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Chat — Transactions

Overview

The Chat module gives collaborators a direct interface to interact with OpenAI-powered AI assistants from within SARA. Conversations are organized into threads (individual chats) that belong to a specific assistant. Administrators can manage assistants and threads for the entire organization through the same screen.

For the record lifecycle, see: Workflow.

Note

This transaction follows the standard record list layout. See: Common Features

Chat

Overview

The Chat screen (/chat/Chat_controller) is the main interface for interacting with AI assistants. It loads all active threads for the current user, organized by assistant.

What you will see

The screen has two navigation levels:

  • Assistant tabs (top) — one tab per active assistant assigned to your threads. Each tab shows the assistant's alias and the underlying AI model (e.g., gpt-4o-mini). The model name is displayed in red if it is gpt-4o.
  • Thread sidebar (left column) — a vertical list of your active threads for the selected assistant. Double-clicking a thread name in the sidebar lets you rename it inline.

The main area shows the conversation for the selected thread:

  • Chat bubbles — assistant messages appear on the left in gray; your messages appear on the right in blue.
  • Message input — a text field at the bottom of the conversation. Press Enter or click the send icon to send a message.

If you have no active threads, the screen shows an informational message instead.

What you can do here

  • Send a message — type in the message input and press Enter or the send icon. The system sends the message to OpenAI, waits for the assistant's reply, and displays it.
  • Switch threads — click a different thread in the left sidebar to load its conversation history.
  • Switch assistants — click a different assistant tab at the top to see that assistant's threads.
  • Rename a thread — double-click the thread name in the left sidebar to edit it inline. Press Enter or click away to save.
  • Open Model's docs — the "Model's docs" button in the top-right links to OpenAI's models reference (opens in a new tab).

AI set up modal

The Set up button in the top-right opens the AI set up modal, which is the management interface for chats and assistants.

The modal has up to three tabs depending on your permissions:

Visible to all users with view permission.

Shows a table of your own threads with columns: Id, Alias, Created at, Assistant, Status.

Actions available per thread (via the status dropdown):

  • New Chat — create a new thread. Requires an alias and an assistant selection.
  • Edit — change the thread's alias or reassign it to a different assistant.
  • Activate / Deactivate — toggle the thread status. Inactive threads do not appear in the main chat view.

Visible only to users with edit permission.

Shows all threads across all collaborators. Adds a Collaborator column (shown as the collaborator's acronym with a tooltip showing the full name).

Actions available per thread:

  • Edit — change the thread's alias, assigned assistant, and assigned collaborator.
  • Activate / Deactivate — toggle status for any thread.
  • Logs — view the audit log of all thread changes organization-wide.

Visible only to users with edit permission.

Shows all OpenAI assistant definitions registered in SARA with columns: Id, Assistant (OpenAI string ID), Alias, Status.

Actions available per assistant:

  • New assistant — register a new assistant. Requires an alias and the OpenAI string ID (validated against OpenAI's API before saving).
  • Configuration — opens an inline form to change the assistant's instructions and model (e.g., gpt-4o-mini, gpt-4o). Changes are sent directly to OpenAI.
  • Edit — update the alias or OpenAI string ID stored in SARA.
  • Activate / Deactivate — toggle the assistant's status. Deactivating an assistant also deactivates all its threads.
  • Logs — view the audit log of all assistant changes.

Cascading deactivation

Deactivating an assistant automatically deactivates all threads linked to it. Users will no longer see those threads in the main chat view. Reactivating the assistant does not automatically reactivate its threads — each thread must be reactivated individually from the "All Chats" tab.

Permissions

Permissions

Access and actions are permission-driven. See: Permissions