# Discourse AI - Ask Discourse
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-ai-ask-discourse/346085
**Category:** Site Management
**Tags:** how-to, ai, ask-discourse
**Created:** [January 7, 2025, 11:04pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-ai-ask-discourse/346085 "2025-01-07T23:04:14Z")
**Posts on this page:** 11
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Saif](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Saif)
#### Post date: [January 7, 2025, 11:04pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-ai-ask-discourse/346085/1 "2025-01-07T23:04:14Z")
> :bookmark: This guide explains how to enable and use Ask Discourse.
>
> :person_raising_hand: Required user level: Administrator
[ask.discourse.com](http://ask.discourse.com) houses our AI agent that can search through our documentation and answer many common questions or issues related to Discourse.
## Features
> :information_source: Features will vary depending on whether Ask Discourse is accessed via chat or from the site. On the site Ask Discourse, it uses PM to start a conversation with the agent, the same experience as [AI bot](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-ai-ai-bot/266012).
- Accessible via chat or by visiting [ask.discourse.com](http://ask.discourse.com)
- AI agent searches and reads through Meta topics and documentation
- Selectable New Question, pre-set questions or type any question
- Recent conversations
- View all questions asked
- Change account settings
- Change fonts and appearance
- Copyable responses
- Like or dislike responses
- Invite users to join the conversation
- Log-in via Meta user profile
## Enabling Ask Discourse
Anyone can visit [ask.discourse.com](http://ask.discourse.com) for help. No additional configuration is needed.
### Access via chat
> :warning: When enabled only admins and moderators will have access to chat with the agent.
On Discourse-hosted sites, the Ask Discourse chat bot is automatically enabled for trial sites. When enabled, the bot will automatically appear in staff members’ chat as `discourse_ai` (Discourse Helper Bot). The only prerequisite is that chat is enabled on the site.
1. Ensure chat is enabled on the site (navigate to `/admin/plugins` and check `Chat enabled`)
2. The bot will automatically start a chat conversation with recently active staff members
3. You can also start a new conversation with `discourse_ai` via chat
While this feature uses elements of [Discourse AI](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-ai/259214), you do not need to install and enable the plugin.
## Technical FAQ
**Why do I see `discourse ai` as an admin user on my site?**
- Enabling access to Ask Discourse via chat requires the AI agent to have admin access. It does not act on its own and is not looking through your site content.
**How does Ask Discourse work?**
- The AI agent uses tool calls to read and search through site settings, Meta topics, and documentation to answer questions to the best of its knowledge.
**Are there plans to expand its availability?**
- Currently, we are experimenting with Ask Discourse. In the future, we may make it default accessible on all sites or entirely change the way users interact with it.
## Caveats
- Generative AI can make mistakes, please flag them to help improve our engine. All content on this site is reviewed regularly by Discourse staff.
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### Author:  [@Ed\_S](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Ed_S)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2025, 1:38pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-ai-ask-discourse/346085/2 "2025-01-08T13:38:48Z")
This resource looks useful - as always with LLMs, it answers clearly and with confidence. I’m not sure how I might tell if it gave me bad information.
I notice the Support & Feedback link (results from clicking my profile at top left) goes to a now-dead link here:
[https://meta.discourse.org/t/help-us-test-ask-discourse-com/324441](https://meta.discourse.org/t/help-us-test-ask-discourse-com/324441)
---
### Author:  [@Saif](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Saif)
#### Post date: [January 8, 2025, 11:45pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-ai-ask-discourse/346085/3 "2025-01-08T23:45:44Z")
> [@Saif](#):
>
> Access via chat
For the time being, we’ve taken this portion down to access via What’s New, to fix some issues. It will be back again soon In the future!
---
### Author:  [@Saif](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Saif)
#### Post date: [January 13, 2025, 3:31pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-ai-ask-discourse/346085/7 "2025-01-13T15:31:35Z")
Hey @Ed_S, we’ve now updated the link, it should redirect to a public topic: [Feedback for Ask Discourse](https://meta.discourse.org/t/feedback-for-ask-discourse/336805)
---
### Author:  [@one1](https://meta.discourse.org/u/one1)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 4:51am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-ai-ask-discourse/346085/9 "2026-07-25T04:51:41Z")
Was Ask Discourse recently changed so that when you are chatting with it, you are no longer composing “post replies”? I really appreciated being able to hit enter without sending my response.
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### Author:  [@NateDhaliwal](https://meta.discourse.org/u/NateDhaliwal)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 5:29am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-ai-ask-discourse/346085/10 "2026-07-25T05:29:23Z")
Yes, I believe that was in here:
> [@Introducing a docked composer for AI bot conversations](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-a-docked-composer-for-ai-bot-conversations/403327):
>
> We’re improving AI bot conversations with a new docked composer, designed to make chatting with the bot feel more seamless. Instead of clicking Reply each time you want to continue the conversation, the composer now stays available at the bottom of the topic. You can type your next message right away, making AI bot conversations feel closer to a continuous chat experience. What’s changing A persistent composer is shown in AI bot conversations You can continue chatting without repeatedly…
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### Author:  [@mcmcclur](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mcmcclur)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 8:20am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-ai-ask-discourse/346085/11 "2026-07-25T08:20:11Z")
> [@one1](#):
>
> I really appreciated being able to hit enter without sending my response.
You _can_ hit enter without sending your response; you just need to hold down the shift button. Not necessarily my favorite UX either but it does work and is consistent with the way chatbots seem to work.
---
### Author:  [@NateDhaliwal](https://meta.discourse.org/u/NateDhaliwal)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 8:20am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-ai-ask-discourse/346085/12 "2026-07-25T08:20:58Z")
Yes, I mentioned that here:
> [@Introducing a docked composer for AI bot conversations](https://meta.discourse.org/t/introducing-a-docked-composer-for-ai-bot-conversations/403327/13):
>
> IIRC Shift + enter creates a newline, if that’s what you’re looking for. But perhaps this should be a user preference. For example, MS Teams has a similar option when sending chat messages.
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### Author:  [@one1](https://meta.discourse.org/u/one1)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 2:46pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-ai-ask-discourse/346085/13 "2026-07-25T14:46:02Z")
> [@mcmcclur](#):
>
> You _can_ hit enter without sending your response; you just need to hold down the shift button.
That’s an odd way to look at it. It’s kind of like saying, “You _can_ press c to copy; you just need to to press ctrl first.”
But you are correct that other generic chatbots use enter to submit.
I wonder, though, who the users of the official [ask.discourse.org](http://ask.discourse.org) really are. I have always assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that people use it to problem solve the software on their own sites in place of posting questions here. I’m constantly having to paste things like error messages and the like into longer responses.
In any case I do appreciate the service. I’ve used it for many problems I have encountered.
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### Author:  [@Jagster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Jagster)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 3:33pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-ai-ask-discourse/346085/14 "2026-07-25T15:33:19Z")
How do I use shift on iPad?
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### Author:  [@mcmcclur](https://meta.discourse.org/u/mcmcclur)
#### Post date: [July 25, 2026, 4:00pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/discourse-ai-ask-discourse/346085/15 "2026-07-25T16:00:26Z")
> [@Jagster](#):
>
> How do I use shift on iPad?
On my iPhone, it works exactly the same: hold the shift-button (up-arrow in the lower left) and press the return button (back-arrow in the lower right). Could be OS version specific, though.