How chats work inside a Box
Goal
Know what a chat in a Box already knows, how it draws on the rest of the Box, and how it differs from a regular chat.
Quick path
Open the Box and click New Chat in its sidebar.
Type your message and send it, the same way you would in any chat.
Step-by-step
Click New Chat at the top of the Box's sidebar. To start the chat inside a folder, open the folder's menu and choose New Chat. You'll see New chat in [folder] above the prompt box; click the X to start it at the top of the Box instead.
Pick a model and send your first message. All the usual models and bots are there, and you can @mention anyone already in the Box. They get a notification, and clicking it opens the chat inside the Box. See How to mention someone in a chat. The chat is saved in the Box as soon as you send it.
Find it later in the sidebar, under Chats or inside its folder. Everyone in the Box can open it.
What every Box chat knows
The Box's instructions, name and description. See How to write instructions for a Box.
The Box's files. Box Knowledge is attached automatically. See How to add knowledge to a Box.
What's been said in the Box's other chats. When you send a message, BoodleBox looks through the Box's other chats, including teammates' chats, and gives the AI the most relevant excerpts, with who said each one and when. That's how a new chat can pick up what the team already decided.
Using bots in a Box
Bots work in a Box chat the same way they do in any chat. Pick one from the model picker at the bottom of the message box, or type @ and choose it. See How to use more than one AI in the same chat.
There's no Box-level bot setting. You can't attach a bot to the whole Box or set a default one. To give every chat the same guidance, write Box instructions instead.
A custom bot keeps its own instructions and knowledge. In a Box chat, it also gets the Box's instructions and files. If the two conflict, the Box's instructions take priority.
Teammates need access to your custom bot. If someone in the Box can't find it, share it with them. See How to share bots with others.
How a Box chat differs from a regular chat
No Memory switch. A Box chat draws on the Box's other chats on its own, so Memory Mode isn't offered.
Box files replace your starred files. Your starred Knowledge Bank files aren't attached to Box chats.
Some chats don't search the Box's other chats: web search, academic research and image chats, and short messages that stand on their own, like "thanks!"
Everyone in the Box can see it. Keep private work in a regular chat outside the Box.
Adding a file to one chat
You can still attach a file to a single chat. It belongs to that chat, not the whole Box. Uploading or pasting a file puts it in the chat; picking one from your Knowledge Bank adds a copy. Only the person who added a file can take it out of the chat. To give a file to every chat, add it to Box Knowledge instead.
The chat menu
Open a chat's menu for Rename Chat, Move to Folder, Remove from Folder, Move to Box, Remove from Box, Download Transcript and Delete Chat. Deleting and moving a chat in or out of the Box are only for the chat's owner. See How to organize a Box.
Verify it's working
The chat appears in the Box's sidebar, and its address starts with /b/.
Answers follow the Box's instructions and draw on its files.
Still stuck?
If a chat you had open disappears, someone may have moved or deleted it. See Troubleshooting Boxes, or reach out through our contact form and we'll get back to you.