Why it matters
An in-product assistant is useful when it helps with a real customer task: explain a result, find relevant records, draft a response, or point to the next action. A generic chat box that cannot see the right product context adds little value.
The assistant must respect the same tenant and user boundaries as the rest of the application. Retrieved text is evidence, not an instruction source. Users need to see what the answer is based on, when it is uncertain, and whether an action will change anything.
Decisions to make
- Choose a few high-value questions or drafting tasks before adding a general chat surface.
- Define which records, files, and current-page context the assistant may retrieve for each user.
- Choose how answers cite sources, express uncertainty, and hand off to a normal product workflow.
- Decide whether conversations are saved, who can view them, and how long they are retained.
- Set usage limits and a fallback when the model, retrieval service, or account budget is unavailable.
- Separate suggestions from actions and choose which changes require explicit user confirmation.
Build checklist
- Start with one task and a small set of representative customer questions.
- Apply tenant and permission filters before retrieved content reaches the model.
- Show source links or record references that the user can open and verify.
- Keep generated drafts editable and require an ordinary authorized action to save or send them.
- Test wrong-tenant retrieval, missing evidence, prompt injection, and confident but incorrect answers.
- Collect task-level feedback and evaluate answer quality as product content changes.
Common mistakes
- Sending a whole workspace to a model when a narrow authorized retrieval would answer the question.
- Presenting a plausible answer as a fact without a source or uncertainty cue.
- Letting text inside a retrieved document grant the assistant new permissions.
Tools & references
3 starting points to compare or study. Check fit, maintenance, terms and current capabilities before choosing one.
