> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://kb.mspprocess.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Chatting with Alpha > What this does The Alpha panel is where you talk to Alpha. You can type, dictate, or hold a spoken conversation. Alpha answers questions and shows tables… ## What this does The Alpha panel is where you talk to Alpha. You can type, dictate, or hold a spoken conversation. Alpha answers questions and shows tables and charts. When it wants to change something, it shows a card and waits for you to confirm. Your past chats are saved so you can pick them up again. ## Before you start * Alpha must be turned on for your company. Any role can chat: technicians and admins. * Alpha can only change things an admin has allowed on the Permissions page. If an action is *Off*, Alpha will only read and answer. * Spoken conversations need the Alpha Voice add-on and a microphone. Dictation (speech to text) can work without the add-on. An admin can switch either one off in **Alpha** > **Settings** > **Chat and voice**. ## Start a chat 1. Click **Ask Alpha** (the wolf icon) in the top bar. 2. The Alpha panel opens with *"Hi, I'm Alpha."* 3. Click a starter prompt, or type your own question in the **Ask Alpha** box. 4. Press **Enter** or click **Send**. Press **Shift+Enter** to add a new line without sending. The starter prompts are: * What can you do? * What's set up on my tenant? * How do I set up Schedule Assist? * Show recent Alpha activity ## While Alpha works Your messages are labelled **You** and the replies **Alpha**. While Alpha looks things up, small lines appear above its reply that show what it is doing, for example "Saving the report…". When the same step repeats, you'll see a count such as "×3". Sometimes Alpha gives you buttons to choose from. Click one to answer. Sometimes it gives you a link button that takes you to the right page in MSP Process. ## Confirm or cancel a change When an action is set to *Ask first*, Alpha shows a **Confirm this action** card before it changes anything. The card lists what will change, for example Ticket, Status, Hours worked or Internal note. 1. Read the details on the card. 2. Click **Confirm** to make the change. The button shows *Confirming…* while it runs. 3. Or click **Cancel** to stop. Nothing is changed. Some cards also show *"Will be created switched off"* (the new item starts disabled), a list of recipients, or a **Review** link. > Confirmations expire. If you wait too long, you'll see *"This confirmation has expired. Ask Alpha again."* ## Open an earlier chat 1. In the Alpha panel, click **Show chat history**. 2. Chats are grouped under **Today**, **Yesterday** and **Earlier**. 3. Click a chat to open it. You'll see *"Opening chat…"* for a moment. 4. To start fresh, click **New chat**. 5. Click **Hide chat history** to close the list. ## Dictate a message 1. Click the microphone button (**Dictate a message**) next to the message box. 2. Allow microphone access if your browser asks. 3. Speak. The button shows *Stop recording* with a seconds counter. 4. Click it again to stop. Your words appear in the message box. 5. Check the text, then click **Send**. ## Talk to Alpha (voice) 1. Click the waveform button (**Talk to Alpha**) next to the message box. 2. Allow microphone access if your browser asks. 3. Wait until the status changes from *Connecting* to *Listening*. 4. Speak normally. The status shows *Thinking* and then *Speaking* as Alpha answers. 5. Click **Mute microphone** to pause listening. While muted you'll see *"Muted - voice ends after a few quiet minutes"*. 6. Click **Transcript** to see what was said. 7. Click **Close voice** when you're done. If Alpha needs you to confirm a change during a voice chat, it says *"Alpha needs your confirmation"*. Confirm the card on screen. Messages sent by voice show a *via voice* badge in the chat. ## Troubleshooting | Message | What to do | | - | - | | Messages are limited to 8,000 characters. | Shorten your message. A counter appears as you get close to the limit. | | Alpha is still working on your last message. Try again in a moment. | Wait for the current reply to finish, then send again. | | \[Reason]. Try again in N s. | You've sent too many messages in a short time. Wait for the countdown. | | Alpha could not finish that request. Try again. | Send the message again. | | Alpha is taking longer than expected and did not respond. Please try again. | Send it again, or ask a narrower question. | | Sending a message closes the card you're editing and discards your changes. Continue? | Click **Cancel** to keep working on the card, or **Continue** to send anyway. | | Alpha is working on another request. | Shown on a card while Alpha is busy. Wait, then confirm. | | Couldn't open that chat. | Click **Retry**. | | Couldn't load this chat's open cards. | Click **Retry**, or **Dismiss**. | | Couldn't reload this chat after voice. | Click **Retry**. | | Your account isn't linked to a PSA member yet. | Click **Link your PSA account** and follow the steps. See "Connecting your PSA". | ### Voice and dictation problems | Message | What to do | | - | - | | Voice isn't supported in this browser | Use a current Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox. Typing and dictation still work. | | Voice needs a secure connection | Open the portal over https. | | You seem to be offline | Check your internet connection. | | Microphone is blocked | Allow microphone access for this site (lock icon in the address bar), then try again. | | No microphone found / Your microphone is busy / Couldn't use your microphone | Plug in a microphone, or close other apps that are using it. | | You've been signed out | Sign in again. | | Voice isn't turned on for your organization | Ask your administrator to enable Alpha Voice. | | You already have a voice session | Close voice in your other tab or window. | | Too many voice sessions right now | Try again in a few minutes. | | Today's voice minutes are used up | Your organization has used its voice minutes for today. Type or dictate instead. | | Voice couldn't connect / Voice is not available right now / Alpha's voice service didn't respond / Something went wrong starting voice | Try again later. Typing still works. | | Voice connection lost | Click **Start voice again**. | | Voice ended | The session ended because it was quiet, reached its time limit, or was closed. Start a new one. | | Could not transcribe that clip. Try again. | Dictate again, a little closer to the microphone. | | Voice dictation is not supported in this browser. | Use a current browser, or type. | | Microphone access was denied. Allow microphone access to dictate. | Allow the microphone in your browser settings. | ## FAQ ### Can Alpha change things without asking? Only if an admin sets that action to *Automatic* on the Permissions page. Some actions always ask first, whatever the setting. ### Will Alpha ever ask for my password? No. Alpha's question cards say so: *"Alpha never asks for passwords or codes."* ### Can I make Alpha faster or more thorough? An admin can set the **Typed chat speed** to Fast, Balanced or Thorough in **Alpha** > **Settings** > **Chat and voice**. 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