aiChat lets you ask about a site and change your project in plain language. Ask it to find parcels, total your GFA, or set a building to 10 levels, and review each change before it lands on the map.
Send a message
Type in the message box at the bottom of aiChat and press Enter or click Send. Press Shift+Enter to start a new line. To stop aiChat mid-answer, click the red Stop button.
While aiChat works, a giraffe animation shows next to a word like "Grazing." aiChat may read your project, search, and run several steps before it answers. Each step appears in the chat as a row you can click to expand.
🚨 Warning: AI can make mistakes. Check results before you rely on them.
Attach a file
Give aiChat more context by attaching a file. Click the paperclip icon next to the message box, or drag files onto the chat. aiChat accepts:
Images: PNG, JPEG, GIF, and WebP
PDFs
Text files, including CSV, TSV, TXT, Markdown, JSON, XML, HTML, YAML, and SQL
Click the × on an attached file to remove it before you send. Export an Excel file as CSV first, since aiChat can't read .xlsx files.
Approve or reject changes
aiChat asks before it changes your project. When it wants to draw, edit, or delete buildings, change layers, edit usage types or analytics, add a content pack, move the map, or search the web, an approval bar appears above the message box. The bar shows how many actions are waiting. Click a row in the chat to see the details of each action.
Approve runs the waiting actions.
Reject cancels them.
Accept all runs them and approves every later action in this session.
To redirect aiChat instead, type in the Or reply instead... box and press Enter. aiChat cancels the waiting actions and reads your reply.
aiChat runs a few actions without asking. These include adding a Lightning Bolt flow from the library and adding parcel search results to the map as a layer.
Approve every action automatically
Click the fast-forward icon below the message box to approve all actions automatically. Click it again to go back to approving each one. Auto-approve lasts until you reload the page.
Read the status bar
The status bar sits below the message box. It shows how much the chat costs and what aiChat is allowed to do. From left to right:
Fast-forward icon: turns auto-approve on or off.
Eye icon: opens the prompt inspector, which shows each request aiChat sent, its timing, and token counts.
Book icon: lets aiChat read the Giraffe SDK docs. It's off by default.
Globe icon: lets aiChat open web pages. It's on by default and works with Claude models.
Context bar: fills as the chat grows. It turns amber near the compaction limit and red when the next message will compact the chat.
In, Out, and Cached: tokens sent, tokens received, and tokens reused from the cache. Hover over the context bar for details.
Cost: an estimate of what this chat has cost so far.
Search the web
On a Claude model, ask a question that needs current information and aiChat searches the web. Each search needs your approval. Sources show as links under the answer.
On a Gemini or Fireworks model, start your message with /web to run a web search. This uses Claude, so it needs an Anthropic key too.
Download a file aiChat makes
Ask aiChat to export results, like "export these parcels as a CSV." aiChat adds a file card to the chat. Click Download on the card to save it.
Start a new chat
Click the + button in the aiChat header to clear the chat and start fresh. The button appears once the chat has messages.
🚨 Warning: Starting a new chat deletes the current conversation right away. You can't get it back.
Where your chat is saved
aiChat keeps one conversation per project, saved in your browser. Reopen the project on the same browser and the chat is still there. Teammates on the project don't see your chat, and it doesn't follow you to another computer.
Switch models mid-chat
Click the model picker in the aiChat header and choose another model. Click Manage models & keys at the bottom of the list to open settings.
Report a problem
Click the warning-bubble icon in the aiChat header to open Report an issue. Describe what you expected to happen, then click Send feedback. aiChat copies a report of your conversation to your clipboard and opens an email to the Giraffe team. Paste the report into the email and send it. Click Copy to clipboard to copy the report without opening an email.
Fix common errors
"Set API key in settings first": the model you picked has no key. Add one in settings, or pick a model you have a key for.
"Failed to fetch": aiChat couldn't reach your AI provider. Check your internet connection and your key.
"Rate limited" or "Claude is overloaded": your provider is busy. Wait 30 seconds and try again, or start a new chat to send less.
"No Regrid token configured": add a Regrid token in settings to search US parcels.
"Tool calls failed twice in a row": aiChat stopped after its actions kept failing. Open the prompt inspector to see why, then rephrase your request.
Click an error message to copy it.