AI Guides

Quick how-to guides for common AI tasks in Syncontrol.

Data Questions

I want to know top 10 clients by sum of booking man days

  1. Open AI Chat from the main menu
  2. Type: top 10 clients by booking man days in 2025
  3. Press Enter to get results

I want to see how many inspections were completed last month

  1. Open AI Chat
  2. Type: how many inspections were completed last month?
  3. The AI returns the count with details

Charts & Visualizations

I want to see inspection results as a pie chart

  1. Open AI Chat
  2. Type: inspection results in 2025, pie chart
  3. The AI generates an interactive chart

I need a monthly trend of bookings

  1. Open AI Chat
  2. Type: monthly booking count for the last 12 months, bar chart
  3. View the visualization

Supported chart types: pie, bar, line, area, table

Compliance & Safety

I need EU requirements for a product category

  1. Open AI Chat
  2. Type: requirements for electric scooters in a table (or your product)
  3. The AI searches CELEX database for relevant EU regulations
  4. Review the compliance requirements

I want to check for product safety alerts

  1. Open AI Chat
  2. Type: potential issues for drinking paper straws (or your product)
  3. The AI searches RAPEX for safety alerts and recalls
  4. Review any reported issues

Automated Notifications

I want to be notified when there are overdue invoices

  1. Open AI Chat
  2. Type: notify me when there are more than 5 unpaid invoices overdue by 30+ days
  3. Confirm the notification setup
  4. You’ll receive alerts when the condition is met

I need alerts for critical defects

  1. Open AI Chat
  2. Type: notify when a new defect is reported classified as critical
  3. The AI creates a condition-based notification
  4. Alerts trigger automatically when criteria match

Dashboard Widgets

I want to save a query result to my dashboard

  1. Run any query in AI Chat (e.g., open bookings this week)
  2. Click Add to Dashboard below the result
  3. Select the target dashboard
  4. The query becomes a live widget that updates automatically

AI-Powered Form Fields

I want AI to generate a risk assessment in an inspection

  1. Navigate to the inspection form
  2. Click the AI button next to the risk assessment field
  3. Optionally add instructions (e.g., “focus on electrical safety”)
  4. Click Generate
  5. Review and apply the generated content

I need to translate or correct terminology in a field

  1. Click the AI button on the text field
  2. Type instructions: translate to German or correct technical terminology
  3. Generate and apply the result

I want to extract information from an attached document

  1. Upload the document to the record
  2. Click AI on the target field
  3. Add instructions: extract product specifications from the attached PDF
  4. The AI reads the document and populates the field

External AI Tools

I want to query Syncontrol data from Claude

  1. Go to Settings > Integrations > MCP Server
  2. Copy your MCP endpoint URL
  3. In Claude settings, add Syncontrol as an MCP server
  4. Authorize the connection
  5. Ask Claude questions like: count total bookings in syncontrol

I want to use Perplexity with Syncontrol data

  1. Get your MCP endpoint from Settings > Integrations > MCP Server
  2. Configure Perplexity to connect to the MCP server
  3. Query your Syncontrol data through Perplexity’s interface

Advanced Usage

I want more complex data and sometimes results presented by default are slow/invalid

For complex queries spanning multiple database tables, the AI may take longer to respond as it explores the database structure. You can guide the AI with routing prompts to get faster, more accurate results.

Example: Tracking expiring invitations

Step 1: Try the basic approach

  1. Open AI Chat
  2. Type the query:
    List up to 5 valid invitations expiring between today and the next 7 days,
with columns: Title (workflow step title or document name),
To (recipient name and email), Related (workflow/process connections or
document products), and Expires at (YYYY-MM-DD); if none exist,
return "No pending actions".
  3. The AI explores the database structure, taking time and using more tokens

Step 2: Create an AI input with routing instructions

  1. Go to Settings > AI Inputs
  2. Create a new input with mode Chat
  3. Set a descriptive name (e.g., “Invitation Queries”)
  4. In the Prompt field, add:
    # Invitation / Access Query Routing

- Apply the following rules **only if the user asks about invitations or access**.

## Workflow Context
- If the user refers to workflows, workflow steps, processes, approvals,
  or uses invitation language without mentioning documents:
  - Use `accessable` as the primary table
  - Join `workflow_steps` on (`accessable_type = 'workflow_steps'`
    AND `accessable_id = workflow_step_id`)
  - Join `workflow_processes` only if workflow context is required

## Technical Folder / Document Context
- If the user explicitly refers to documents, technical folders,
  or document invitations:
  - Use `accessable` as the primary table
  - Join `documents` on (`accessable_type = 'documents'`
    AND `accessable_id = document_id`)

## Restrictions
- Do not join workflow and document tables together unless explicitly requested
- Do not inspect or enumerate unrelated tables
  5. Save the AI input

Step 3: Use the optimized approach

  1. Open AI Chat
  2. Select your Invitation Queries input from the dropdown
  3. Type the same query:
    List up to 5 valid invitations expiring between today and the next 7 days,
with columns: Title (workflow step title or document name),
To (recipient name and email), Related (workflow/process connections or
document products), and Expires at (YYYY-MM-DD); if none exist,
return "No pending actions".
  4. The AI responds faster with fewer tokens used

Step 4: Add to dashboard

  1. After receiving results, click Add to Dashboard below the result
  2. Select your target dashboard
  3. The query becomes a live widget that updates automatically
  4. Monitor expiring invitations directly from your dashboard

Example: Querying workflow submissions

Without an AI input, this type of query often fails. The database doesn’t have tables named “supplier self-inspections” — workflows are stored generically in workflow_processes and workflow_steps. The AI input instructs the LLM to look in the right tables and identify workflows by their path or type.

Step 1: Try the basic approach

  1. Open AI Chat
  2. Type the query:
    Last 10 supplier self-inspections that haven't been approved with columns
date, workflow title, step title, step status
  3. The AI searches for workflow-related tables and may take multiple attempts to identify the correct workflow type

Step 2: Create an AI input with routing instructions

  1. Go to Settings > AI Inputs
  2. Create a new input with mode Chat
  3. Set a descriptive name (e.g., “Workflow Queries”)
  4. In the Prompt field, add:
    # Workflow Query Routing

Apply the following rules **only if the user asks about workflows,
workflow submissions, workflow steps, approvals, or workflow status,
or, specifically - Lab Tests, Supplier Self-Inspections**.

## Table Usage
- Use `workflow_processes` and `workflow_steps` as the primary tables.
- Run DISTINCT or exploratory queries on workflow-related tables
  to determine the relevant workflow type
- Join `workflow_steps` to `workflow_processes` using `workflow_process_id`.

## Workflow Identification
- If the user refers to a workflow by name, feature, or description
  (e.g. "Supplier self-inspection"):
  - Get all workflow paths (DISTINCT `workflow_process_path`)
  - Prefer structured identifiers over free-text matching when available.

## Submissions
- If the user asks about *submissions* (explicitly or implicitly):
  - Return a submission URL formatted as:
    `#workflows/{workflow_process_id}/{workflow_step_id}/{mobile_layout_submission_id}`
  5. Save the AI input

Step 3: Use the optimized approach

  1. Open AI Chat
  2. Select your Workflow Queries input from the dropdown
  3. Type the same query:
    Last 10 supplier self-inspections that haven't been approved with columns
date, workflow title, step title, step status
  4. The AI identifies the correct workflow type faster and returns accurate results

Step 4: Add to dashboard

  1. After receiving results, click Add to Dashboard below the result
  2. Select your target dashboard
  3. Track pending approvals directly from your dashboard

Tips for Better Results

  • Be specific — Include dates, filters, and exact field names when known
  • Use chart keywords — End queries with “pie chart”, “bar chart”, or “table” for visualizations
  • Iterate — Ask follow-up questions to refine results
  • Save useful queries — Add frequently used results to dashboards
  • Check history — Previous conversations are saved for reference
  • Use AI inputs for complex queries — Create routing prompts to guide the AI to the right tables