Chat in XTM One
Chat is where you work directly with XTM One in natural language. It supports both the platform-wide General Assistant and individual agents.
What Chat is for
Use Chat when you want to:
- ask a question in plain language
- work with a specific assistant
- upload supporting files
- reuse a saved prompt
- continue an earlier conversation
- speak instead of typing, if your browser supports it
The chat layout
Chat has two main areas:
- the left sidebar for assistant selection and conversation history
- the main panel for the active conversation
If you are on a smaller screen, the sidebar can collapse so the conversation has more space.
Choose who you want to talk to
At the top of the sidebar, you choose the assistant for the conversation.
You may see:
General Assistant- chat-enabled agents
- assignment-oriented agents shown in a
Not recommended for chatsection
Choose the General Assistant when you want a broad helper. Choose a specific agent when you want an assistant with a focused role or built-in context.
Start a new conversation
To start a new conversation:
- Open
Chatfrom the sidebar. - Choose the assistant you want.
- Click the
New conversationbutton. - Type your message and send it.
If you open Chat from an agent card or an agent detail page, XTM One can preselect that agent for you.
Manage conversations from the sidebar
The sidebar is not only a list of past chats. It is also your main control area.
From here you can:
- search conversations by title, preview text, or agent name
- open an earlier conversation
- archive a single conversation
- archive all conversations from the
Clear all conversationsaction - switch assistants without leaving the page
Archiving removes a conversation from the active list. It is not the same as simply closing the page.
Write your message
The composer at the bottom of the screen supports several input methods.
You can:
- type a normal message
- attach files with the paperclip button
- paste files into the composer
- drag and drop files onto the page
- insert a saved prompt template
- use voice dictation
- start a full voice conversation
If a response is still being generated, the send button becomes a stop button so you can interrupt the response.
Use prompt templates
If prompts are available in your environment, the prompt button opens a list of reusable prompt templates.
Use this when you want to:
- start from a standard request
- keep your wording consistent
- save time on recurring questions
Selecting a prompt inserts its content into your message box.
Use session tools
The wrench button opens the session tools panel.
Depending on the conversation, you may be able to enable or disable:
- built-in tools
- custom tools
- integrations
- MCP servers
- knowledge bases
When you use the General Assistant, this panel lets you build a temporary toolset for the conversation. When you use a specific agent, the tool list is usually limited to what that agent is already allowed to use.
The panel also lets you:
- reset back to the default configuration
- enable all visible tools
- disable all visible tools
- temporarily hide integrations from the picker and restore them later
Voice options
If your browser supports speech features, Chat can offer two voice modes.
Voice inputconverts your speech into text in the message box.Voice conversationopens a more continuous spoken interaction.
If these controls do not appear, your browser or device does not currently support them.
What you may see above the messages
The conversation header can show extra context.
You may see:
- the active agent name
- the current channel, such as web chat
- a transfer banner if another agent handed the conversation over
- a
Returnaction if you want to go back to the source agent
This is especially useful when the conversation moved from one agent to another.
Background task banners
Some requests continue in the background.
When that happens, Chat can show:
- a banner while background tasks are still running
- a completion banner when those background tasks finish
- a failed count if some delegated tasks did not complete successfully
This means the request involved delegation or longer-running work. It is normal behavior, not an error by itself.
When an agent is shown as not recommended for chat
Some agents are built mainly for background execution rather than direct conversation.
These agents still appear in the picker, but XTM One marks them so you know they are not optimized for normal chat use.
You can still try them, but the best experience usually comes from:
- the
General Assistant - a chat-enabled agent
Practical tips
- Start with the
General Assistantif you are unsure which agent to use. - Use a dedicated agent when the topic belongs to a specific workflow.
- Attach documents when the answer depends on exact wording or evidence.
- Open the same conversation again if you want XTM One to keep the discussion context.
Next step
The next chapter explains Agents, including what the list page shows and how to read an agent detail page.