Asking Questions
Applies to: Free · Pro · Enterprise Last updated: 08-Jun-2026
Overview
The AI Copilot answers questions about your schedule using 20 read and insight tools. These tools query your loaded schedule directly in the browser — no schedule data is sent to AI servers. Read tools execute instantly and never require confirmation because they don't modify any data.
For write operations, see AI Modifications. For grid controls, see Grid & App Features. For report generation, see Narratives & Export.
Activity Queries
query_activities
Search and filter activities by status, WBS, text, float range, date range, critical flag, milestone flag, and activity codes. Returns up to 50 results, sortable by any field.
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
statusFilter | No | TK_NotStart, TK_Active, or TK_Complete |
wbsId / wbsName | No | Filter by WBS node (ID or partial name match) |
textSearch | No | Free-text search across activity ID and name |
floatRange | No | { min, max } in days |
dateRange | No | { from, to } as ISO dates |
isCritical | No | Only critical activities (float ≤ 0) |
isMilestone | No | Only milestones |
activityCodeFilter | No | { codeTypeName, codeValueName } |
fields | No | Which fields to return (defaults: ID, name, status, dates, float, %) |
limit | No | Max results (default 50) |
sortBy / sortOrder | No | Sort field and direction |
Example prompts:
- "Show me all activities in WBS 1.3 with total float under 5 days"
- "List active activities sorted by early start date"
- "Find milestones that haven't started yet"
get_activity_details
Get every field for a single activity — dates, durations, float, progress, constraints, costs, relationships, resource assignments, and activity codes.
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
taskCode | No | Activity ID (e.g., "A1020") |
taskId | No | Internal ID (used when task code is ambiguous) |
Example prompts:
- "What are the details for activity A1020?"
- "Show me everything about the Commissioning milestone"
get_activities_by_code
Filter activities by a specific activity code type and/or value. Returns matching activities with standard fields.
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
codeTypeName | No | Code type name (partial match) |
codeValueName | No | Code value short name (partial match) |
limit | No | Max results (default 50) |
Example prompts:
- "Find activities coded as Phase = Construction"
- "Show all activities with Discipline = Mechanical"
search_schedule
Free-text search across all schedule entities: activities, WBS nodes, resources, and codes. Use this when you don't know the exact entity type.
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
query | Yes | Search text |
limit | No | Max results per entity type (default 10) |
Example prompts:
- "Search for 'concrete' in the schedule"
- "Find anything related to commissioning"
Critical Path & Float
get_critical_path
List activities with total float ≤ 0, sorted by early start date. Optionally include near-critical activities.
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
limit | No | Max activities (default 50) |
includeNearCritical | No | Also include near-critical activities |
nearCriticalThreshold | No | Float threshold in days (default 5) |
Example prompts:
- "Show the critical path"
- "Show critical and near-critical activities within 10 days of float"
get_float_analysis
Float distribution analysis: histogram of float buckets (negative, zero/critical, low, moderate, high), plus average, minimum, and maximum float values.
No parameters required.
Example prompts:
- "Give me a float distribution analysis"
- "How is the float spread across the schedule?"
Schedule Statistics & Progress
get_schedule_statistics
Aggregate statistics: total activities, status distribution, overall duration, date spread, float distribution, completion percentages, resource counts, and relationship counts.
No parameters required.
Example prompts:
- "Give me an overview of this schedule"
- "How many activities are in this project?"
get_progress_summary
Progress overview: completion percentage, activity status breakdown, planned vs actual dates, and earned value metrics when cost data is available.
No parameters required.
Example prompts:
- "What's the overall progress?"
- "Show me the current completion status"
get_date_analysis
Date window analysis: project start and finish dates, total duration, data date, and counts of delayed, ahead-of-schedule, and on-schedule activities.
No parameters required.
Example prompts:
- "When is the project finish date?"
- "How many activities are delayed?"
get_milestone_status
Milestone summary: total milestones, counts by status (completed, active, not started), and a list of each milestone with dates and float.
No parameters required.
Example prompts:
- "How many milestones are overdue?"
- "Show me all milestones and their status"
Cost & Resources
get_cost_summary
Budget, actual, remaining, and at-completion costs. Also provides cost variance and cost performance index (CPI).
No parameters required.
Example prompts:
- "What's the total budget vs actual cost?"
- "Show me the cost performance index"
get_resource_usage
Resource list with assignment counts, budget/actual/remaining quantities, and budget/actual/remaining costs per resource.
No parameters required.
Example prompts:
- "Which resources are over-allocated?"
- "Show me resource usage across the project"
get_calendars
All calendars in the project with names, IDs, working hours per day, weekly patterns, default flag, type, and the number of activities assigned to each.
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
calendarId | No | Get details for a specific calendar |
Example prompts:
- "List all calendars and their working hours"
- "How many hours per day does the 6-day calendar use?"
WBS Structure
get_wbs_tree
Full WBS hierarchy with activity counts per node. Use this to understand the project structure before querying specific WBS areas.
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
maxDepth | No | Maximum tree depth (default 5) |
Example prompts:
- "Show me the WBS structure"
- "How many activities are under WBS 1.2?"
Quality Checks
get_quality_results
Latest quality check results: overall score, letter grade, category breakdown, and top issues. Quality checks must have been run from the Quality tab first.
No parameters required.
Example prompts:
- "What's the quality score?"
- "Show me the quality check results"
get_quality_issues
Quality issues filtered by check ID, category, or severity. Returns affected activity task codes so you can locate problems.
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
checkId | No | e.g., "sf-relationships", "missing-logic", "negative-float" |
category | No | "logic", "duration", "constraints", "float", "resources", "progress", "criticalPath" |
severity | No | critical, major, minor, or info |
limit | No | Max issues (default 50) |
Example prompts:
- "Show me all high-severity quality issues"
- "Which activities have missing successors?"
- "List all critical quality issues in the logic category"
get_quality_resolution
Industry-standard guidance for fixing a specific quality check issue. Returns the recommended fix, impact description, and priority level.
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
checkId | Yes | Quality check ID (e.g., "sf-relationships", "missing-logic") |
Example prompts:
- "How do I fix missing successors?"
- "What's the best practice for resolving negative lag?"
Comparison (Baseline vs Current)
get_comparison_results
Latest comparison summary: baseline vs current statistics, top-impact changes, added/deleted/changed counts.
No parameters required.
Example prompts:
- "What changed since the last baseline?"
- "Give me the comparison summary"
get_comparison_changes
Detailed comparison changes filtered by type and impact level. Returns field-by-field changes for each affected activity.
| Parameter | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
changeType | No | added, deleted, or changed |
impactLevel | No | critical, high, medium, low, or none |
criticalPathOnly | No | Show only critical-path changes |
limit | No | Max items (default 50) |
Example prompts:
- "Show me all critical-impact changes between baseline and current"
- "Which activities were added since the baseline?"
- "What changed on the critical path?"
How Read Tools Work
- You type a question in the input bar.
- The AI analyses your question and selects the appropriate tool(s).
- The tool runs locally in your browser against the loaded schedule data.
- Results return to the AI, which formats a human-readable answer.
No confirmation card appears — read tools never modify data.
You can combine multiple questions in a single message. For example, "What's the quality score, and show me the top 5 critical activities?" triggers two tools in one prompt.
Tips & Best Practices
- Be specific about thresholds — "activities with float under 10 days" gets better results than "activities with low float".
- Use activity codes for precision — "Find activities coded as Discipline = Mechanical" narrows results instantly.
- Follow read with action — after getting results, ask "filter the grid to show those" to see them in the Activities tab.
- Chain questions — the Copilot remembers conversation context, so follow up with "now sort those by float" without repeating the original query.
- Ask about all percentage types — the Copilot shows duration %, physical %, labour units %, non-labour units %, cost %, and schedule % by default.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| "No activities found" | Filter criteria too narrow | Relax the filters — remove one constraint at a time |
| Quality results empty | Quality checks not run yet | Run quality checks from the Quality tab first |
| Comparison results empty | No baseline loaded or comparison not run | Load a baseline and run comparison from the Comparison tab |
| Wrong WBS node matched | Multiple WBS nodes have similar names | Use the WBS ID instead of the name, or be more specific |