# Use AI Assistant in the DigitalOcean Control Panel (public) AI Assistant is an AI-powered tool built on DigitalOcean’s Gradient AI Platform that lets you ask questions about any DigitalOcean product covered in the official documentation. You can interact with AI Assistant to get help with specific problems, such as API usage, `doctl` commands, or configuration questions. **Note**: This feature is in [public preview](https://docs.digitalocean.com/platform/product-lifecycle/index.html.md#public-preview). To use it, opt in from the [**Feature Preview** page](https://cloud.digitalocean.com/account/feature-preview). AI Assistant is available in the [DigitalOcean Control Panel](https://cloud.digitalocean.com) and on the [Product Docs website](https://docs.digitalocean.com/). ## Using AI Assistant ### Access AI Assistant To open AI Assistant in the [DigitalOcean Control Panel](https://cloud.digitalocean.com), click the **AI Assistant** icon next to your profile icon in the top-right corner. ![A screenshot of the control panel with the AI Assistant tooltip displaying below AI Assistant button.](https://docs.digitalocean.com/screenshots/copilot/ai-assistant-button.e96f0d1e61f38ff6bcda8ccc82bf3e0e514fa073e60580a80ed3f4afdfbb1f05.png) To open AI Assistant in a separate tab, click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner of the console, then select **Open in new tab**. ### Clear a Conversation AI Assistant uses previous messages from the current conversation as context when responding to new questions. To ask something unrelated, clear the conversation to reset the context. **Note**: Clearing a conversation permanently deletes the conversation history. To clear a conversation, click the three-dot menu in the top-right corner of the AI Assistant console, then select **Clear conversation**. When prompted, click **Confirm**. ### Copy to Clipboard To copy a response or a code snippet to your clipboard, click the **Copy** icon. ![A screenshot of the AI Assistant console with the Copy to clipboard tooltip displaying below the Copy button.](https://docs.digitalocean.com/screenshots/copilot/copy-clipboard.cf4a2617e1d54d4be9406496d7f9c75208787ac16114bad0dd57bf6d9db29ce7.png) ### Close AI Assistant To close AI Assistant, click the **x** next to your profile icon in the top-right corner of the control panel. Your messages remain available when you reopen the console until you [clear the conversation](#clear-a-conversation). ## AI Assistant Data Disclosures DigitalOcean AI Assistant is an AI-powered tool designed to help users navigate and understand DigitalOcean’s technical documentation. By using AI Assistant, users acknowledge that their interactions are processed to provide automated technical guidance. The following sections disclose how your data is collected, used, and protected. ### What Data Is Collected When you interact with AI Assistant, DigitalOcean collects and processes the following information: - **Input data**: The specific text, questions, or prompts you enter into the chat interface - **Output data**: The responses and suggestions generated by AI Assistant - **Usage metadata**: System-generated data, including timestamps, session identifiers, and basic usage statistics This information helps the system generate responses and maintain the chat session. ### How Chat Data Is Used DigitalOcean uses your chat data for the following purposes: - **Service delivery**: To process your prompts and generate relevant technical answers using large language models (LLMs) - **Service improvement**: To analyze common queries and improve the accuracy, relevance, and performance of AI Assistant - **Safety and security**: To monitor for system abuse, prevent malicious activity, and ensure compliance with our [Acceptable Use Policy](https://www.digitalocean.com/legal/acceptable-use-policy). While we use interactions to tune the AI Assistant experience, we do not use your proprietary data to train foundation models for use by other customers. ### Data Sharing and Subprocessors To provide the AI Assistant experience, DigitalOcean shares your chat inputs with third-party AI model providers (for example, OpenAI or Meta). These providers are contractually prohibited from using your data to train their public models. Where possible, data shared with subprocessors is stripped of sensitive information, such as account-level identifiers. ### Data Retention and Deletion Chat logs and session metadata are retained for a period of 90 days to provide session continuity and for security auditing. Users can delete their chat history at any time by [clearing the conversation](#clear-a-conversation). ### Security and Access Controls DigitalOcean employs the following industry-standard security measures to protect user data: - **Restricted access**: Access to raw chat logs is strictly limited to authorized personnel for the purposes of troubleshooting and system improvement. - **Encryption**: All data is encrypted in transit and at rest according to DigitalOcean’s global security policies. ### User Responsibilities and Sensitive Data While we may use automated filters to obfuscate sensitive credentials, the primary responsibility for data hygiene rests with the user. **Warning**: Do not enter sensitive information, such as API keys, passwords, personally identifiable information (PII), or financial data, into the chat interface. ### Model Usage and Limitations AI Assistant uses experimental technology and may occasionally provide inaccurate, incomplete, or outdated information. Responses are for informational purposes only and do not constitute legal, financial, or professional engineering advice. AI Assistant is a supplement to, and not a substitute for, the official DigitalOcean documentation. Always verify technical configurations against the official docs before implementing them.