AI Chat Assistant

Palett's AI chat assistant helps you search for materials, answer design questions, and automate common tasks—all through natural conversation.

What Can AI Chat Do?

Material Discovery

Search by description: "Find sustainable wood flooring under $8/sq ft"
Visual search: Upload images to find similar materials
Comparison: "Compare these two tiles side by side"
Recommendations: "What materials pair well with sage green walls?"

Design Guidance

Style advice: "What's the difference between modern and contemporary design?"
Color coordination: "What accent colors work with navy blue?"
Material selection: "Best flooring for high-traffic commercial spaces?"
Trend insights: "What's popular in hospitality design right now?"

Workflow Automation

Add to boards: "Add these 5 materials to my Kitchen board"
Create boards: "Create a new board called Living Room Concepts"
Organize materials: "Tag all rugs in this board as 'approved'"
Search your content: "Find that marble tile I saved last week"

Project Support

Quick answers: "What's the lead time on Interface carpet?"
Specifications: "Tell me the dimensions of this tile"
Calculations: "How many sq ft do I need for a 12x15 room?"
Vendor info: "How do I contact Loloi's sales team?"

Using AI Chat

Opening Chat

Multiple ways to access:

Chat Widget (bottom right): Click the bubble icon
Home Page Chat: Featured on your dashboard
Sidebar Chat: Click chat icon in project sidebar
Keyboard: Press ⌘⇧C (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+C (Windows)

Basic Conversation

Just ask naturally:

You: "I need tile for a modern bathroom"

AI: "I can help you find tile options for a modern bathroom. 
     Let me search our catalog...
     
     [Shows 10 tile options]
     
     Would you like me to:
     - Filter by price range?
     - Show specific colors?
     - Add favorites to a board?"

You: "Show me options under $15/sq ft in white or gray"

AI: [Refines search with those filters]

No special commands needed — just talk like you would to a colleague.

Follow-Up Questions

AI remembers conversation context:

You: "Find oak flooring"
AI: [Shows oak flooring options]

You: "What about engineered instead of solid?"
AI: [Understands you mean engineered oak flooring]

You: "Show me the most affordable one"
AI: [Sorts by price, shows cheapest option]

AI Chat Features

Material Search

Text-based search:

"Find modern pendant lights with brass finish under $300"
"Show me pet-friendly rugs"
"Search for LEED-certified carpet tiles"

Visual search (upload image):

You: "Find materials similar to this"
[Attach photo]
AI: [Performs visual search, shows similar materials]

Board-specific search:

"Search my Living Room board for textiles"
"Find all the WAC Lighting fixtures I've saved"

Material Actions

Add to boards:

"Add this tile to my Kitchen Backsplash board"
"Save these 3 rugs to Bedroom Options"

Compare materials:

"Compare [Material A] and [Material B]"
AI: [Shows side-by-side comparison of specs, pricing, lead times]

Get details:

"Tell me more about this Interface carpet tile"
AI: [Shows full specifications, pricing, availability]

Board Management

Create boards:

"Create a new board called 'Master Bedroom Concepts'"
AI: [Creates board, confirms]

Organize materials:

"Move all approved materials from Research to Final Selections board"
"Tag everything on this board as 'client-approved'"

Design Advice

Style guidance:

"What's the difference between transitional and contemporary?"
"How do I create a coastal design aesthetic?"

Material selection:

"What's the most durable flooring for a restaurant?"
"Best wallcovering for high-humidity areas?"

Color coordination:

"What colors pair well with navy blue?"
"Create a neutral color palette for a modern office"

Project Context

AI knows your current project:

[In "Smith Residence" project]

You: "Add this to my Living Room board"
AI: [Understands you mean Smith Residence > Living Room]

You: "What's my budget for flooring?"
AI: [Checks notes/boards in current project for budget info]

Advanced Techniques

@-Mentions for Context

Reference specific content in your project:

"Compare @[Board: Kitchen Options] with @[Board: Kitchen Approved]"
"Find materials similar to @[Material: Loloi LF-03]"
"Search @[Note: Client Preferences] for color requirements"

How it works:

Type @ to see suggestions
Select from boards, materials, notes, or visualizations
AI uses that context to answer your question

Multi-Step Requests

Ask AI to perform multiple actions:

"Search for affordable rugs, show me 5 options, 
 then add the top 3 to my Living Room board"

AI: [Executes all steps, confirms each]

Conversational Refinement

Start broad, refine iteratively:

You: "I need lighting"
AI: "What type of space? Commercial or residential?"

You: "Residential kitchen"
AI: [Shows kitchen lighting options]

You: "Pendant lights specifically"
AI: [Filters to pendants]

You: "Under $200"
AI: [Adds price filter]

AI Chat Limits

Free Plan

100 messages per day
Resets daily at midnight (your time zone)
Basic material search and advice
No video generation via chat

Professional & Above

Unlimited messages
Full feature access
Priority processing
Advanced reasoning for complex queries

Credit Costs via Chat

Some AI actions use credits:

Material search: Free
Design advice: Free
Board operations: Free
Image generation: 2-6 credits (same as direct generation)
Video generation: 60-120 credits (Professional+ only)

See Understanding Credits for details.

Tips for Better Results

1. Be Specific

Vague: "I need flooring"

Specific: "I need durable wood-look flooring for a commercial office under $6/sq ft"

Why: More details = better, more relevant results

2. Ask Follow-Ups

Don't try to get everything perfect in one query:

1. "Show me pendant lights"
2. "Make it brass finish"
3. "Under $300"
4. "Show only ones with Edison bulbs"

AI refines with each step.

3. Provide Context

Better: "I'm designing a coastal living room with navy and white. What rug would work?"

vs.: "Show me rugs"

Why: Context helps AI understand aesthetic and constraints

4. Use Natural Language

Forced keywords: "Carpet commercial LEED low-VOC gray"

Natural: "Find gray commercial carpet with LEED certification and low VOC"

Why: AI understands conversational language better

5. Attach Images

When possible, show don't tell:

"Find materials that match this aesthetic"
[Attach client's inspiration photo]

Easier than describing style in words.

Common Questions

"Can AI remember past conversations?"

Within a session: Yes, maintains context for the conversation

Across sessions: No, each new chat starts fresh

Workaround: Reference boards/notes where you documented previous decisions

"Does AI have access to my entire project?"

Yes: AI can search your boards, materials, notes, and visualizations

No: AI doesn't automatically read everything—you must ask or @-mention

"Can AI make design decisions for me?"

No: AI provides recommendations and options

You decide: Review suggestions, choose what works for your project

Why: Design requires human judgment, client knowledge, and creativity

"How accurate is AI information?"

Material data: Pulled from verified vendor specs (very accurate)

Design advice: Based on industry best practices (generally reliable)

Trends: Based on current data (contextual, not absolute)

Always verify: Critical specs and pricing with vendors

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`⌘⇧C` / `Ctrl+Shift+C`	Open/close chat
`Esc`	Close chat
`↑`	Edit last message
`@`	Mention boards/materials/notes

Troubleshooting

"AI isn't understanding me"

Try:

Rephrase your question
Break into smaller steps
Be more specific
Provide examples or images

"AI says it can't do something"

Check:

Are you on Free plan? (Some features require Professional+)
Do you have enough credits? (For image/video generation)
Is your request within AI's capabilities?

"Search results aren't relevant"