1
Point Ari at the number
Right-click the cell and choose Mention cell in chat, or select the cell and press ⌘ L (Ctrl L on Windows and Linux). The cell appears as a chip in the message box of the chat you have open.To ask about more than one cell, mention a larger part:
- A row or column: right-click its label and choose Mention in chat.
- A whole table: open its block menu and choose Mention table in chat.
- A Page: select Mention page in chat on the Page’s row in the sidebar.
2
Ask your question
Type your question after the chip and send it. For example:
Where does this number come from? Show me the formula and the source.
Why did this move so much from March to April?
Which source rows make up this number?
3
Check the answer on the Page
Ari answers in the chat and can open the rows behind a total on your screen, the same as clicking a row’s arrow. Opening rows this way does not change the saved table.
Investigate an unexpected change
When a cost or a revenue line jumps, ask Ari to break the change down and look for the cause:Why did software spend increase last month? Break the change down by vendor and tell me whether any new contract explains it.Ari compares the periods, splits the change by the category you named, and points to the source records behind the largest pieces.
Ask where an assumption came from
An assumption is an input Ari or someone else chose, such as a 35% benefits load or a 5% monthly churn rate. Mention the cell that holds it, or name it, and ask:Where did the 35% fringe rate come from?
List every assumption behind this forecast, where each one came from, and which ones you estimated.Ari says whether each one came from your connected data, a file, something you told it, a public source, or its own estimate. It labels its estimates as assumptions, so you know which ones to replace with your own numbers. To replace one, tell Ari the right value and why.
See what a number feeds into
cfo.ai has no “trace dependents” button. To see what uses a number, ask Ari:What depends on Headcount? List the formulas, tables, and Pages that read it.Ari lists the formulas, tables, and blocks that read the Variable. Do this before you change or delete an input you are not sure about.
Get an answer without changing the Model
Say so in your message:Explain why gross margin fell in March. Don’t change anything.Ari reads what the Model already holds and answers. If the answer needs a calculation the Model does not have yet, Ari tells you what it would have to add. To let it add the calculation without touching your plan, ask it to work in a Scenario:
Create a Scenario called Analysis, add gross margin by product there, and show me the result without changing Main.To have Ari check a formula before it saves anything, ask it to draft the formula and validate it. A check confirms the formula is valid but does not calculate values, because only saved formulas calculate. See Have Ari write, change, or explain formulas.
Check a number yourself
- To see a cell’s formula, right-click the cell and choose Edit formula. Closing the editor without saving changes nothing.
- To see the rows that make up a total, see Break a number down.
- To see a quick total, select several cells: a bar shows their Count, Sum, and Avg.
- To see who changed a number and when, open version history. See Undo a change or restore an earlier version.