# Answering questions with Qlik Answers Chat with agents, create charts and sheets, view sources, manage conversations, and more. Qlik Answers provides an agentic generative AI (GenAI) chat experience for asking questions and getting answers from different data sources. As you ask questions, answers are processed by Qlik Answers agents to interpret your questions and build responses using the available sources, ensuring the responses are relevant to your needs. You can view the sources used to create the answers. Qlik Answers is accessed by clicking Open Answers in the navigation bar. Qlik Answers open, showing available sources Qlik Answers open, showing available sources Qlik AnswersQlik Answers open, showing available sources ![An open Qlik Answers agentic chat, showing the three sources to choose from: Qlik Help, Application analysis, and Answers assistants](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Resources/Images/QlikAnswers/ui_QlikAnswersAgents.png) You can expand Qlik Answers to full-screen mode for better readability of detailed responses. Click the Expand in the chat interface to open full-screen mode. In full-screen mode, you can access conversation history and view sources through side panels. Qlik Answers in full-screen mode Qlik Answers in full-screen mode Qlik AnswersQlik Answers in full-screen mode ![Qlik Answers in full-screen mode, showing the history panel, main chat area, and close button in the top bar](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Resources/Images/QlikAnswers/ui_QlikAnswersFullScreen-rev.png) You can also access a full-screen Qlik Answers chat from Answers in the navigation menu in the Insights and Analytics activity centers. Answers, from the navigation menu Answers, from the navigation menu AnswersAnswers, from the navigation menu ![](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Resources/Images/QlikAnswers/ui_QlikAnswersFullScreen.png) You require user role permissions to ask Qlik Answers questions. For more information, see [Qlik Answers access and permissions](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Sense_Hub/QlikAnswers/qlik-answers-permissions.htm). If you have permissions to create and edit assistants, see [Working with assistants](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Sense_Hub/QlikAnswers/assistants.htm) for more information. ## Chatting with Qlik Answers You can chat with an assistant by opening Qlik Answers and selecting the agent you want to chat with. If you have an open application that is activated for Qlik Answers, the application will be selected by default. For both assistants and applications, you can choose two modes for the conversation. For more information, see [Choosing your mode](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Sense_Hub/QlikAnswers/using-assistants.htm#Choosing). Qlik Answers chat Qlik Answers chat Qlik AnswersQlik Answers chat ![](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Resources/Images/QlikAnswers/ui_QlikAnswersChat.png) Enter your question and Qlik Answers generates a response. If Qlik Answers needs more details, it will ask some clarifying questions. Qlik Answers uses different agents to generate responses. You can click Show reasoning to view the reasoning of each agent as your response is generated. Information note If you do not see real-time agent reasoning in Qlik Answers, check your browser extensions. Some browser extensions may impact the display of the reasoning. Qlik Answers agent reasoning, showing the reasoning for the Semantic Search Agent Qlik Answers agent reasoning, showing the reasoning for the Semantic Search Agent Qlik AnswersQlik Answers agent reasoning, showing the reasoning for the Semantic Search Agent ![](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Resources/Images/QlikAnswers/ui_QlikAnswersAgentReasoning.png) For detailed information about interpreting agent reasoning, understanding similarity scores, and troubleshooting responses, see [Troubleshooting Qlik Answers responses with the reasoning trace](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Sense_Hub/QlikAnswers/understanding-agent-reasoning.htm). Qlik Answers offers as complete responses as possible, including charts and recommendations. Qlik Answers select the most appropriate visualizations based on your question and the underlying data context. Information note Qlik Answers can combine insights from your data with the AI model’s broader general knowledge. Citations are always provided so you can understand where the information came from and assess its relevance. Please review the cited sources before sharing or acting on the response. For more information, see [Answers from general knowledge](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Sense_Hub/QlikAnswers/using-assistants.htm#Answers). Qlik Answers response, with charts and recommendations Qlik Answers response, with charts and recommendations Qlik AnswersQlik Answers response, with charts and recommendations ![](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Resources/Images/QlikAnswers/ui_QlikAnswersResponse.png) You can request specific charts or sheets, including the type of chart to use. For example: * Show me a bar chart of sales by region. * Create a KPI for total revenue. * Display a line chart of trends over time. For more information about generating charts and sheets, see [Generating application content with Qlik Answers](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Sense_Hub/QlikAnswers/using-assistants.htm#Generati) below. You can ask follow-up questions. Qlik Answers will understand the context from the previous question. Qlik Answers can also suggest followup questions. Click the followup to ask the question. Qlik Answers response, with suggested followup question Qlik Answers response, with suggested followup question Qlik AnswersQlik Answers response, with suggested followup question ![](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Resources/Images/QlikAnswers/ui_QlikAnswersFollowUpQuestion.png) If you want to start a new conversation, click the Start new chat icon. In a conversation thread, if you want to ask the previous question again without the context of the previous questions and responses, click Ask again without previous context. Assistants may include default conversation starter questions. If you click a conversation starter, it will ask Qlik Answers that question. ### Choosing your mode When using Qlik Answers with your applications and assistants, you can choose between two modes: #### Fast mode Fast mode is built for direct, retrieval-style questions against structured data. It returns results quickly, typically within 10 to 15 second, and works best when your question has a clear, single answer that comes from reading the data in your application. Fast mode can generate charts and visualizations. It cannot generate full sheets. You can add the charts generated from fast mode into sheets. If fast mode cannot answer your question, because the question is too complex or requires deeper reasoning, it will tell you so directly rather than returning a poor answer. In that case, a Think more button appears below the response. Clicking it reruns your question in thinking mode, with your full conversation context preserved. Information noteFast mode does not consume question quota if it is unable to answer a question. Fast mode is good for: * "What were total sales last quarter?" * "Show me revenue by region for Q1 2026" * "Which sales rep had the highest bookings in May?" * "Bar chart of top 10 customers by order value" * "Trend of monthly active users over the last six months" #### Thinking mode Thinking mode is built for questions that go beyond simple retrieval — analysis that requires multiple steps, questions that combine structured application data with unstructured content like documents or knowledge bases, or tasks where you want Qlik Answers to build something rather than just answer something. Thinking mode takes longer than fast mode, but handles ambiguous, layered, or creative tasks that fast mode cannot. If you started in fast mode and press the Think more option, thinking mode picks up exactly where fast mode left off — same application, same conversation context, no need to re-ask your question. Thinking mode is good for: * "Create a sheet showing pipeline health by region with a sales funnel and a month-over-month trend" * "Compare our support ticket volume against NPS scores over the last year — is there a pattern?" * "I have product documentation loaded in this assistant and sales data in the app — which product categories have the most open complaints relative to their revenue contribution?" * "Add a KPI tile for gross margin and a bar chart of margin by product line to this app" * "Our churn data looks unusual in Q3 — walk me through what might be driving it" ### Switching modes in the middle of a conversation You can toggle between fast mode and thinking mode at any point using the mode selector in the chat. Context from your previous messages carries over when you switch — if you have been exploring sales data in fast mode and want to go deeper on a specific finding, switching to thinking mode continues from that point rather than starting fresh. The most common flow is to start in fast mode for quick lookups, press Think more when a question needs more depth, and stay in thinking mode for the rest of that session if the analysis is getting complex. ### Using actions with assistants Assistants can offer you actions to take. Actions run automations assistant creators have added to their assistants for tasks such as sending an email or updating an external source based on the insights uncovered. Tip note You can ask an assistant what actions it has available. Information noteAutomations are not supported in fast mode. When you ask an assistant something related to one of its actions, depending how the assistant creator configured the action, the assistant will either: * Prompt you to confirm running the automation. * Start the action without confirmation. A prompt to run an automation A prompt to run an automation A prompt to run an automation ![Qlik Answers showing a confirmation to start automation message. The message provides the name and description of the automation, with a start automation button.](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Resources/Images/QlikAnswers/ui_assistant-automation-prompt.png) Some actions require you to provide input or confirm details before the action runs. The assistant shows you what will be sent before running the automation. Once confirmed, the action runs and returns the result in the conversation. Information note You cannot ask new questions in the same conversation thread while an automation is waiting for confirmation. You can view which action and automation was used in the sources section of the response, with a link to the action's run history. ### Generating application content with Qlik Answers You can use Qlik Answers to generate charts and sheets for your applications. You can add the charts generated by Qlik Answers to your sheets. You can request specific types of charts when using Qlik Answers. Information noteFast mode can generate visualizations, but it cannot generate whole sheets. Qlik Answers supports generating the following chart types: * Bar chart * Combo chart * KPI * Line chart * Scatter plot * Pie chart * Tree map * Table * Pivot table When generating charts and sheets, you can request specific analyses. For example, if you wanted a chart that looks at the previous 30 days of sales, relative to current previous 30 days, you could ask: Create a chart for the last 30 days of sales, analyzing performance by country and sales office. I want the 30 days to update so that it always relative to the current date. Generating a specifically requested chart Generating a specifically requested chart Generating a specifically requested chart ![](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Resources/Images/QlikAnswers/ui_QlikAnswersChartRequest.png) Information noteQlik Answers users your permissions when determining what you can see and do in an app. If you do not have permission to create sheets in an app, you will not be able to generate new content for an app. Tip note If you are not sure what kind of analyses Qlik Answers can generate for you, try asking Qlik Answers what it can tell you about your data and what analyses it sees. Tip note If you do not get the chart you wanted, try asking for it again in more detail as to the specifics of what you want to see. #### Adding charts to sheets If you are using Qlik Answers within an application, you can add generated charts to your sheets. You can add them to existing sheets or new sheets. Do the following: 1. Under the Qlik Answers response, click Add to sheet. 2. Select the charts to add to a sheet. 3. Select an existing sheet or create a new sheet. 4. Click Add to existing sheet or Add to new sheet. #### Generating sheets with Qlik Answers You can ask Qlik Answers to create sheets for the assistant. Asking with a prompt such as Create a new sheet showing sales data by customer for Boston generates a sheet in the app. You can request multiple sheets in a single request, but it is recommended to limit your request to one or two sheets for the most reliable experience. Generating sheets Generating sheets Generating sheets ![](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Resources/Images/QlikAnswers/ui_QlikAnswersSheetCreation.png) You can view your generated sheets under Your own > AI Generated section of sheets. You can move sheets out of this group or make them public. ### Summarizing indexed files Qlik Answers can list available files and provide document summaries when you ask an assistant about the indexed files in its knowledge bases. For example, you can ask questions such as: * What files are available? * Give me an overview of <filename>. * Summarize <filename>. Available file summary in Qlik Analytics for an assistant and the summary of a file Available file summary in Qlik Analytics for an assistant and the summary of a file Available file summary in Qlik AnalyticsQlik Analytics for an assistant and the summary of a file ![](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Resources/Images/QlikAnswers/ui_summary.png) You can ask for an overview summary or a detailed summary with citations. You can only ask for one file summary at a time. ## Viewing and downloading sources If you have permission, you can view the sources used by Qlik Answers in its responses. Click View sources in a response to view the sources. Sources are broken down by their citations in the response. You can also click the citation links in responses to view the sources for just that part of the response. When you view the source, you can see: * The user prompt * How Qlik Answers arrived at the response * The Answer breakdown by source * The data and expressions used for the charts (if charts were generated) * The text used for the response (if a knowledge base was used) Click the Copy to clipboard iconto copy the text used from that source. If you have access to the data source used, you can download the source by clicking the Download icon. Viewing sources used in an answer for a specific chart Viewing sources used in an answer for a specific chart Viewing sources used in an answer for a specific chart ![](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Resources/Images/QlikAnswers/ui_QlikAnswersViewSourceChart.png) ## Managing conversation history You can view previous conversations in History. History is available by clicking the History icon. shows your previous history of interactions as conversation threads. You can select conversations to view the individual interactions between you and the assistant from that session. You can still interact with the responses to each of your questions, such as liking or disliking them, just as you can with responses in an active conversation. Conversation history for an application Conversation history for an application Conversation history for an application ![](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Resources/Images/QlikAnswers/ui_QlikAnswersViewHistory.png) By default, your conversation threads are named with the first question asked. You can rename conversations. Select a conversation to view it. Click the More icon to perform actions on a conversation. You can: * Rename * Delete ## Providing feedback on responses You can provide feedback to the responses Qlik Answers generates. Click the Like icon or the Dislike icon after a generated response to rate it. If you click the Dislike icon, you can provide a reason why it was not helpful and optionally provide additional feedback. Feedback options Feedback options Feedback options ![The Improve future answers dialog. The following feedback options are available: Inaccurate, Irrelevant, Repetitive, Unhelpful, and Other. There is a text box for adding additional feedback.](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Resources/Images/QlikAnswers/ui_assistant-chat-feedback.png) Feedback is useful to the assistant and knowledge base owners, so they can use it to improve their assistant and knowledge curation. ## Answers from general knowledge When a question is unrelated to any available data source, or when the connected sources cannot fully answer it, Qlik Answers uses general knowledge from the underlying AI model to complete the response. Qlik Answers does not require a connected data source to answer a general knowledge question, and it does not use web search to do so. Answers from general knowledge are indicated the following areas: * Source citation: Answers using general knowledge will have AI beside the source citation in the response. Source citation showing the use of general knowledge Source citation showing the use of general knowledge Source citation showing the use of general knowledge ![The response to the question what is the capital of Sweden. There is a citation marked AI beside the answer of Stockholm.](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Resources/Images/QlikAnswers/ui_general-knowledge-answer-citation.png) * Reasoning trace: Open View source to see a note explaining the source of the answer, for example: The connected data sources didn't fully answer this question. General knowledge from the AI model was used to complete the response. The reasoning trace, showing the explanation of the general knowledge source for the answer The reasoning trace, showing the explanation of the general knowledge source for the answer The reasoning trace, showing the explanation of the general knowledge source for the answer ![The reasoning trace for the answer of Stockholm to the question "What is the capital of Sweden?" The reasoning trace states "The connected data sources didn't fully answer this question. General knowledge from the AI model was used to complete the response."](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Resources/Images/QlikAnswers/ui_general-knowledge-answer-reasoning-trace.png) * Answer breakdown by source: Any portion of the answer drawn from general knowledge is labeled: This information came from the LLM and needs to be verified for accuracy. The answer breakdown by source, showing the labeling of the portion of the answer drawn from general knowledge The answer breakdown by source, showing the labeling of the portion of the answer drawn from general knowledge The answer breakdown by source, showing the labeling of the portion of the answer drawn from general knowledge ![The answer breakdown by source, showing the message "This information came from the LLM and needs to be verified for accuracy."](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Resources/Images/QlikAnswers/ui_general-knowledge-answer-breakdown-by-source.png) If a question is partially answered by your connected data, Qlik Answers combines the sourced portion with general knowledge and labels each part accordingly. Information noteGeneral knowledge answers are not grounded in your data. They reflect the AI model's training data and are not guaranteed to be current. Review this content before sharing or acting on it, consistent with the GenAI Warning that applies to all Qlik Answers output. ## Exploring Discovery Agent insights with Qlik Answers You can explore insights in your Discovery Agent feed in Qlik Answers. You access this functionality from your feed by clicking the Explore further in Answers icon on an insight card. For more information, see [Navigating insights in feeds](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Sense_Hub/DiscoveryAgent/feeds-navigate.htm) and [Analyzing Discovery Agent feeds](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Sense_Hub/DiscoveryAgent/feeds.htm). ## Limitations Qlik Answers agentic chat has the following limitations: * There is a 500 character limit per question in chat. * The Qlik Answers agentic chat does not support voice-to-text. Qlik Answers legacy assistants do support voice-to-text however. For more information, see [Answering questions with legacy assistants](https://help.qlik.com/en-US/cloud-services/Subsystems/Hub/Content/Sense_Hub/QlikAnswers/Legacy/using-assistants-legacy.htm)