> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.ebrain.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.ebrain.ai/chatting-with-tim/overview.md).

# Chatting with Tim

How to talk to Tim, your AI assistant, in plain language to handle mail, calendar, tasks, meetings, and research.

Tim is your right-hand AI colleague. You talk to him in plain language on the **Chats** page, and he handles the work across your whole business: your inbox, calendar, tasks, meeting notes, and research. There is no special syntax to learn. As the Chats page puts it: *"Ask in plain language, I will handle the rest."*

When a chat is empty, Tim greets you with **"How can I help?"** and shows a few starter suggestions so you have somewhere to begin. Just type what you want into the box ("Tell me what you want to do...") and send.

{% hint style="info" %}
Tim is far more useful once your accounts are connected. If you see a **"Connect your tools to put Tim to work"** banner, head to **Settings > Integrations** and link your mailboxes and calendars. See [Connecting your accounts](/account-and-settings/integrations.md).
{% endhint %}

## What Tim can help with

You can ask Tim for any of these in everyday language:

* **Mail** - search across all your connected mailboxes (Gmail and Outlook, multiple accounts), read and summarize messages, and draft replies. When he lists emails, he shows the content and a link to open the message in Gmail or Outlook.
* **Calendar** - check your availability, read your agenda, and create, move, or cancel events. Ask "Am I free tonight?" and he checks before answering.
* **Tasks and projects** - list, create, update, assign, and comment on tasks in eBrain's own [Tasks](/tasks/overview.md).
* **Meetings** - search and reason over the transcripts and notes that Donna produces from your calls, and set up a notetaker. See [Meetings](/meetings-donna/notes-and-transcripts.md).
* **Research** - deep, multi-source investigations across your mail, calendar, contacts, uploaded documents, and meeting notes, plus Dutch legal research. For questions spanning several people or companies, he works through them in parallel.
* **Web search** - for anything current (news, prices, who runs a company right now), he searches the web automatically and trusts fresh results.
* **Reminders** - ask him to nudge you later, and he can reach out at the right time. See [Proactive messages and reminders](/ebrain-on-whatsapp/proactive-and-reminders.md).
* **General help** - answering questions, drafting content, and planning work. For legal or financial matters he gives you the facts to decide and suggests confirming consequential calls with a professional.

Tim always replies in the language you write in, and he looks things up before answering instead of guessing.

## How to phrase requests well

{% hint style="success" %}
**Tips for great results**

* **Just ask plainly.** If your request is clear, Tim acts on it rather than asking you questions back.
* **"Show" vs "do".** Words like *show, find, get, read* make Tim retrieve and display. He only writes (*send, add, create, delete*) when you explicitly ask.
* **Follow-ups work.** "Reply to that one" or "show me the link" refer to what's already on screen - no need to repeat yourself.
* **State facts as truth.** Tell him "Jan always emails from that address" and he uses it directly.
* **He sees one workspace at a time.** Tim reads and writes only your active company's data. To work elsewhere, switch companies in the app.
  {% endhint %}

## Example prompts and what Tim does

| You say                                                 | What Tim does                                                     |
| ------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| "What urgent items need my attention this morning?"     | Reviews your inbox, calendar, and tasks and surfaces what matters |
| "Prep me for today's meetings"                          | Pulls together context for each meeting on your agenda            |
| "Find the latest email from Anna and summarize it"      | Searches your mailboxes and shows the message with a summary      |
| "Reply and say I'll join the call"                      | Drafts an editable reply for you to review and send               |
| "Am I free Thursday afternoon?"                         | Checks your calendar and answers                                  |
| "Schedule a 30-minute call with Sam on Thursday at 3pm" | Prepares the event for your approval                              |
| "Create a task to follow up with the client by Friday"  | Prepares the task for your approval                               |
| "Summarize the notes from yesterday's standup"          | Searches Donna's meeting notes and summarizes                     |
| "Who is the CEO of that company right now?"             | Searches the web and answers with fresh results                   |
| "Research these two suppliers for me"                   | Runs a thorough, multi-source investigation                       |
| "Remember that I prefer morning meetings"               | Saves it to memory for future conversations                       |

## Two things to know up front

{% hint style="warning" %}
**Tim always asks before he acts.** He never sends an email, changes your calendar, or edits a task without your explicit confirmation. Instead of just doing it, he shows you an approval card (or an editable email draft) and waits for you to approve. Read [Approval flows explained](/chatting-with-tim/approval-flows.md).
{% endhint %}

**Tim remembers.** Facts, preferences, and decisions you share carry across conversations, so you don't have to re-explain context every time. See [How Tim remembers things](/chatting-with-tim/memory.md).

**Fast or thorough.** Tim can answer instantly for quick lookups or take more time for complex, multi-step work, and you can steer this with the mode selector. See [Instant vs thinking mode](/chatting-with-tim/thinking-and-specialists.md).

## Keep exploring

<table data-view="cards"><thead><tr><th>Topic</th><th data-card-target data-type="content-ref">Link</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Run your Agents from the chat box</td><td><a href="/chatting-with-tim/commands-and-mentions.md">Slash commands and mentions</a></td></tr><tr><td>Attach files and dictate by voice</td><td><a href="/chatting-with-tim/files-and-voice.md">Files, uploads, and voice</a></td></tr><tr><td>Folders, pinning, and search</td><td><a href="/chatting-with-tim/organizing-chats.md">Organizing your chats</a></td></tr><tr><td>How approvals keep you in control</td><td><a href="/chatting-with-tim/approval-flows.md">Approval flows explained</a></td></tr></tbody></table>