> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.merciv.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Chat overview > Ask questions in plain language and get cited answers drawn from your knowledge base, the web, and market intelligence. Chat is where you work with the Merciv assistant. Ask a question in plain language and the assistant answers using your organization's knowledge base, the web, market intelligence and social data, and any files you attach — with citations so you can verify every claim. ## What the assistant can do Behind a single question, the assistant can: * **Search your knowledge base** — the documents and data your team has uploaded to [Knowledge](/knowledge/overview). * **Search the web**, with the option to scope results to specific pages or turn web search off entirely (see [Sources and attachments](/chat/sources-and-attachments)). * **Query market intelligence** and social media data. * **Query your portfolio database**, if your organization has [Portfolio](/portfolio/overview) brand data. * **Recall past conversations** and sources it has cited before. * **Analyze data and create files** — spreadsheets, slide decks, documents, and interactive visualizations (see [Generated files](/chat/generated-files)). * **Ask clarifying questions** — an inline form appears in the chat with Yes/No buttons or text fields. Answer the ones that help, or skip them. * **Propose Trackers** — when a question suggests ongoing monitoring, the assistant can offer an inline proposal you can accept to create a [Tracker](/trackers/overview). * **Run deep research** — in Research mode, the assistant produces a full formatted report with a generated cover illustration (see [Modes and outputs](/chat/modes-and-outputs)). Every chat screen carries the reminder that Merciv is AI and can make mistakes. Double-check cited sources before acting on an answer. ## Starting a chat You can start a conversation from several places: * Click the **New chat** plus button next to **Recent Chats** in the left navigation. * Type into the composer on the home page — this creates a new chat automatically. * Open the chat as a **side panel** over any page in the app. Use **Expand to Full Screen** and **Move to Side Panel** to switch between the panel and the full-screen view. * A brand-new chat shows a carousel of prompt templates you can click to get started. To send a message, type in the composer and press **Enter** (**Shift+Enter** adds a new line). A few things to know: * Your chat is **named automatically** based on the conversation. You can rename it any time. * Messages are limited to 100,000 characters. * While the assistant is working, the send button becomes a **stop** control — click it to interrupt the response. * Longer tasks show rotating status phrases. Deep analysis can take a few minutes, so "Still working through this one..." after 30 seconds or so is normal. ## The activity timeline Each response includes an expandable **Activity** section showing the assistant's thinking and each action it took — searches it ran, files it read, code it executed. When the response finishes, the section reads **Activity · N actions**. Sticky indicators show running counts of sources, files, and to-dos as the assistant works. If something goes wrong mid-task, an inline **Task failed** indicator appears; sending the request again usually resolves it. ## Citations Answers include numbered citations, and a sources strip at the bottom of each message lists everything the assistant cited. When you copy an answer with **Copy Text**, the sources come with it. ## Chat history * Your chats appear under **Recent Chats** in the left navigation, sorted by most recent, and in project and home lists. * Within a long chat, older messages load 10 at a time — click **Load more** at the top of the conversation. * A chat can belong to a [Project](/projects/overview). Chats started from a project page attach to that project automatically. ### Renaming, moving, and deleting chats Open the **"..."** menu on any chat to: * **Open** the chat * **Rename** it * **Move to Project** — file it into an existing or new project * **Delete** it — the chat disappears from your lists, and its link no longer works ## Privacy Chats are private to you. Only the person who created a chat can open it, and only while working in the organization the chat belongs to. There is no share option for chats — if you want to share what the assistant produced, share the [artifact](/artifacts/overview) or move the work into a [report](/reports/overview) instead. If you open a link to someone else's chat, you'll see "You do not have access to this chat session."