> AI agents: this is one page from Mammoth Analytics documentation. The index of all pages as Markdown is https://mammoth.io/docs/llms.txt. Append `.md` to any docs URL, or send `Accept: text/markdown`, to get Markdown.

# Ask mode

> Use Ask mode to question your data without changing it. Switch to Ask, pick the tables it answers from, explore rows and request access or changes.

Ask mode is the part of the AI Agent built for asking questions. Ask answers, makes charts and writes summaries from the data you can read. It never changes data. The AI Agent, including Ask mode and the [Today page](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/agent/today/), is available on Enterprise plans.

Ask mode has its own left navigation: **Today**, **Chats**, **Explore**, **Dashboards** (when boards are shared with you), **Snippets**, a **Your data** card and **Your agent**. Build is the rest of the app, where you change data. For the chat itself (the chat box, messages and answers), see [Chat with the agent](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/agent/chat/).



## Who has Ask mode

A Workspace Owner turns Ask on with **Turn on Ask mode?** on the **AI Agent** page of Workspace Settings. It is off until an owner turns it on. See [AI Agent access](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/workspace-management/ai-agent-access/).

| Person | What they get |
|---|---|
| Someone who can edit at least one project | The **Ask** and **Build** switch. They start in Build. |
| A member whose projects are all View-only | Ask only, with no switch |
| A guest (invited to Ask from the AI Agent page) | Ask only, with no switch. They read only the projects and files picked for them. |

With Ask mode off, there is no switch and no Ask. People who can edit a project keep the agent in Build.

If you open Ask when it isn't available, you see one of these messages:

| Message | When |
|---|---|
| "Agents are off in this workspace" | A Workspace Owner turned off **Enable agents for this workspace** |
| "Ask is off in this workspace right now" | You're a guest and the owner turned Ask off. What was shared with you is kept. |
| "No access to this workspace" | You were removed, or you haven't opened your invite yet |
| "Ask couldn't open" | Mammoth couldn't check what you can ask about. Click **Try again**. |

## Switch between Ask and Build

The switch sits under the workspace name at the top of the left navigation.

1. Click **Ask**, or move the switch toward **Ask**. Ask opens on your Today page.
2. Click **Build**, or move the switch back, to return to the rest of the app.

Mammoth remembers the mode you last used in each workspace, and where you were in it. Opening a Build page from a link while you're in Ask (a dataset, a dashboard editor, Workspace Settings) switches you to Build. Ask has no notifications or workspace settings: manage those in Build.

## The Ask navigation

| Item | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Today** | Your daily page about your data. See [Today, alerts and dashboards in Ask](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/agent/today/). |
| **Chats** | Your Ask chats. The **+** beside it starts a **New chat** (Shift+Cmd+O). With no chats yet: "No chats yet. Start one with the + beside Chats." |
| **Explore** | Files you look through row by row. **+** opens **Add to Explore**. |
| **Dashboards** | Shown when published dashboards are meant for you. See [Dashboards in Ask](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/agent/today/#dashboards-in-ask). |
| **Snippets** | Canvases where you keep charts, numbers and notes. **+** makes a **New canvas**. See [Results and the data canvas](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/agent/results-and-canvas/). |
| **Your data** | A card that shows how many files and projects you can read, for example "214 files in 9 projects". Opens the Your data page. |
| **Your agent** | Your agent's settings, what it knows about you, your digest and alerts. See [Your agent](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/agent/your-agent/). |

Click a section's name to fold it (**Hide Chats**) or open it again (**Show Chats**). **More** and **Less** grow or shrink a long list.

## Your first visit

The first time you open Ask with enough data to choose from, Ask greets you with "Hi Pat. Which data should we start with?" (with your name, or a **Your name** box if Mammoth doesn't know it).

Ask has looked through what you can open, grouped it into topics (one per project, described in plain words) and ticked what looks like real work. It folds away copies, test files and nearly empty tables, for example "I left out 4 copies, tests and nearly empty tables".

- **Looks right, let's start**: keeps the ticked topics and opens Today with one standout answer while your page is written.
- **Choose tables myself**: opens **Choose tables**, where you pick whole topics or single tables.

"This only changes what the agent looks at for you. Everyone else keeps their own access."

If you can read only a few tables (for example, as a guest), there is no choice to make: "Here's what you can ask about. I'll answer questions on it and keep a daily page for you."

## Choose what Ask answers from

By default Ask answers from everything you can read. Narrowing it keeps answers, Today and Explore on the tables that matter. Today might show a **Choose what Ask uses** note with **Choose…** and **Keep everything**.

To change it later:

1. Click the **Your data** card, then **Change…**.
2. In **Your data for Ask**, tick whole projects, folders or single tables. Search with the box at the top.
3. Click a file to see its description, size, when it was updated and its first rows.
4. Click **Save**.

| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Tick a project | Includes every table in it, and new ones added later ("All 12, and new ones") |
| Tick a folder | Includes its tables. **Only this folder** keeps just that folder. |
| Search, then **Add these 3** or **Only these 3** | Adds the matching tables, or keeps only them |

The bottom of the chooser says **Ask answers only about these** once you've picked. You must keep at least one table ("Pick at least one table"). If saving fails: "Your data for Ask could not be saved. Try again."

### Add one file to Ask

On a file you can read but Ask doesn't use (in Explore it's marked **Not in Ask**), click **+ Add to Ask**. "Ask will answer from this file too. Remove it any time in Your data."

## The Your data page

Click the **Your data** card to see every file you can read.

| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Which files** | **All you can read** or **Ask answers from**, each with its count |
| **Project** | Show one project's files, or **All 9 projects** |
| **Updated** | **Any time**, **This week** or **Older** |

The table has **Name**, **Project**, **Rows**, **Updated** and **Covers** columns. Each file says whether "Rows can be downloaded." or "Rows can't be downloaded or exported." From a row, **Ask about this file** starts a chat about it and **Look through its rows in Explore** opens it in Explore.

When nothing is shared with you yet: "Nothing has been shared with you yet. Files you can read will show here."

### About this table

Click a file's **Covers** cell to open **About this table**. It shows the dates the table covers, how often rows arrive (**Daily**, **Weekly**, **Monthly**, **Quarterly** or **Yearly**) and a bar of **Rows per month**. Lighter months are only partly covered. Hatched months are **Planned**: rows dated after today. A table with no date column shows **No dates**.

### What your agent can do

**What can my agent do?** opens examples of what to ask:

| Kind | Example |
|---|---|
| **Answer questions** | "What were our five biggest customers last quarter?" |
| **Make charts** | "Chart monthly revenue by region for this year" |
| **Compare periods** | "How does this month compare with the same month last year?" |
| **Explain what changed** | "Why did collections drop in September?" |
| **Set alerts** | "Tell me when weekly signups fall more than 10%" |
| **Write updates** | "Write my weekly update from these numbers" |

"It answers from the files listed here and changes nothing."

## Ask a question

Type in the box at the foot of Today or of any chat. The placeholder says what Ask reads, for example "Ask about your data…" or "Ask about the data shared with you…".

### Ask about one file

**Ask about this file** (from Your data or Explore) opens **Ask about** with the file's name and "What do you want to know? Type your own question, or start with one of these." Ask suggests starting questions from the file's columns. Click **Not about this file** to ask about everything instead.

### How it answers

The chart icon in the chat box sets **How it answers** for all your Ask chats:

| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Charts: always** | Leads with a chart whenever there are numbers to compare |
| **Charts: when useful** (default) | A chart for any trend, or a comparison of 3 or more |
| **Charts: few** | Words first, a chart only for long trends |

### Sources and fast answers

Each answer lists its **Sources**: the file, who keeps it and when it was refreshed. Where downloads are allowed, **Download CSV** saves the answer's table. When an answer was prepared ahead, the source shows how long it took, for example **2s**, with "A prepared answer: asked again, it stays this fast." Prepared answers still run on your own access.

### Something I noticed

During a chat, Ask may offer **Something I noticed** about you or your data:

- **Remember it**: your agent keeps the fact for later answers.
- **Keep it on top**: the topic leads your Today page. "Kept. It leads your Today page now; you can change that in Your agent."
- **Not now**: dismisses it.

## Ask chats change nothing

Every Ask chat runs read-only, even if you can edit the data. If you ask for a change, the answer ends with "Changes happen in Build. This chat stays for asking."

| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Copy instructions for Build** | Copies your request to paste into a Build chat |
| **Send instructions to** a manager | Sends the request to the workspace's managers. You see **Sent to** and their name. |

Ask still saves your own things: your agent settings, your Ask list and charts you save to your own canvas or dashboard.

## Request access or a change

When you were given access to some data (as a guest, for example), the start of Ask shows **What I can see**: the projects and files your agent reads, each with **Kept by** and the people who look after it. With nothing yet: "Nothing yet. Ask the person who invited you to give you access."

If a question needs data you can't see, the agent says so, for example "The data shared with you doesn't include payroll." Click **Request access** to send a request to the file's keeper or the workspace owners, or **No thanks**.

If you ask for a change to data you can't edit, the agent replies "I can answer questions, but I can't change data." and names who keeps it. Click **Send to** to pass the request on.

Requests go to the **Requests** list on the [AI Agent page](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/workspace-management/ai-agent-access/). When access is given, the chat shows "I can see Sales now. Want the answer to your earlier question?" with a button to get it. A declined request shows "Request declined".

## Explore a file's rows

**Explore** lets you look through rows yourself: filter, sort, chart and, where allowed, download. It uses the same Explore view as dashboards (see [Explore and Q&A](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/dashboard/explore-and-qa/)).

1. Click **+** beside **Explore** (or **+ Add to Explore**).
2. In **Add to Explore**, search ("Search 214 files…"), click a file to preview its first rows, then tick it. Click **Add 2 files**.
3. Pick a file under **Explore** in the navigation.

| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| **Ask about this** | Starts a chat about the file, limited to the rows you filtered |
| **Show in Data Library** | Opens the file in Build, if you can open it there |
| **+ Add to Ask** | Shown on a file marked **Not in Ask** |

Explore's list is separate from what Ask answers from. Files Ask left out show why, such as "Named as a test", "Nearly empty" or "A copy of" another file. Hover a file in the navigation and click **Remove from Explore** to drop it.

## Other ways to ask

- **Email**: link your work address in **Profile Settings** > **Email the agent**, then email agent@mammoth.io. See [Profile settings](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/workspace-management/profile-settings/#email-the-agent).
- **Slack**: when a Workspace Owner connects Slack, @Mammoth answers people who can already ask, with their own access. See [AI Agent access](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/workspace-management/ai-agent-access/#slack).
- **Developer tools**: the hosted MCP server and the CLI are covered in [Agents](https://mammoth.io/docs/agents/) and [Build](https://mammoth.io/docs/build/).

## Limits

A guest has a monthly question limit set by the Workspace Owner. Near it you see a count such as "You've used 180 of 200 questions this month." At the limit: "You've used all 200 of your questions this month. New questions start again on the 1st, or ask the owner to raise your limit." Slack questions count too. See [AI Agent access](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/workspace-management/ai-agent-access/).

## Related pages

- [The AI Agent](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/agent/)
- [Today, alerts and dashboards in Ask](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/agent/today/)
- [Your agent](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/agent/your-agent/)
- [AI Agent access](https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/workspace-management/ai-agent-access/)

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Source: https://mammoth.io/docs/learn/agent/ask-mode.md · Updated: 2026-11-05