How-to · Knowledge Base

Refine an answer with quick actions.

Once the Agent has answered, the panel on the right lets you reshape that answer without retyping the question. Add a table, chart it, shorten it, check the evidence, or give the Agent an instruction of your own. Every change is kept as a revision you can step back through.

One click per refinement Every change is a revision Citations stay attached
ProjectCharlo CPS
TitleRefine an answer with quick actions
Contactai@charlo.com.au
RevA
StatusIssued for use
Sheet1 of 1
Section 01 · The idea

Ask once, then shape the answer.

An Agent answer is a starting point. The Quick actions strip gives you ready-made instructions the Agent runs against the current answer and the same Knowledge Base scope. The box under it takes any instruction in your own words.

What a quick action isA written Agent command, one click. Add table turns comparable facts into a table. Shorten makes the answer easier to scan. Check evidence tests every claim against the sources. Find more searches the same scope again. Anonymise swaps names for generic labels. Include docs lets you pick documents for the next follow-up. Add chart opens a menu of chart types.
Where it livesThe Agent panel on the right of the Search view, under the activity timeline. It opens on its own when an Agent answer finishes. The pencil tab at the top of the panel brings it back if you have moved to another tab.
What it never doesInvent a figure. Every action is written to use only sourced values, keep the citations, and say plainly when the evidence is missing.
RevisionsEach run makes a new revision. The counter at the top of the panel shows where you are, the arrows step back and forward, and an earlier revision can be restored as the current one. Nothing is thrown away.
Section 02 · Walkthrough

From a plain answer to a sorted, charted one.

Eight steps. The example asks about health-project costs per square metre and ends with a sorted table, a bar chart and four revisions to compare.

01Ask in Agent mode

Quick actions only appear after an Agent answer.

  • Scope the search first. Tick a container in the Filters panel so the chip under the search bar shows it.
  • Type your question, then make sure the Agent pill is selected, not Query.
  • Click the orange send button and wait for Agentic request finished in the panel on the right.
Why AgentQuery gives one answer and stops. Agent keeps a working session open, which is what the quick actions run inside.
FIG 01The Search view with a question typed, the Agent pill highlighted with an orange ring, and a container chip under the search bar
Agent selected, container scoped, question ready to send.

02Find the quick actions

They sit under the timeline once the answer lands.

  • The panel shows each tool call and update as the Agent works, ending in Finished.
  • Under it is Quick actions: Anonymise, Find more, Check evidence, Add table, Shorten, Include docs and Add chart.
  • The strip scrolls sideways if the panel is narrow. Drag the panel edge to make it wider.
TipHover a button to read what it will do before you click it.
FIG 02The Agent panel after an answer, with the Quick actions strip ringed in orange under the activity timeline
The Quick actions strip, under the finished timeline.

03Add a table

One click, and comparable facts become a table.

  • Click Add table.
  • The timeline shows the Agent checking the current answer and the selected evidence, then composing the update.
  • The answer gains a table, and Revision 2 appears at the top of the panel marked Current.
Nothing lostThe original answer is still there as Revision 1. Step back to it any time.
FIG 03The answer with a new table and the Revision 2 card at the top of the Agent panel ringed in orange
Each action adds a revision.

04Pick a chart

Add chart is a menu, not a single button.

  • Click Add chart at the end of the strip.
  • Choose the shape that fits the data: Bar chart to compare categories, Line chart for a series over time, or one of the rate charts: Rate stack, Target benchmark, Rate bridge, Rate movement and Rate comparison.
  • For this example, choose Bar chart.
Only sourced valuesEvery chart action includes its supporting data table and shows gaps rather than filling them in.
FIG 04The Add chart menu open, listing Bar chart, Line chart, Rate stack, Target benchmark, Rate bridge, Rate movement and Rate comparison
Seven chart types, each with a one-line description.

05The chart lands in the answer

It is bound to the table above it.

  • The chart appears under its data table, with a type badge and its own settings.
  • The tinted columns in the table are the ones feeding the chart: one for the category, one for the value.
  • Edit a value in the table and the chart redraws. See the guide Edit calc tables and charts for that.
Where it sitsScroll the answer to find the chart. It stays with the table it came from.
FIG 05A bar chart of cost per square metre under its data table, ringed in orange, with the bound table columns tinted
The chart, bound to the tinted columns of the table above it.

06Give your own instruction

Anything the strip does not cover goes in the box.

  • Click into the box that reads Ask Agentic to search, calculate, create tables or charts, or update the answer.
  • Type the change you want, for example Add a column with each rate rounded to the nearest $100 and sort the table from lowest to highest rate.
  • Press Enter or click the send arrow.
Works bestOne change per instruction, said plainly. Name the column, the order, or the format you want.
FIG 06The instruction box at the bottom of the Agent panel ringed in orange, with a typed instruction to add a rounded column and sort the table
Your own instruction, typed under the quick actions.

07Read the result

The Agent edits the answer in place.

  • A new revision appears with your instruction as its title.
  • The table now carries the extra column and the rows are sorted. The chart follows the new order.
  • The wording above the table is updated to match, and the citations stay where they were.
Not rightType a correction as the next instruction, or step back to the previous revision and try different words.
FIG 07The answer after the instruction, with the table sorted from lowest to highest and Revision 4 shown as current in the Agent panel
Revision 4: the table sorted, the wording updated.

08Step back through revisions

Compare versions and restore the one you want.

  • Use the arrows beside the revision card. The counter shows which one you are viewing, for example 3 / 4.
  • The answer on the left changes to match the revision you are viewing.
  • Click the restore icon on an earlier card to make it the current answer again.
Nothing deletedRestoring an earlier revision keeps the later ones. You can always come forward again.
FIG 08The Revisions header ringed in orange, showing Revision 3 of 4 with a restore icon and forward and back arrows
Step back, compare, restore.
Section 03 · Good habits

Get more from the strip.

Scope before you askTick the container first. Every quick action searches the same scope as the question, so a wide scope means slower, vaguer refinements.
Check evidence after big editsAfter a table, a chart or a long custom instruction, run Check evidence. It removes anything the sources do not support and flags gaps.
Anonymise before you shareIf the answer is going outside the team, Anonymise swaps names, organisations and addresses for generic labels and leaves the figures alone.
Include docs for a follow-upInclude docs lets you choose specific documents for the next instruction, so you can point the Agent at the one file that matters.
Shorten for the summaryShorten keeps the supported facts, figures and citations and drops the padding. Good for the first paragraph of a report.
Section 04 · More help

Ask Dylan any time.

WhereThe Help button sits in the bottom-left corner of Charlo CPS.
WhatIt opens Dylan, Charlo’s help assistant. Ask a question in plain words and Dylan answers from the how-to guides, with a link to the full article. The Library button in the panel opens the whole How-To Library.
AskStuck on your own work? Send a real example to ai@charlo.com.au.