Some questions deserve more than a quick answer — "why is margin down this quarter?" takes real digging. For these, the assistant offers to run a deeper investigation in the background. It never starts one on its own: you'll always be asked, and it only runs after you say yes. That's deliberate — you should always know when the system is doing substantial work on your behalf.
If the data isn't in the system yet
Sometimes a question needs data that hasn't been brought across from your ERP yet — for example, the live order book rather than invoiced history. The assistant will say so plainly: it tells you it needs to pull that data before it can finalise the answer, and asks whether to go ahead. Saying yes (or tapping Investigate in the background) is the go-ahead — the investigation then pulls the data, waits for it to arrive, and comes back with real figures, not a promise. Nothing is pulled until you've agreed.
Once the answer is in front of you, you can ask follow-ups or save it as a report like any other — and because the data is now in the system, the same question answers instantly next time.
Inside a running investigation, pulls it discovers it needs are started automatically and declared in the answer — look for the "Data sync started automatically" note, which lists what's being pulled. You'll be notified when the data is ready.
A data steward may review these automatic pulls afterwards. If the steward cancels one, you'll get a notice in your Inbox explaining why. Anything already pulled stays available — it just stops refreshing from then on.
While it runs
You can keep working — or keep chatting. The investigation runs in the background and takes a few minutes.
When it's done
The findings arrive right in the conversation where you asked, and that conversation moves to the top of your list so it's easy to spot. You'll also get an Inbox notification (sidebar) titled with your question. Open either one to read the finding, the evidence behind it, and ask follow-up questions right there — the conversation continues inline, with the investigation's context intact.
Results stay in your Inbox, so you can return to a finding later or share the thread with a colleague who has access. Every investigation — saved or not — is also listed under Analysis in the sidebar; see Your analysis history.
If it needs something from you
Sometimes an investigation can't proceed without a decision only you can make — which period you meant, which entity to include. That shows as Needs your input with the question right there to answer, not as a failure. Answer it and the investigation carries on.
If a write-up runs long
A really thorough investigation can produce a long write-up, and occasionally the write-up runs past the length the assistant can produce in one go. When that happens it carries on where it stopped and finishes the report, so in almost every case you simply get the whole thing.
If it still can't fit, the finding says so at the top and the Inbox title reads "Findings cut short" rather than "Findings ready". That's the important part: you'll never be handed half an answer that looks whole. The investigation itself still completed and all of its evidence is attached, so if a section is named but missing, ask a follow-up in the same conversation — the assistant already has the numbers and will answer from them without starting over.