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Planhat OS - Sessions

Sessions are where you chat with Planhat AI and colleagues in Planhat OS

Written by Natalie Kwong

Summary

  • A "Session" is a place to collaborate in Planhat OS, just with Pi, or with colleagues

  • Before you write your first message, you pick a mode: "Ask Pi", "Group session", "On record" or "Secret session". The mode sets two things at once: who can see the Session, and whether Pi replies to everything or only when @-mentioned

  • Your Sessions sit in the sidebar, most recently active first, where you can rename, favorite, close, leave or delete them

Who is this article for?

  • Planhat Users using Planhat OS

  • Anyone else who would like to learn about Sessions

Article contents

What is a Session?

A "Session" is where collaboration takes place within Planhat OS - a series of messages between you, your colleagues and/or Pi. You can use Sessions to brainstorm ideas with Pi, coordinate across colleagues, or automate processes.

Sessions are also the replacement to the comments you may be familiar with from pre-OS Planhat. Instead of adding comments to an individual record (e.g. a specific Company), now you have "On record" Sessions instead, as shown in the example screenshot below.

Modes

Each Session is one of 4 modes:

Mode

Who can see it; further details

Example use cases

Ask Planhat

  • Only you; you may also hear this Session type referred to as "Just me"

  • Planhat AI always responds

  • Data exploration

  • Working out phrasing

  • Drafting emails or responses

  • Checking metrics before sharing

Group session

  • The people (Users) you add

  • This Session is discoverable by other Users and Agents in your tenant

  • Making a team decision

  • Sharing context across Team Members

  • Building a QBR with the CSM Team

On record

  • Anyone with access to the linked record (e.g. a specific Company)

  • Collaborating on a Task

  • Building a Statement of Work (SOW) on a Project

  • Troubleshooting customer complaints

Secret session

  • Only the people (Users) you add

  • It never enters shared memory

  • Confidential content - e.g. an HR or financial discussion with a specific group of people only

📌 Important to note

  • In "Ask Planhat" ("Just me") mode, Planhat AI will respond to anything you say, whereas in all other modes, Planhat AI will only respond when @-mentioned (@planhat)

  • At the time of writing, it's not yet possible to search Sessions, but this functionality is expected in future. When you can search Sessions, "Ask Planhat" and "Secret session" Sessions will not be searchable by anyone else outside of the Session

  • You can branch a new Session off an existing Session. Any branched Session created in this way adopts the original Session's mode

Each mode shows a one-line description in the picker, so you can see what you're choosing before you select one. (The mode can also be changed later.)

How to start a Session

Here we'll go over the main, general process of starting a Session. Alternatively, it's possible to start a Session when you're looking at an individual record in Planhat (e.g. a Company Profile), and you can also start a new Session by branching off an existing Session.

Main method to create a new Session:

  1. Select "New Session" in the OS sidebar. You'll see a chat box with the mode picker

  2. Click on the mode picker and choose one of the four modes

    • Each one shows a one-line description

    • "Group session" and "Secret session" ask you to select people (Users, also sometimes called Team Members); the placeholder reads "Add people to start a session"

    • "On record" asks you for a record; the placeholder reads "Pick a record to start a session"

    • "Ask Planhat" is the default - this is just you and Pi

  3. Write your first message and send it. The Session is created at that point. Planhat will automatically give the Session a human-readable name (although you can also customize the name). The icon shows you the mode

    Click the image to view it enlarged

🚀 Tips

  • If you start a Session from a record - for example from a Company Profile - the mode and the record is already filled in for you

  • Use "Ask Pi" as your thinking space. Pi replies to everything in this case, so you don't need to @-mention it, and nothing you try out here is visible to anyone else

  • Start a new Session per question, not per day. One Session per topic, clearly titled, is far easier to come back to than one long Session covering e.g. six topics

How to change a Session mode/participants

The mode is a starting point, not a permanent setting. At the top of an open Session you can:

  • Change the mode

  • Change who the participants are

  • Change which record it's connected to. Changing this asks you to confirm, because participants who don't have access to the new record will lose access to the Session

Changing the mode

The screenshots below show examples of clicking on the name of the Session in the top left of the Session to open a menu where you can change the mode, either by linking to a record, or by selecting "Convert to Secret Session" or "Convert to Group Session".

Note that if your Session is an "Ask Pi" / "only me and Planhat" Session, the conversion options are nested under "Share...".

Changing participants

The next couple of screenshots show how you can click on the User icon(s) in the top right of a Session to add/remove participants.

Note that if your Session is an "Ask Pi" / "only me and Planhat" Session, you will need to share/convert the Session before you see the option to add participants.

Where you can find Sessions

Once a Session exists, you'll find it in at least two (in some cases, three) places:

  • In the bottom left of Planhat OS, in the sidebar

    • The default is that it's shown as "Recent" (like in the example screenshot below), with the most recently active Session at the top

    • You can also change the sorting/grouping here, so there would be different wording in the sidebar in that case - we discuss this more below

  • The "Recents" screen

    • Mouse over "Recents" (or equivalent) and click on "Show all" to open it

  • Sessions linked to a record (e.g. a particular Company) also appear on that record, in its "Sessions" widget

Managing Sessions in the sidebar

Right-click a Session in the sidebar - or select its "..." menu (by mousing over a Session name and clicking on the ellipsis that appears) - for these actions:

  • "Add to Favorites" / "Remove from Favorites" - this pins (bookmarks) the Session in the "Favorites" section of your sidebar

    • See our separate article on Favorites

  • "Rename" - edits the Session title in place

    • To save, press enter (return), or click away from the box

  • "Copy link" - copies a direct link to the Session

  • "Mark as unread" - flags the Session so it shows as unread, without moving it

    • Useful for something you've read but haven't dealt with

    • Sessions are marked read automatically once you've opened them

  • "Close" - removes the Session from your sidebar

    • Nothing is deleted, and nobody else is affected

    • See Tip box below

  • "Leave chat"- removes you from the participants list, and tells the other participants that you've left

    • It asks you to confirm first

    • This option is only available for some Sessions. You can't leave a Session that's just between you and Planhat AI. The option also doesn't appear for other Session modes if you're the person who created the Session. If you created it, your only exit is "Delete".

    • See Tip box below

  • "Delete" - deletes the Session for everyone

    • It asks you to confirm, and it can't be undone

    • The "Delete" option is only available if you created the Session, or if you're a chat admin

    • See Tip box below

🚀 Tip

  • "Close" only affects your own sidebar. The Session itself is untouched, the other people in it see no change, and it returns to your sidebar as soon as anyone @-mentions you in it or you write in it yourself. Use "Close" freely for tidying up

  • Use "Leave chat" when you want out of a Session that's still running

  • Use "Delete" only when the whole Session should stop existing

Group by

The sidebar's "Group by" button gives you different ways to organize the Sessions list. To access these options, mouse over "Recent" (or equivalent) in the sidebar, and click on the slider icon.

  • "None" - one list under "Recent", most recent first

  • "Date" - buckets by "Today", "Yesterday", "This week", "This month" and "Older"

  • "Type" - splits into "Group" and "Personal" Sessions

  • "Drafts" - splits into "Drafted" and "Undrafted" sessions

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

  • Q: What's the difference between closing, leaving and deleting a Session?

    • A: Closing removes the Session from your own sidebar and changes nothing for anyone else. Leaving removes you from the participants list and tells the others you've left. Deleting removes the Session for everyone, and can't be undone

  • Q: I closed a Session by mistake. How do I get it back?

    • A: It comes back to your sidebar the next time someone @-mentions you in it, or you write in it yourself

  • Q: Why doesn't Planhat AI reply to my message?

    • A: In "Group session", "On record" and "Secret session" modes, Planhat only replies when it's @-mentioned - type @ and choose "Planhat". In "Ask Planhat" mode, Planhat replies to every message

  • Q: Can other people read my Sessions?

    • A: It depends on the mode. "Ask Planhat" and "Secret session" Sessions are private to the people in them. "Group session" and "On record" Sessions are discoverable, which means colleagues and Agents in your organization can find and read them

  • Q: Why can't I leave a specific Session?

    • A: You created it. The creator can't leave their own Session - use "Delete" if it should stop existing for everyone

  • Q: Can I search Sessions, e.g. for specific keywords?

    • A: Not at this time, but this functionality is planned to be added

  • Q: Where are comments in Planhat OS?

    • A: "Comments" no longer exist as a concept in Planhat OS; they have been replaced with messages within Sessions

  • Q: What happens with comments made in pre-OS Planhat?

    • A: Any existing comments you had in pre-OS Planhat have been migrated to Planhat OS as messages within Sessions - the title of the Session will start with "Comments". Any new comments in pre-OS Planhat are automatically synced to Planhat OS. Any message (e.g. a reply) added in a OS Session, however, will not sync back to pre-OS Planhat

  • Q: Which mode are Sessions created by branching off other Sessions?

    • Each new Session created from Branching adopts the original Session's mode

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