A brief introduction to BoardWorks AI and its key capabilities, including:

A downloadable PDF version of this Quick Start Guide is attached to the bottom of this article and can be saved or shared for offline reference.

BoardWorks AI introduces a collection of AI-powered features designed to help Directors and Administrators work more efficiently with board materials and BoardWorks content.

Whether you're preparing for a board meeting, reviewing a Board Book, exploring a complex topic, or looking for guidance while using BoardWorks, BoardWorks AI helps you work more efficiently by surfacing important information, highlighting key decisions and actions, and making it easier to find the answers you need.

BoardWorks AI combines several powerful capabilities, including:

Together, these features help users prepare for meetings more efficiently, identify key decisions and action items, research important topics, and get more value from the information stored within BoardWorks.

BoardWorks AI includes two AI-powered experiences that help users work more effectively within BoardWorks.

The BoardWorks Support Assistant provides on-demand guidance and answers to help users get the most out of BoardWorks.

Whether you're looking for instructions, learning about a feature, or trying to complete a specific task, the BoardWorks Support Assistant can provide guidance and answer product-related questions using information from the BoardWorks Help Center.

The BoardWorks Support Assistant is available throughout BoardWorks, including the Portal (Web browser) and supported mobile apps.

Note for Administrators: The BoardWorks Support Assistant is intended to complement your existing support experience by providing fast access to guidance and answers within BoardWorks. Rest assured, administrators will continue to have access to BoardWorks Live Chat Support and can contact the Support team at any time by selecting Chat with Support. The introduction of AI does not change or replace the support options available to Administrators.

The BoardWorks AI Assistant helps users quickly understand board materials by identifying key topics, decisions, action items, risks, and other important information.

Whether you're preparing for a board meeting, reviewing a large Board Book, researching a specific topic, or looking for key decisions and action items, the BoardWorks AI Assistant can help you find important information more quickly and focus your attention where it matters most.

Using the BoardWorks AI Assistant, users can:

· Generate AI Summaries

· Run Custom Queries

· Access Saved Summaries

The BoardWorks AI Assistant can be used with:

· Meeting Documents

· Board Books

· Reference Documents

Supported file types include:

· PDF

· Microsoft Word

· Microsoft Excel

· Microsoft PowerPoint

Unlike the BoardWorks Support Assistant, which helps users learn how to use BoardWorks, the BoardWorks AI Assistant helps users understand the content they are reviewing.

AI Summaries help users quickly understand board materials by highlighting important discussion topics, decisions, risks, recommendations, and follow-up actions.

Rather than starting with a page-by-page review, users can generate AI-powered summaries that quickly surface the most relevant information within the selected content.

AI Summaries are available through the BoardWorks AI Assistant and can be generated for:

· Meeting Documents

· Board Books

· Reference Documents

Supported file types include:

· PDF

· Microsoft Word

· Microsoft Excel

· Microsoft PowerPoint

Concise Summary

A Concise Summary provides a brief, high-level overview of the selected content.

This summary type is best when you need to quickly understand:

· Key topics

· Major discussion points

· High-level themes

Recommended for:

· Pre-meeting preparation

· Quick document reviews

· High-level content overviews

Detailed Summary

A Detailed Summary provides a comprehensive and structured analysis of the selected content.

This summary type includes additional context, supporting details, and a deeper review of the material.

Recommended for:

· Reviewing large Board Books

· Understanding complex topics

· Reviewing lengthy documents

· Preparing for detailed discussions

Action-Oriented Summary

An Action-Oriented Summary focuses on outcomes and next steps.

This summary type highlights:

· Decisions

· Action items

· Responsibilities

· Follow-up activities

Recommended for:

· Identifying tasks and commitments

· Reviewing meeting outcomes

· Tracking responsibilities

· Following up on open items

While AI Summaries provide an overview of content, Custom Queries allow users to interact with board materials conversationally by asking questions about the content in plain language.

Instead of searching through lengthy documents, users can ask targeted questions and receive responses based on the selected content.

Custom Queries can be used with:

· Meeting Documents

· Board Books

· Reference Documents

Common Uses for Custom Queries

Custom Queries can help users:

· Find specific information more quickly

· Identify risks, decisions, and action items

· Review important discussion topics

· Research a specific topic in greater detail

· Ask follow-up questions based on previous responses

Examples include:

· What key risks were discussed?

· What decisions were made during the meeting?

· What action items require follow-up?

· What deadlines were identified?

· What recommendations were provided?

Saved Summaries make it easy to preserve, revisit, and share useful findings discovered through Custom Queries.

Rather than asking the same question multiple times, users can save Custom Query responses and access them later when reviewing the same content.

Saved Summaries can help users:

· Preserve important AI-generated insights

· Revisit previous research and analysis

· Share findings with other users

· Reduce duplicate AI queries

When saving a Custom Query response, users can choose between two visibility options.

Private Summaries

Private summaries are visible only to the user who created them.

· Private summaries are useful when:

· Information is intended for personal reference

· Research is still in progress

· Insights are not ready to be shared

Shared Summaries

Shared summaries are available to other users who have access to the same document or Board Book.

Shared summaries are useful when:

· Findings may benefit other users

· Teams want to reduce duplicate AI queries

· Important insights should be available to colleagues

Shared summaries always respect existing BoardWorks permissions.

Custom Query responses can be saved as either Private or Shared summaries, making it easy to preserve and share valuable AI-generated insights.

Accessing Saved Summaries

Saved summaries can be accessed directly within the BoardWorks AI Assistant.

Depending on the content being reviewed, users can:

· View Board Book Saved Summaries

· View Document Saved Summaries

· Access previously saved Private summaries

· Access Shared summaries created by other users

Why Use Saved Summaries?

Saved Summaries are particularly useful when:

· Preparing for future meetings

· Researching recurring topics

· Collaborating with colleagues

· Building a history of important findings

· Reducing the need to repeat AI queries

You don't need to change how you work to start benefiting from BoardWorks AI. Whether you're reviewing materials, preparing for a meeting, researching a topic, or looking for help using BoardWorks, BoardWorks AI is designed to support and enhance the workflows you already use every day.

BoardWorks AI can help users work more efficiently by making it easier to understand board materials, identify important information, research specific topics, and access guidance while using BoardWorks.

The examples below highlight some of the most common ways users can leverage BoardWorks AI in their day-to-day activities.

Reviewing board materials can be time-consuming, especially when meetings contain lengthy Board Books and supporting documents.

Use AI Summaries to quickly understand key discussion topics, major themes, decisions, risks, and recommendations before reviewing materials in greater detail.

Recommended features:

· Concise Summary

· Detailed Summary

Board Books often contain information from multiple contributors covering a variety of topics.

Use AI Summaries to quickly generate an overview of a Board Book and identify areas that may require additional review.

Recommended features:

· Detailed Summary

· Action-Oriented Summary

Identifying Decisions and Action Items

Need to quickly understand what decisions were made or what follow-up actions are required?

Generate an Action-Oriented Summary to identify:

· Decisions

· Action items

· Responsibilities

· Follow-up activities

This can be especially helpful when reviewing meeting materials, preparing for future meetings, or tracking outstanding commitments.

Recommended features:

Researching a Specific Topic

Instead of reviewing an entire document, use Custom Queries to ask questions about the content using natural language.

Examples include:

· What risks were discussed?

· What recommendations were provided?

· What decisions were made?

· What deadlines were identified?

· What topics were discussed regarding cybersecurity?

This allows users to quickly locate information that is most relevant to them.

Recommended features:

Sharing Insights with Colleagues

When a Custom Query produces valuable information, that response can be saved and shared with other authorized users.

Shared summaries can help reduce duplicate research efforts and make important findings more accessible to others reviewing the same content.

Recommended features:

· Saved Summaries

· Shared Summaries

Need assistance using a feature or understanding a workflow?

Use the BoardWorks Support Assistant to get answers, guidance, and step-by-step instructions without leaving BoardWorks.

Common questions include:

· How do I create a meeting?

· How do I upload a document?

· How do I complete a voting?

· How do I use BoardWorks AI?

· How do I sign a document?

The BoardWorks Support Assistant provides a quick and convenient way to access support information without leaving BoardWorks.

Recommended feature:

Getting started with BoardWorks AI is simple.

For most users, the best place to begin is with content you already work with regularly, such as a Board Book, meeting document, or reference document.

If you're new to BoardWorks AI, consider the following approach:

1. Start with an AI Summary

Generate an AI Summary to quickly understand the content you are reviewing.

Depending on your needs, choose:

· Concise Summary for a high-level overview

· Detailed Summary for additional context

· Action-Oriented Summary for decisions and action items

2. Ask Follow-Up Questions

Once you've reviewed the summary, use Custom Queries to explore specific topics in greater detail.

Examples include:

· What risks were discussed?

· What decisions were made?

· What action items require follow-up?

· What recommendations were provided?

3. Save Valuable Insights

If a Custom Query produces information you would like to revisit later, save the response as a Private or Shared summary.

This makes it easy to return to important findings without needing to run the same query again.

4. Use the BoardWorks Support Assistant

If you need help learning about BoardWorks features or workflows, use the BoardWorks Support Assistant to get answers directly within BoardWorks.

The BoardWorks Support Assistant can help explain features, provide instructions, and answer product-related questions.

Before using BoardWorks AI, there are a few important considerations to keep in mind.

Supported Content

BoardWorks AI can be used with:

· Meeting Documents

· Board Books

· Reference Documents

Supported file types include:

· PDF

· Microsoft Word

· Microsoft Excel

· Microsoft PowerPoint

·

Saving AI Responses

· Not all AI-generated content can be saved.

· AI Summaries cannot be saved.

· Custom Query responses can be saved.

· Custom Query responses can be saved as either Private or Shared summaries.

Document Processing and Availability

Before a document can be analyzed by BoardWorks AI, it must first be processed and prepared for AI analysis.

This process is quick and occurs automatically in the background. However, if a document has not yet completed processing, BoardWorks AI may be unable to immediately generate a summary or Custom Query response.

If additional processing is required:

1. Your request will continue to be processed automatically.

2. You will be notified that the request is being prepared.

3. An email notification will be sent when processing has completed.

4. Selecting the link in the email will open the completed result in BoardWorks.

Important: You do not need to resubmit the request. BoardWorks AI will continue processing the original request and notify you when it is ready.

AI-Generated Content

BoardWorks AI is designed to help users understand content more efficiently by identifying key topics, decisions, risks, and action items.

While BoardWorks AI can provide valuable insights, AI-generated content may not capture every detail contained within the original source material.

Users should always review the original document, Board Book, or Reference Document whenever complete context or verification is required.

The BoardWorks Support Assistant is available throughout BoardWorks and can answer questions about:

· BoardWorks features

· Product workflows

· BoardWorks AI

· Meetings

· Documents

· Voting

· Surveys

· Evaluations

Administrators can also continue to contact the BoardWorks Support team through Chat with Support whenever additional assistance is required.

Can I use BoardWorks AI on mobile devices?

Yes.

BoardWorks AI is available in the BoardWorks Portal as well as supported mobile applications, including iPad, iPhone, and Android.

What types of content can be analyzed?

BoardWorks AI can analyze:

· Meeting Documents

· Board Books

· Reference Documents

Supported file types include:

· PDF

· Microsoft Word

· Microsoft Excel

· Microsoft PowerPoint

These file types can be analyzed when included as Meeting Documents, Board Books, or Reference Documents.

Can I save AI Summaries?

No.

Concise, Detailed, and Action-Oriented Summaries cannot be saved.

Only Custom Query responses can be saved and shared.

Can I save Custom Query responses?

Yes.

Custom Query responses can be saved as either:

· Private Summaries

· Shared Summaries

Can I ask follow-up questions?

Yes.

Custom Queries support conversational follow-up questions, allowing you to explore topics in greater detail without starting a new query.

What happens if a document is not ready for AI analysis?

Before content can be analyzed, it must first be processed and prepared for AI analysis.

If additional processing is required, BoardWorks AI will continue processing your request automatically and will notify you by email when the result is ready.

You do not need to resubmit the request.

Is BoardWorks AI private?

Yes.

BoardWorks AI respects existing BoardWorks permissions and only analyzes content that users already have permission to access. Users cannot use BoardWorks AI to access documents, Board Books, or information they would not otherwise be permitted to view.

Is BoardWorks AI secure?

Yes.

BoardWorks AI operates within a secure Microsoft Azure environment and is designed to support the same security principles and access controls used throughout the BoardWorks platform.

Is BoardWorks AI used to train public AI models?

No.

Content processed by BoardWorks AI is not used to train public AI models.

Can other users see my AI queries?

No.

Custom Queries are private to the user who submitted them unless the resulting response is intentionally saved as a Shared Summary.

Can other users see my saved summaries?

It depends on how the summary was saved.

· Private Summaries are visible only to the user who created them.

· Shared Summaries are available to users who have access to the same document or Board Book.

Do Shared Summaries respect BoardWorks permissions?

Yes.

Users can only access Shared Summaries for content they already have permission to view. BoardWorks permissions continue to be respected when accessing AI-generated content.

Does BoardWorks AI respect document permissions?

Yes.

BoardWorks AI follows existing BoardWorks security and permission controls. Users can only analyze and access content they are authorized to view.

For detailed instructions, feature documentation, and additional guidance, click the links below:

Introduction to BoardWorks AI

Using The BoardWorks Support Assistant

Using The BoardWorks AI Assistant

Generating AI Summaries

Using Custom Queries

Using Saved Summaries

BoardWorks AI – FAQs

The BoardWorks Help Center is regularly updated with new articles, guidance, and best practices to help users get the most value from BoardWorks AI.