App Assistant

Learn how app users can find instant answers using the AI-powered Assistant.

Attention: *EA feature in testing*: This page is under construction while our wonderful Early Adopters try things out!

When you enable this feature in your app, users can get instant answers about anything from when your service times are to where they are in their journey to how they can get plugged in. The Assistant can be customized with your church's branding and language, so the answers sound like "your church".

Authenticated users can start a conversation with the Assistant, directly in your app. They no longer have to dig through menus and screens to find what they're looking for. The Assistant provides tappable links to the events, groups, opportunities, and sermons it cites so users can get where they want to, faster!

How It Works


Step	Actions
1	The user logs in to your app, opens the Assistant using the icon beside their profile picture, and asks a question in natural, plain language.
2	PocketPlatform pulls the most relevant content (church information, events, groups, opportunities, sermons, announcements, and so on) along with the user's coarsened profile information and hands it to the AI model. For more on what the AI can access, see AI Features FAQ.
3	The AI model uses your church's custom system prompt (for tone and boundaries) and the retrieved content to generate an answer. Replies are specific and sourced only from your content.
4	The answer is provided to the user with inline links to relevant events, groups, opportunities, or sermons referenced in the answer. The user can tap the link to go to the associated page in your app.
5	The conversation is saved so the user can continue asking questions or come back later and pick up where they left off.

Customize Your Assistant

You can define the Assistant's name, voice and tone, and static knowledge (information that's not in the database). This allows the Assistant to answer questions in terms that your congregants are familiar with. For example, you can make sure it always refers to a Sermon record as a "Homily" or "Message". You can also provide it with information that is not tracked in your MinistryPlatform data, like weekly service times or parking information.

Note: Customizing the Assistant is currently only available by contacting Support, but we plan to open this up to the App Manager in the near future.

Security

The Assistant is powered by AI, but the AI model never has direct access to your database. This feature cannot search the web or answer open-domain questions. Read through the AI Features FAQ to get a full understanding of how AI is being used and the guardrails that protect your church and your users.

Where to Find It

This feature is not enabled by default. Contact Support to customize and enable the Assistant in your app. You can limit who has access to this feature in the App Manager. Once enabled, users who have access will see the Assistant icon Image of the icon, showing a diamond inside a message box beside their profile picture. When they click the icon, the Assistant opens an overlay on top of the app. They can then tap the plus sign to start a new conversation.

View Assistant Conversations

You must have the PocketPlatform App Manager security role to do this.

Administrators can see what app users are asking the Assistant. This can help clarify what information or screens you may need to surface in the app or on your website for better visibility.

In MinistryPlatform, click the Bookmarks icon , and click PocketPlatform App Manager.
The App Manager opens in a new browser tab.
Click AI Assistant Conversations.
The Conversations tab displays each conversation a user has started with the Assistant.
Click a conversation to see the AI-generated answer and any follow-up questions the user entered.
Click the Topics tab to see the most-discussed topics. This can help you understand how the feature is being used over time. You may consider tailoring your prompts and data to what people are asking about.