Send messages and watch a bot work

The chat screen

The chat header

Across the top of every chat, from left to right:

When the chat is narrow, for example with the bot's computer open beside it, the least-used icons step aside to make room: first the usage chip and Record a meeting, then Export and All threads. In the phone layout, they move into a single … menu.

A few other things can show in the header:

• Where it works. On a This PC thread, a line under the bot's name shows the computer and folder it works in, and what it's doing there right now.
• Kick. When a turn has been running for a long time, a Kick button appears next to the name, in case the bot is stuck rather than slow. See The bot's computer.
• Routine runs. When you open a thread an automation ran in, a strip under the header says Run details with the routine's name, plus Back to results and Run logs.

The profile card

Click the bot's avatar to see who it is at a glance:

• its face, name, and role,
• what it's doing: Working, Ready, or Last run failed,
• Looks after: the goals it takes care of, if it has any.

Underneath are the things you'd reach for next:

The usage chip

Shows how much this thread has cost so far, and how much of the model's context is used. Context is how much of the conversation the model can keep in mind at once.

• Hover it for details: number of turns, words in and out, and context used.
• It turns amber, then red, as the thread gets long.
• When it's amber or red, the model is re-reading a lot every time, which is slower and more expensive. Start a new thread, or compact this one.
• Click it to open this bot's Usage settings.

The message box

At the bottom of the chat, from left to right:

Above the box you may see a chip showing where the thread works: Cloud or This PC. See This PC.

On a phone, a Live button sits next to the message box while it's empty.

Send a message

Type and press Enter. To start a new line without sending, press Shift+Enter.

• Not sure where to start? A brand-new thread offers three starters: What can you do for me?, Show me what's on your computer, and Help me set you up for my work. Clicking one puts it in the message box for you to send or change.
• Fix your last message: with the box empty, press ↑ to edit the last message you sent.
• Drafts are saved per thread. Switch away halfway through typing and your text is still there when you come back.
• If a message fails to send, your text goes back in the box, so nothing is lost. If you've already started typing something new, a red strip says Not sent: with your message, a Retry button, and × to dismiss it.
• While files upload, the box says Attaching files… and waits until they're done.

Send while the bot is working

You don't have to wait for the bot to finish. Type and send at any time, for example to add a detail you forgot.

While a bot works, the box says "Scout is working — sends when this turn finishes" (with your bot's name), and the send button shows a clock instead of an arrow. Your message goes into the chat and the bot picks it up as soon as the current turn ends.

In a group chat, the box says "… is working — Enter queues your message".

Stop a bot

Any of these stops the current turn:

• the Stop button on the work card in the chat (see below),
• the square Stop button in the message box,
• on a phone, the red Stop button in the chat header,
• sending a message that only says stop, cancel, abort, halt, quit, or enough (also "please stop" or "stop it now"). It works exactly like the button: your message shows in the chat, but the bot never reads it.

Stopping only stops the current turn. The thread, its files, and its computer are kept, and you can carry on with your next message.

If a bot looks stuck and Stop doesn't help, use Kick. See The bot's computer.

Watch a bot work

What it's doing right now

While a bot works, a card in the chat says Scout is working (with your bot's name), a timer, and a line saying what it's doing right now. The card has two buttons:

On a phone, the bot shows a chat bubble with moving dots instead, and Stop is in the header.

The line on the card can say:

The bot's dot in the sidebar pulses blue while it works.

Tool chips

Every action a bot takes, like searching, reading a file, or running a command, appears as a small tool chip in the chat with its status: running, completed, or failed.

Click a chip to see:

• Input: exactly what the bot asked for,
• Result: what came back.

This is the best way to understand what a bot actually did.

The model's own reasoning, when shown, appears as a fold-out block. While the bot is thinking, the block stays open as Thinking, with a live preview that follows the newest thought (scroll up in it to stop following). When the thinking ends, it folds itself to Thought for 12s (or just Thought). Click it to open or close it; once you do, it stays the way you left it.

Don't want to see them? Turn off Settings → Appearance → Tool calls, or turn on Simple mode.

When a bot saves something to its memory, a small note says Saved to memory with the file name, and "— say /forget if it shouldn't keep this". This note shows even when tool chips are hidden.

When the turn ends

• The bot's in-between notes fold into Worked for 2m 10s (or however long it took).
• Its actions fold into a row like 6 steps · web search, write, bash.
• The final reply appears below.

Click either folded line to open it again.

Replies appear word by word as they're written. A soft pop plays when a bot finishes (turn it off in Settings → General → Reply sound). If Machine Desktop is in the background, you get a notification.

The line under a finished reply

When a turn did some work (at least one step), a quiet line under the bot's latest reply sums it up, for example:

Worked 2m 10s · 6 steps · $0.04

It shows how long the turn took, how many steps it made, and what the turn cost, when that's known. (It doesn't name the model: the model chip in the chat header shows that.) Then two buttons:

If a turn fails

If something goes wrong, a red box with a warning sign explains what happened, and the bot's sidebar dot turns red.

• On the latest error, click Retry to try again.
• Click × to hide an error you've dealt with.

Common errors are covered in Troubleshooting. You can also use Regenerate response or edit your message. See Message actions.

How replies look

• Tables, lists, checklists, and math display properly. Hover a table and click Copy as CSV to paste it into a spreadsheet.
• Code appears in boxes showing the language and number of lines, with Copy, Download snippet as file, and Wrap long lines.
• Long messages you send fold behind Show full message.
• Spoilers: text between ~~ marks is hidden until you click Reveal spoiler.
• Live website previews: when a bot starts a website on its computer, a preview appears in the chat, with Reload preview and Open in browser. When the page is an HTML file the bot wrote, a File / Server switch also appears: File (the default) shows the file itself, so it still shows after the server has stopped; Server shows the running server, for pages that need it.
• Images from the web are hidden until you click Load image. This stops websites from knowing you opened the thread.
• Files the bot made appear as chips with Save a copy. A file on your own computer (on a This PC thread) also has Show in folder, which opens its folder.
• Messages from other bots are labelled with the bot's name and how they arrived. See Message actions.
• Confetti: when a bot finishes something worth celebrating, it may throw a little. (With reduced motion on, you get a 🎉 instead.)

Moving around a long chat

• Scroll up to read earlier messages. Show earlier messages (or Load earlier messages) brings in more.
• After you jump to an old message, for example from a search, Show later messages brings back the ones after it.
• When you scroll up, the chat stops following new messages. Click Jump to latest to go back to the bottom.
• Hover a message to see when it was sent. Days are separated by Today, Yesterday, or a date.