AI modes — Doclio Assistant, Estimator, Tech

Updated 8/26/2026 · 117 views

Last updated: May 2026

The Doclio AI assistant runs in one of three modes, each tuned for a different kind of construction task. When you open the chat, the mode appears as a chip in the header (for example Doclio Assistant). Click it to switch modes or start a fresh chat in a different mode.

Why modes? The previous single-prompt assistant tried to handle takeoffs, drafting, and status questions all at once, which diluted accuracy. Splitting into focused modes lets each one be denser and more accurate for its domain. The names are prefixed "Doclio" so they stay distinct from real project roles on your team (the estimator the person vs Doclio Estimator the AI mode).

The Three Modes

Doclio Assistant (default)

General help. Project status, navigation, recent activity, "what's overdue", "who's blocking what", "find the annotation about beam clearance". Acts as your project's institutional memory — when you ask a question, it surfaces existing project data (annotations, comments, reports, prior takeoffs) BEFORE doing any new work. If your question needs a fresh takeoff or a formal draft, it'll suggest switching to the right specialised mode rather than guessing badly.

Doclio Estimator

Quantity surveying. Counts, lengths, areas on drawings. Use this when you need to take off downlights, GPOs, cladding area, skirting length, anything quantity-bearing.

MATCH tool — click any symbol on the drawing, the matcher finds every similar cluster of PDF vector segments. Deterministic, zero credit cost. See the Vector symbol matcher article for details.
Exemplar paste — copy a snippet of the target symbol and paste it into the chat (Ctrl+V). The AI matches against your reference image.
Pro mode toggle — uses our most thorough model + higher-resolution renders + a verification pass for harder symbols. ~5-10× the credit cost; use when Standard mode is missing items or placement is drifty. (These queries show a DEEP DIVE badge in the Settings activity log.)
Authoritative-data respect — before running a fresh AI takeoff, Estimator checks your project for existing QS takeoffs or issued reports answering the question. If found, you see them first with provenance + the choice to use the existing number, verify with a new AI takeoff (costs credits), or dismiss. The AI never overrides existing human-created quantities silently.

Doclio Tech

Correspondence and contract drafting, built around the eight formal templates: Note, RFI, Approval, Variation, Defect List, Quote Request, Distribution, Site Instruction. Describe the situation in plain English, the assistant proposes the right template, asks 1-2 clarifying questions, then emits a ready-to-send draft you review in the Mailbox compose modal. Grounds drafts in actual project data — quotes existing takeoffs, dimension callouts, prior comments — rather than guessing.

Switching Modes

The mode chip in the chat header

The chip showing your current mode (with its icon) is clickable. Opens a dropdown with two sections:

Switch this chat to: — changes the active chat's mode in place. The conversation history stays; subsequent messages use the new mode's behaviour.
Start a new chat in: — opens a fresh chat in the chosen mode, leaving your current conversation parked. Good when you're mid-takeoff and need to ask a quick status question without losing context.

Auto-suggestion chip

If you ask a question that fits a different mode (for example you're in Assistant and you ask "how many downlights on E01"), the assistant answers AND surfaces a chip suggesting the more specialised mode:

"This looks like a Doclio Estimator question."
[ Switch this chat to Estimator ] [ New Estimator chat ] [ Continue here ]

The suggestion is lenient — it only fires when intent confidence is high (so casual chatter doesn't trigger it). Click Continue here to dismiss for that message; the assistant won't nag you again on the same chat.

When to Use Which Mode

If you want to…	Use
Check project status, see what's overdue, find an annotation	Assistant
Look up an existing takeoff or report value	Assistant
Count symbols on a drawing	Estimator (try MATCH tool first; falls back to AI)
Measure area or length on a drawing	Estimator
Draft an RFI, Variation, or Site Instruction	Tech
Look up how Doclio itself works	Assistant
Compare drawing revisions	Any mode — say "compare revs on E01"

Chat History and Modes

Each chat session remembers its mode. The history dropdown (clock icon, top-right of the chat header) shows your past chats; resuming one restores its mode automatically. Mode is per-chat, not per-user — you can have an Estimator chat open and an Assistant chat sitting in history at the same time.

If there's a mode you wish existed, tell us via a support ticket.