Get started
| Prompt | What you get |
|---|---|
| ”What can you build for me?” | A short list of what Ari can do with your workspace as it stands, and what to connect or describe first. |
| ”We sell [product] to [customers] for about [price]. We have [N] employees and about [$X] in the bank. Build a 12-month model so I can see how long our cash lasts.” | A first Model built from your description, with every number you did not give labeled as an assumption. |
| ”Connect QuickBooks Online so we can build a monthly profit and loss statement.” | A card that opens the connection’s sign-in for you to approve. Ari cannot sign in for you. |
| ”Rebuild this spreadsheet in cfo.ai.” (with the workbook attached) | Your workbook’s structure, names, and numbers rebuilt as Pages, Variables, and formulas, with a note on anything Ari could not carry over. |
| ”Does this tie to my workbook?” (with the workbook attached) | With the built-in Model migration tie-out Skill turned on, a tie-out Page that compares your Model with the workbook and explains every difference. |
| ”Walk me through this Page.” | An explanation of what the Page you have open shows and how its numbers connect. |
| ”What should I build next?” | Suggestions based on what your Model has and lacks, such as headcount from payroll or pricing detail. |
| ”How do I connect payroll?” | The steps for your payroll system, from these docs, and an offer to start the connection. |
| ”How can you help me understand where our cash goes?” | A plan for what to build or connect to answer that, such as expenses by vendor and department. |
| ”Add a chart showing the last 12 months of revenue above this table.” | A chart placed on the Page you have open. |
Understand a number
| Prompt | What you get |
|---|---|
| ”Where does this number come from? Show me the formula and the source.” (with the cell added through Mention cell in chat) | The formula behind the cell and where its inputs came from: your data, a file, something you said, or an estimate. |
| ”Why did this move so much from March to April?” | The change broken down into what drove it. |
| ”Which source rows make up this number?” | The rows from your connected data behind the value. |
| ”Where did the [35% fringe rate] come from?” | The source of that assumption, or a note that Ari estimated it. |
| ”List every assumption behind this forecast and which ones you estimated.” | Each assumption with its source, estimates marked. |
| ”What depends on [Headcount]? List the formulas, tables, and Pages that read it.” | Everything in the Model that reads the Variable. |
| ”List every Variable and Dimension in the Model.” | The full list, including ones no table shows. |
| ”Which formula applies to this cell?” | The formula that calculates the cell, and why that one applies there. |
| ”Why is this row blank?” | The reason the value does not calculate, such as a missing mapping or a formula that does not cover that period. |
| ”Explain why gross margin fell in March. Don’t change anything.” | An answer from what the Model already holds, with nothing changed. |
Forecast and plan
| Prompt | What you get |
|---|---|
| ”Build a 12-month revenue forecast by customer segment. Use our history where we have it and label any assumptions.” | The Variables, Dimensions, and formulas behind the forecast, each assumption named so you can change it. |
| ”Build out our forecast. Calculate revenue from [new customers, pricing, and churn] and costs from [headcount and our biggest vendors].” | A forecast driven by the inputs you named, placed where you can see and change them. |
| ”Build a headcount plan by department with loaded payroll cost.” | Employees and departments, compensation, start dates, and planned hires over time. |
| ”Build a P&L, balance sheet, and cash flow statement that tie together.” | A linked set of statements built from your Model and accounting data, with assumptions disclosed. |
| ”Forecast monthly cash for the next 18 months and show when cash falls below six months of operating expenses.” | A cash forecast with the month the threshold is crossed. |
| ”Add average contract value to the model.” | A new Variable for average contract value, with its formula, that the rest of the Model can use. |
| ”Break revenue out by region.” | A Dimension applied to Revenue, so it calculates for each region and adds up to the total. |
| ”Write a formula for [gross margin] and check it, but don’t save it yet.” | A check of the formula’s syntax and references, with nothing saved and no values calculated. |
Test a decision
| Prompt | What you get |
|---|---|
| ”Can we hire three engineers in September? Build a hiring Scenario and show the effect on payroll, cash, and cash runway.” | A Scenario with the hires modeled and their effect on each number. |
| ”Create a Hiring Freeze Scenario, pause new hires through December, and compare payroll and ending cash with Main.” | A Scenario and a side-by-side comparison with Main. |
| ”What’s different between this Scenario and Main?” | A summary of what the Scenario changed. |
| ”Is this Scenario ready to merge into Main? Let me confirm before you merge.” | What merging would change, and a Merge button you press yourself. |
| ”Review my Model without changing it. Which assumptions look weakest compared with our history?” | A review of weak or missing pieces, with nothing changed. |
Review the month
| Prompt | What you get |
|---|---|
| ”Compare last month’s Actuals with the Forecast and explain the three biggest differences.” | The variances and what caused them. |
| ”Compare last month’s operating expenses with our budget by department. Explain the five largest differences.” | A budget-versus-actuals breakdown by department. |
| ”Why did software spend increase last month? Break the change down by vendor and tell me whether any new contract explains it.” | The breakdown, the largest contributors, and the records behind them. |
| ”Update the assumptions behind those differences and show me each change.” | The changed assumptions, listed. |
| ”Check my model before the board sees it.” | A review of formulas, mappings, statements, and ties to your books. With the built-in Model audit Skill turned on, Ari also writes a short audit Page; see Turn on a built-in Skill. |
| ”Where are we this month?” | With the built-in Flash report Skill turned on, a read of the current month before the books close, with actuals, commitments, and estimates kept apart. |
Choose the right visual
Ari builds charts and other visuals as Canvas blocks on a Page. Name the shape you want: “show me revenue” leaves the shape to Ari, and “show me revenue by month as a line” does not.| When your question is | Ask Ari for |
|---|---|
| How has this moved over time? | A line chart |
| How do these categories compare? | A bar chart |
| How much accumulated, and when? | An area chart |
| What is this total made of, month by month? | A stacked bar or stacked area chart |
| Is our mix shifting, whatever the size? | A 100% stacked chart |
| What was the split in one period? | A pie or donut chart |
| Where do we lose people between stages? | A funnel chart |
| What explains the change from A to B? | A waterfall chart |
| How does a total compare with a rate? | A combo chart, with bars and a line |
| How close are we to a target? | A gauge, or a scorecard with a change figure |
| What are the few numbers I check every day? | A scorecard grid |
| What if this assumption changed? | A chart with a control, such as a slider |
| I need the actual numbers in rows and columns | A Table block, not a chart |
Build charts and visuals
| Prompt | What you get |
|---|---|
| ”Show me revenue by month as a line.” | A line chart of Revenue across months, in the Scenario you are viewing. |
| ”Plot revenue and expenses on the same chart.” | One chart with two series and a shared time axis. |
| ”Show revenue as bars with gross margin percent as a line.” | A combo chart, revenue on one scale and margin on its own. |
| ”Show our revenue mix as stacked bars by customer segment.” | Each segment as its own series, stacking to the total. |
| ”Same chart, but show each segment as a share of the total.” | A 100% stacked chart, so the mix shows even while the total grows. |
| ”What was our revenue split by region last quarter?” | A pie or donut chart for that one period. |
| ”Build a waterfall explaining the change in revenue from Q1 to Q2.” | The opening total, the changes that moved it in order, and the closing total. |
| ”Show our sales funnel from lead to closed won.” | A funnel with each stage’s volume, in order. |
| ”Give me a row of our five key numbers with change since last month.” | A scorecard grid, each figure with its own change. |
| ”Put a slider on this so I can try different hiring dates.” | A control wired to that assumption, with the result updating as you move it. |
| ”Build a board summary Page with our five key numbers, a cash runway gauge, and a slider for hiring dates.” | A Page of Canvas blocks built from live Model data. |
- A pie or donut chart shows one period. For a mix over time, ask for stacked bars or a stacked area chart.
- A waterfall bridges two totals with the changes between them. For the totals themselves, ask for bars.
- A change figure is colored by what it means for the business, not by its sign, so a cost under plan reads as good news.
- A visual reads your Model and never writes to it. Moving a slider previews a result without changing a saved assumption. To change the Model, ask Ari to update the assumption, or edit the value in a Table block.
Change a visual or its period
| Prompt | What you get |
|---|---|
| ”Make that quarterly instead of monthly.” | The chart recalculated by quarter. You can ask for daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or yearly. |
| ”Only show the last 12 months.” | The window narrowed and the values recalculated for it. |
| ”Drop the time axis and show the total by product.” | A chart of categories with no date axis. |
| ”Start the axis at zero.” | Fixed axis bounds. |
| ”Format the axis in thousands and label it.” | Shorter axis labels and a title; the values themselves stay exact. |
| ”Show the value on each bar.” | A label with each bar’s value. |
| ”Turn that line chart into stacked bars.” | The same data redrawn in the new shape. |
| ”Narrow that chart to enterprise customers only.” | The same chart updated in place, not a second chart. |
| ”Change the title of this chart.” | The title updated, with the data left alone. |
| ”Move the cash chart above the expense table.” | The block moved on the Page. |
| ”I need the actual numbers behind this chart.” | A Table block with the values in rows and columns. |
| ”Show this side by side for Main and the Downside Scenario.” | A Table block with Scenario comparison columns. |
Share and report
| Prompt | What you get |
|---|---|
| ”Prepare a board-reporting Page with revenue, gross margin, cash, headcount, and the largest changes since last quarter.” | A reporting Page built from live Model data. |
| ”Create a view-only link to the Board summary Page.” | A read-only link’s address. See Share a Page outside your workspace. |
| ”Export this Page to Excel.” | A workbook of the Page as a download card in the chat. See Download a Page as a spreadsheet. |
| ”Invite [name@company.com] to the workspace.” | An invitation to that person. See Invite or remove teammates. |
| ”Make this workspace look like [our website].” | A workspace brand with your colors, typeface, and logo. See Brand your workspace. |
| ”Build a Guide walking a new analyst through this Page.” | A saved Guide whose steps point at specific blocks, rows, or cells. See Walk someone through a Page with a Guide. |
Automate recurring work
| Prompt | What you get |
|---|---|
| ”Every Monday at 8am [your time zone], summarize last week’s cash in and out and flag any unusual expense. Send it to my Slack direct messages.” | A Trigger on that schedule that sends you the result. See Schedule a recurring report with a Trigger. |
| ”On the 5th of every month, compare last month’s Actuals with the Forecast and explain the three biggest differences.” | A monthly Trigger with that review. |
| ”List my Triggers.” | Your saved Triggers with their names and schedules. |
| ”Save this as our monthly close review.” | A Skill with when it applies and the steps to follow, which Ari uses next time. See Save a workflow as a Skill. |
| ”Here is what I still do by hand each month: [list]. Which of these can you do as a Skill or a Trigger? Set up the first one.” | A recommendation and the first Skill or Trigger set up. |
Teach Ari
| Prompt | What you get |
|---|---|
| ”Remember that I prefer ending cash shown in thousands.” | A fact saved in your own memory. |
| ”For the whole workspace, remember that our fiscal year starts in February.” | A fact saved for everyone in the workspace. |
| ”What do you remember about me?” | The facts Ari saved for you. |
| ”Forget that I prefer quarters.” | That fact removed. |