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Getting Started

Welcome to Chat Aid! This guide will help you get up and running in just a few minutes.

Quick Start Overview​

Getting started with Chat Aid involves four simple steps:

  1. Sign up for a Chat Aid account
  2. Connect your data sources to train Chat Aid
  3. Install Chat Aid on your preferred platform (Slack, Teams, or Web)
  4. Ask your first question and get an AI-powered answer

Let's walk through each step in detail.

What You'll Need​

Before you begin, make sure you have:

  • ✅ A work email address
  • ✅ Admin access to at least one data source (Google Drive, Notion, Confluence, etc.)
  • ✅ (Optional) Admin access to your Slack workspace or Microsoft Teams tenant
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If you don't have admin access to Slack or Teams, you can still use Chat Aid through the web dashboard and invite your admin to install it later.

Step 1: Sign Up​

  1. Visit app.chataid.com/signup
  2. Enter your work email and create a password
  3. Verify your email address through the confirmation link
  4. Complete your profile setup with your name and company information

You'll be automatically logged into the Chat Aid dashboard.

Step 2: Connect Your First Data Source​

After signing up, you'll be prompted to connect your first data source. This is what Chat Aid will use to answer questions.

For the best initial experience, we recommend starting with one of these:

  • Google Drive - Easy to connect, works great for documents and spreadsheets
  • Notion - Perfect if your team uses Notion for documentation
  • Confluence - Ideal for technical teams with wikis and documentation
  • Slack - Train on your Slack conversation history

Connecting a Data Source​

  1. From the dashboard, navigate to Integrations
  2. Browse or search for your data source
  3. Click Connect on your chosen integration
  4. Sign in and grant Chat Aid permission to access your data
  5. Select which folders, pages, or channels to train on
  6. Click Start Training
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The initial training can take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour, depending on the amount of data. You'll receive an email notification when training is complete.

For detailed integration guides, see our Data Sources documentation.

Step 3: Install Chat Aid on Your Platform​

While your data is training, you can install Chat Aid on your preferred platform.

Slack provides the best Chat Aid experience with features like auto-answer, thread summaries, and message shortcuts.

  1. From the dashboard, click your profile icon and select Connect to Slack
  2. Select your Slack workspace
  3. Review the requested permissions and click Allow
  4. Chat Aid will appear in your Slack workspace

📖 Full Slack Guide →

Microsoft Teams​

  1. From the dashboard, go to Settings > General
  2. Click Connect to Microsoft Teams
  3. Sign in with your Microsoft account
  4. Grant the requested permissions
  5. Chat Aid will appear in Teams

📖 Full Teams Guide →

Web Dashboard​

The web dashboard is automatically available once you sign up. Simply log in at app.chataid.com to start asking questions.

Step 4: Ask Your First Question​

Once your data training is complete, you're ready to ask your first question!

In Slack​

  1. Open Slack and find the Chat Aid app in your Apps list
  2. Send a direct message to Chat Aid
  3. Type your question, for example: "What's our refund policy?"
  4. Chat Aid will search your trained data and respond with an answer

You can also mention @Chat Aid in any channel where the app is added.

In Microsoft Teams​

  1. Open Teams and find Chat Aid in your Apps
  2. Start a chat with Chat Aid
  3. Ask your question
  4. Get your answer with source citations

In the Web Dashboard​

  1. Log in to the Chat Aid dashboard
  2. Click Ask Chai in the sidebar
  3. Type your question in the chat interface
  4. View the answer along with source documents

What's Next?​

Now that you're set up, explore these features:

Essential Features​

Advanced Features​

Common Questions​

How long does training take? Initial training typically takes 15-30 minutes for most data sources. Large integrations (1000+ documents) may take longer.

Can I train on multiple data sources? Yes! You can connect as many data sources as your plan allows. Chat Aid will search across all of them when answering questions.

Is my data secure? Absolutely. Chat Aid is SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certified. Your data is encrypted in transit and at rest, and we never use it to train any AI models. Learn more about security →

What if Chat Aid doesn't know the answer? If Chat Aid can't find an answer in your trained data, it will let you know. You can optionally enable AI fallback to use general knowledge, or add more data sources.

Ready to continue?

Need Help?

Our support team is here to help you get the most out of Chat Aid.