a workspace-level switch rather than anything about you. ## Do you have to retype a question you ask often? [#do-you-have-to-retype-a-question-you-ask-often] No. Save it, and reuse it from a menu by typing **/** in an empty composer. See .