How to Use the Report Toaster AI Assistant

This quick guide will help you make the most out of our in-app AI Assistant. 

Developed entirely in-house by our team of developers, this AI tool connects directly with our knowledge base to help you find certain reports, discover key resources, or simply answers any questions you might have.

All questions and responses are monitored and logged for quality assurance by our Report Toaster staff, so please bear that in mind before you supply any personal or private information. 

In this we'll go over both the basics of finding/using the AI and some quick tips for getting the best value out of this resource. Let's take a look!

Starting the AI Assistant

When you first login to Report Toaster, you'll see the Report Assistant section on the main menu: 

You can also access the AI Assistant from any of the other pages in the app via this button, top right.

Clicking this will open a conversation bar in the right hand side of the screen: 

Just like using Chat GPT (or any other AI Assistant), you can then type your question in the box and start a conversation: 

Note - Be sure to press Ctrl+Enter to send your message (or click the arrow in the box). 

We disabled pressing Enter by itself to send a message to prevent accidental early sending of incomplete messages (which reduces the quality of the AI's response).

Basic Tips

We've tested the AI extensively, but as with any AI Assistant, the better the prompt - the better the results.

So lets look at a few quick tips to help you make the most ouf of this tool. 

1. Be specific
2. Make adjustments
3. Request clarification
   
4. Focus on the goal

Be specific

Bad: I need a report

Good: I need a Sales report, with one row for each of my products, that will show which of my products sold best in the Last 30 Days'. 

It's like following a recipe - always think about what you could create for somebody if you were on the receiving end of such instructions.

Feel free to provide examples or even attach images of what you're after - the more specific, the better. 

Always keep in mind: could you get that person what they asked for if the roles were reversed? 

Make adjustments

Bad: Not what I wanted. Bye. 

Good: This is good. But I have different sizes in my different variants, so I would like to see each of my variants split up into a different row. 

Sometimes the AI tool will get you exactly what you wanted 1st try, and that's fantastic. 

But usually the process is iterative - sometimes the end result isn't quite what you were looking for and could easily be adjusted.

In this case, I should have been more specific at the start - so by telling the tool I actually wanted one row for each variant (not each product), I get closer to my end goal. 

Sometimes the bot will even give you choices, so pick the one that makes most sense for what you're looking to accomplish. 

Request clarification

Bad: *I dont know what any of that that means but whatever*

Good: Please explain how I can create a custom report by myself. 

If you don't understand what something means or the directions you've been provided, ask!

As well as creating reports for you, the bot is great at providing specific directions on how best to use the app:

It's always a learning process, and just like in a classroom, it's better to ask and learn than stay silent and never know. 

Focus on the goal

Bad: My boss asked me for a Sales by State report. Show me a breakdown of our sales for each state. 

Good: *How is this being used. Oh wait, for taxes*. I need a tax report that shows me how much is owed in Sales Tax to each authority.''

If I ask for a Sales by State report, I'll get what I literally asked for. 

But if I think about how this information is actually being used and what it's needed for, I might get what I actually need.

(In this case - Taxes by Jurisidiction is the report we need)

Advanced Tips

Okay so now that we've mastered the basics, how far can we take this thing? 

Have the tool do the work!

For example, let's say I wanted to create a Sales Report by Country, but limit the results to only nations in the European Union? 

I could add all 27 filters myself, or I could have the bot do it! 

Pretty neat huh: 

Use Screenshot Examples

Did you know you can actually submit a screenshot of what you're after?

This is really helpful for more complex reports or any cases where you're struggling to put into words what it is you're after :) 

Like suppose I'm working out of an excel doc

And I realize I can just have the AI turn this directly into a Report Toaster report - just paste the image into the chat box and ask it for what you're looking for as normal:

Notice - it even knew that AOV was equal to Net Sales Avg (i.e. Net Sales / Orders) and implemented directly in the report!

Know the limits

The AI Assistant can provide a lot of help, especially when it comes to creating reports using existing Shopify columns and filters.

But some things just require a person, so sometimes the best advice on how to use a tool is knowing when NOT to use it!

A good principle to abide by is trying the AI Assistant first to see how far you get, but never be afraid to reach out to us at support@cloudlab.com if you get stuck. 

No sense in struggling when we're here to help!

Provide us feedback

The AI Assistant is very powerful, but any feedback you have when using it is helpful to make improvements.

If a response was good/bad, you can give it a thumbs up/down respectively so that our staff can make further adjustments.

Remember to include your comments so that we have context as to why the response was good/bad.

If you have any further questions about the AI or simply want to provide us feedback, then feel free to reach out to us at support@cloudlab.com. 

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