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Use Cases and Best Practices

This page provides guidance on getting the most out of Robi AI, including typical use cases and recommendations for effective prompting.

How Robi AI Works​

It is important to understand some basics about how Robi AI works to ensure you know how to make effective prompts, while using tokens as efficiently as possible.

The AI Assistant takes several prompts into context when answering the user. Besides reading the user's prompt, Robi also takes into account a system prompt which describes its basic purpose (i.e. Robi knows it is meant to assist with using UAC). This means Robi may refuse to answer a question if the prompt is deemed irrelevant to its purpose, such as "Tell me about the stock market."

Robi also tries to determine the general aim of the user's prompt in order to give an appropriate response. Robi will then use certain tools based on the perceived classification of the prompt.

For example, if your prompt is deemed a request to launch a task, Robi knows to go through specific steps (ask the user for task details, register the launch, etc.) to proceed with launching a task, and not do anything else like querying the docs. Therefore, you should be specific and direct in your query, so Robi knows what action to take and not waste tokens doing something irrelevant.

Recent conversation history is taken into account to maintain continuity. For example, a pure affirmation like "yes" or "go ahead" is assumed to be the same mode as the previous prompts, so Robi does not have to reclassify every prompt independently. That said, Robi's contextual understanding is not unlimited, so it is always safer to be explicit when possible.

warning

AI can make mistakes. Always verify important information, especially before confirming destructive operations.

Use Cases​

Robi AI can dynamically respond to prompts given in natural language, and it has the flexibility to perform many kinds of actions in the Controller, such as:

  • Viewing and updating records
  • Launching tasks
  • Answering questions about UAC
  • Analyzing failed tasks and workflows

Although this list does not represent the full scope of Robi's capabilities, we recommend not straying too far from the general purpose of Robi AI, to ensure you get helpful responses and use tokens efficiently.

That being said, we encourage you to see for yourself what Robi AI is capable of. The use cases in this doc are meant to demonstrate typical scenarios that Robi is well equipped to handle, rather than serve as a finite list of functions. Let the following examples serve as inspiration for how you might use Robi in your Controller.

Example 1: Launch a task​

First, we ask Robi AI Asisstant to launch a task called "PTBS Cleanup Daily".

Robi then prompts us for the reason. This is stored in the notes tab for auditing purposes.

Robi identifies any variables that exist in the task definition and asks if we would like to override any.

Using natural language, we can override the filename and add a new variable: name.

Robi AI displays the variables that will be used and asks if we would like to Launch the task or Decline.

We launch the task, and we can now go directly to the task instance in the UI.

Example 2: Query status​

Query a single task​

We want to see the status of the task we just launched, "PTBS Cleanup daily".

Robi shows all instances of this task in a table:

Let's say we want to narrow down the list to some particular date.

Robi filters the list to only show instances that meet our criteria.

Query for multiple tasks​

We want to find out the status of multiple tasks that match some criteria, like "all tasks with a prefix of 'EOD' in a problem state."

Robi AI knows what "problem state" means, so it finds all task instances that were not successful.

For any response, we can ask Robi AI to "show in a code block" to get a format with a Copy button. Or, if we have a specific data format in mind, we can ask Robi AI to reformat the response.

For example, let's ask for a CSV file. Robi gives the data in CSV format and provides a "Copy" button.

Example 3: Asking Robi AI for help​

Create a workflow​

We want to find out how to create a workflow with very specific requirements: "Show me how to create a workflow called 'EOD master 88' containing 3 existing tasks prefixed EOD that run one after the other."

The prompt starts with "Show me", so Robi knows we are asking for help. It then gives step-by-step instructions for creating the workflow. Robi draws on product knowledge from the docs (with a link to the References), while using our prompt to give specific details matching our requirements.

Asking about functions​

We want to find out how to offset the date using a function.

Robi shows us how to use the function we need for the specific purpose we requested, and links to the documentation on functions.

Typical help desk questions​

We want Robi AI to help us to create some custom days for a calendar, such as a specific set of holidays.

Robi gives us JSON for each custom day, as requested. It also gives an example of the REST API call we need to use to add them.

Example 4: Root Cause Analysis​

Analyze a single task instance​

We want Robi AI to analyze the issue for a failed task.

Let's say our task, "IPS ADV Prep Inv", has failed. We right-click the failed task instance and select the Analyze Now... option, which opens the AI Analyze window.

Robi identifies the issue.

Robi has identified a permission problem, which needs to be fixed by an OS administrator. It then shows us the OS command we need to resolve it, and offers to rerun the task for us once we have fixed the problem.

Analyze a failed workflow​

We want Robi AI to analyze the issue for a failed workflow.

Let's say our Workflow, "IPS Invoice Process WF", has failed. We right-click the failed workflow instance and select the Analyze Now... option, which opens the AI Analyze window.

In this case, two tasks have failed in this workflow. Robi displays them both in a table, where I can analyze each instance individually.

Robi then shows the details of why this instance failed. Since this is a simple fix Robi can do itself, it offers to fix the issue in the instance and rerun.

We can do the same for the second failed task in the workflow. After we fix and rerun the tasks, the workflow completes successfully.

In addition, if we need to involve another team member in this resolution, we could ask Robi AI to create a link (Action URL) to the workflow instance.

The link will take you straight to the problematic workflow instance.

Best Practices​

Writing Effective Prompts​

  • Be specific and direct. Robi AI classifies your request to determine what tools and context to use. A clear, specific prompt helps it choose the right approach and avoids unnecessary token usage. For example, if you want to launch a task, say so directly rather than asking a general question.
  • Name records explicitly. Robi AI maintains conversation history and can refer to records mentioned earlier in the chat, but the further back in the conversation you refer, the less reliable this becomes. For best results, always name the specific record you are referring to.
  • Stay on topic. Robi AI is designed to assist with Universal Controller operations and documentation. It may decline to answer questions that fall outside this scope.

General Guidelines​

  • Always review AI-generated responses before confirming destructive or write operations (such as task launches or record updates).
  • The AI can make mistakes. Review its output for accuracy, especially for complex or sensitive operations.