# Orbit, your AI assistant > Open Orbit, ask questions about your workspace, check where answers come from, approve changes, stop a response, and keep track of credits. Canonical: https://help.spacebrain.ai/platform/orbit-assistant/ Last modified: 2026-09-25T00:00:00.000Z Orbit is the AI assistant built into Spacebrain. You can ask it about your leads, deals, inbox, tasks and reports, have it open the right page, or ask it to prepare a change for you to approve. This guide is for anyone who uses Orbit day to day. ## Before you begin [#before-you-begin] * **Access:** Orbit works with the data and actions your role allows. It can't see or change anything you couldn't open yourself. * **Sub-accounts:** in an agency sub-account, AI chat can be turned off by the agency. If it is, Home shows **AI Chat is not enabled for this sub-account. Contact your agency to enable it.** * **Credits:** Orbit AI uses credits. Before you send a message, the message box shows about how many credits it will use. See [Credits](#credits) below. ## Open Orbit [#open-orbit] You can start a conversation from several places. They all open the same Orbit panel on the right side of the screen. | Where you are | What to use | | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Home** | Type in the **Ask Spacebrain** box ("What should I focus on?") and select **Ask**. | | Any page | Select **Ask Spacebrain** at the top of the sidebar, or press **⌘K** (Mac) or **Ctrl+K** (Windows). Type your question and choose the **Ask Spacebrain** result. | | A lead, person or company record | Select **Ask AI**. Orbit starts a new chat about that record. | | A Home priority | Select **Ask Spacebrain** on the top priority, or the chat icon next to any priority, to ask Orbit why it matters and what to do next. **What's next?** asks Orbit for your best next step. | On a phone, Orbit opens as a panel over the page. On a larger screen it opens beside the page you're working on. Drag its left edge to make it wider or narrower. ## Get to know the Orbit panel [#get-to-know-the-orbit-panel] The top of the panel always looks the same, whichever view you're on: * **Orbit's picture and status.** The line under the name tells you what Orbit is doing, for example **Ready**, **Thinking…**, **Writing…**, **Working on 2 requests**, **Waiting for your approval** or **Out of credits for now**. Select the picture to jump to Orbit's activity. * **New chat** starts a fresh conversation. * **History** opens **All chats**, where you can search and reopen earlier conversations. * **Open full page** moves the conversation into a full browser page. It becomes available once the current response finishes. * **Close assistant** hides the panel. Work that's already running keeps going. Under the header are four views: | View | What it shows | | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | **Chat** | The current conversation. | | **Activity** | Requests that are scheduled, running or finished, and changes Orbit made. See [Orbit activity, approvals and follow-ups](/platform/orbit-activity-and-approvals/). | | **Needs you** | Anything waiting on you, such as an approval or a missing detail. A number shows how many items are waiting. | | **Memory** | What Orbit remembers about how you like to work. See [Orbit memory](/platform/orbit-memory/). | ## Ask a question [#ask-a-question] 1. Open Orbit and make sure the **Chat** view is selected. 2. Type your question in the **Ask Orbit anything…** box. In a new chat, you can also pick a suggestion such as **What needs my attention?**, **Show my open deals** or **Summarize my unread inbox**. 3. To point Orbit at a specific record, type **@** followed by part of its name. Choose the lead, person, company or deal from the **Attach a CRM record** list. 4. Check the credit estimate at the right of the box, then select **Send**. On a computer you can also press Enter. Press Shift+Enter for a new line. **What you should see:** while Orbit works, a short line shows what it's doing (for example **Looking up the record…** or **Analyzing your data…**) and a running total such as **2 credits used · 6s**. When it finishes, the answer appears with any tables, charts or links it prepared. ### Write questions that get good answers [#write-questions-that-get-good-answers] Name the record type, the time period and the result you want. Compare: * Vague: "How is sales?" * Clear: "Show open deals with no activity in the last 14 days, grouped by owner." You can keep going in the same conversation. Orbit remembers what you discussed earlier in that chat, so a follow-up like "Only the ones over 30 days" works. ## Check where an answer came from [#check-where-an-answer-came-from] Many answers end with a **Sources** list, for example **Sources · 3**. Open it to see what Orbit used. Each item is labeled so you know what kind of source it is: * **Workspace record**: a lead, deal, task or other record. * **Chart** or **Workspace page**: a report or a page in Spacebrain. * **Conversation**: an Inbox conversation. * **Meeting source**: saved meeting notes. * **Saved memory**: a page, procedure or note you saved in [Orbit memory](/platform/orbit-memory/). Select a source to open it. If Orbit also shows links in the answer, the list may be called **Other sources** instead. > **Note — Check before you act** > > Orbit summarizes what it found. Before you make a decision, open the record or report and check the dates, filters and owner yourself. Other buttons under an answer: * **Copy response** copies the answer text. * **Open output** shows a table, chart or other result in a larger view. Select **Back to chat** to return. * **Try again** or **Refresh answer** asks the same question again with current data. You see these when an answer couldn't be finished or is out of date. ## Approve a change [#approve-a-change] Orbit never makes an important change on its own. When you ask it to update records, send a message or change settings, it shows a review card first, marked **Ready for review**. 1. Read the card. It shows what will change, the record it affects and the number of credits the action uses. Some cards also show a **Required role**. 2. Fill in any fields the card asks for. 3. Choose one option: * **Confirm** (or **Confirm with AI**) to let Orbit make the change. * **Do it manually** to skip the AI and go to the normal page, where you make the change yourself. For a reply, this button says **Open in inbox**. * **Dismiss** if anything looks wrong. **What you should see:** the card shows **Applying…** and then **Done**, with links to what changed. If it says **This action is no longer available**, the record changed after Orbit prepared the card. Ask Orbit again so it uses the current data. Some small, safe actions, like creating a task you asked for, can run straight away. Anything that sends a message, deletes, or changes many records always waits for you. ## Stop a response [#stop-a-response] While Orbit is writing, the **Send** button changes to **Stop**. Select it to stop the response. The status line shows **Stopping…** and then **Stopped**. Stopping doesn't undo a change you already approved. To stop longer-running work, use **Stop** in the [Activity view](/platform/orbit-activity-and-approvals/#stop-a-request). ## Switch between conversations [#switch-between-conversations] * Select **New chat** to start fresh without losing the current chat. * Select **History** to open **All chats**. Type in **Search chats…** to find one, then select it. * You can switch chats while Orbit is still working. The work continues and you can follow it in **Activity**. * Each workspace has its own chats. If you see **This conversation is unavailable in the current workspace**, switch back to the workspace where you started it. ## Credits [#credits] Orbit AI uses credits from your workspace. You can see them in three places: 1. **Before you send:** the message box shows an estimate, such as **1 credit**. Tools Orbit uses along the way may add more. 2. **While it works:** the running total updates live, for example **3 credits used · 12s**. If you see **verifying total**, the final number is still being checked. 3. **On review cards:** each change shows its own credit cost before you confirm. If the workspace runs out, Orbit shows **You're out of credits for now** with a **View billing** link. Workspace owners and admins can check balances in **Settings → Usage** and **Settings → Billing**. See [workspace, billing and usage](/account/workspace-billing-and-usage/). ## If something goes wrong [#if-something-goes-wrong] | What you see | What to do | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **You're out of credits for now** | Ask a workspace owner to add credits or change the plan, then try again. | | **This conversation is unavailable in the current workspace** | Switch to the workspace where the chat started, or start a new chat. | | **Your workspace or sign-in changed** | Select **Reload conversation** before you reply. | | **This action is no longer available** | The record changed. Ask Orbit to prepare the change again. | | **Couldn't complete that action** or **Needs attention — verify the current result** | Open the record to see what happened before you try again, so you don't make the change twice. | | Orbit says it can't find a record you can see | Attach the record with **@**, or open it and select **Ask AI**. | ## FAQ [#faq] ### Can other people see my Orbit chats? [#can-other-people-see-my-orbit-chats] **All chats** lists your recent conversations in the current workspace. Whatever the chat, Orbit only uses data the person asking can already open. ### Does closing the panel stop Orbit? [#does-closing-the-panel-stop-orbit] No. Closing the panel hides it. Running work keeps going, and you can check it later in **Activity**. ### What's the difference between Orbit and the Help & support panel? [#whats-the-difference-between-orbit-and-the-help--support-panel] Orbit works with your workspace data. The **Help & support** panel answers questions about how Spacebrain works and lets you contact our team. You can open it from **Settings → Orbit AI**. See [Orbit AI settings](/account/orbit-ai-settings/). ### Why did Orbit ask me a question instead of doing the task? [#why-did-orbit-ask-me-a-question-instead-of-doing-the-task] It needed a detail it couldn't safely guess, such as which deal you meant. Answer in the chat and it will continue. These questions also appear in **Needs you**. ## Next step [#next-step] Learn how to follow longer requests and approvals in [Orbit activity, approvals and follow-ups](/platform/orbit-activity-and-approvals/).