Careswitch includes a built-in AI that can answer questions about your agency and get work done for you, so you do not have to dig through menus. You can describe what you need in plain English — like looking up a client, summarizing a caregiver's schedule, or flagging billing problems — and it works using your real workspace data.
There are two ways to use it:
The Assistant — a quick chat panel that lives on the right edge of most screens, for fast back-and-forth.
Command Center — a full page, opened from the left sidebar, built for longer or more involved work. It keeps a history of your past sessions and shows a daily operational briefing about your workspace.
Both the Assistant and Command Center are available to workspace admins. The Assistant panel is desktop-only; Command Center works on any screen size. This guide shows you where to find both, how to use them, and how to keep the AI from making changes you did not intend.
Assistant vs. Command Center at a glance
| Assistant (side panel) | Command Center (full page) |
Where it lives | Right edge of most screens (desktop only) | Command Center in the left sidebar |
Best for | Quick questions and small tasks while you work | Longer, multi-step work and operational briefings |
History | The current chat only; New chat clears it | Past sessions are saved and can be reopened |
Read-only mode | Toggle on or off anytime, even mid-chat | Chosen before you send the first message, then locked for that session |
Making changes | Acts on your messages; no separate confirm dialog | Auto-confirms every action with no undo — preview in read-only first |
Mobile | Not available | Available |
Open the Assistant side panel
On a desktop screen, the Assistant sits collapsed as a small icon on the far right edge of the window. It does not appear on the Command Center page itself, since that is the full-page version of the AI, and it is not shown on phones or tablets.
Look at the far right edge of the screen for the small assistant icon.
Click it to expand the panel. The chat opens with a greeting such as "Hi, [your first name]."
To collapse the panel again, click the Minimize button in the top-left corner of the panel. This tucks it back into the right-edge icon — it does not close it, and your current chat is kept until you start a new one.
Ask the Assistant a question
Open the Assistant panel using the steps above.
If you see suggested prompt buttons under the greeting, click one to get started quickly. These suggestions are context-aware — they change automatically based on the page you are currently viewing, and up to four are shown at a time.
To ask your own question, click into the message box at the bottom and type what you need in plain language.
Click the send button (the up arrow) on the right of the controls row, or press Enter. Use Shift+Enter to add a new line without sending.
The reply appears in the conversation above the message box. While the AI is replying, the send button turns into a Stop button (a square) — click it to halt the response.
Use your voice instead of typing
In the controls row below the message box, click the microphone icon (tooltip: Start voice input).
Your browser asks for permission to use the microphone the first time. If you deny it, voice input will not work and no error is shown, so allow access if you want to use it.
Speak your question or request. While recording, the icon changes to a "mic off" icon (tooltip: Stop recording) so you can tell it is listening.
Click the icon again to stop. Your speech is turned into text and placed in the message box (you may briefly see Processing...).
Review and edit the text if needed, then click send (the up arrow).
Attach a file
In the controls row below the message box, click the paperclip icon (tooltip: Attach files), or drag a file directly onto the message box.
Each attachment appears as a preview above the message box — a thumbnail for images, or a file chip for documents — so you can confirm it was added or remove it before sending.
Add any instructions in the message box, then click send (the up arrow).
Keep the AI from making changes (read-only mode)
By default the AI can both look things up and make changes for you. If you only want it to answer questions and look things up — for example while you are still exploring what it can do — turn on read-only mode.
In the controls row below the message box, find the shield icon (it sits just to the left of the paperclip).
Click it to switch read-only on or off. When read-only is on, the shield turns amber. In this mode the AI can answer questions and look things up, but it will not add, edit, or delete anything. (On wider layouts the shield also shows a Read-only label next to it.)
In the Assistant side panel you can flip read-only on or off at any time, even in the middle of a conversation. Your choice is remembered in your browser and is not reset when you start a new chat — so if you turn it on and later click New chat, the new chat is still read-only until you turn it off. Read-only works differently in Command Center (see below).
Start a fresh chat or save one
To clear the current chat and start over, click the New chat button (the pencil icon) in the top-right of the panel. This appears once your conversation has messages in it. Clearing the chat does not change your read-only setting.
To save a copy of the conversation, click the chevron (down arrow) menu in the top-right of the panel, then click Export. This option also appears once the conversation has messages.
If a conversation gets very long, the panel shows a context-usage indicator, and may suggest starting a Command Center session for longer work. If it fills up, start a New chat to reset.
Open Command Center for bigger tasks
Command Center is the full-page version of the AI, built for longer or more involved work. It keeps a history of your past sessions and shows a daily operational briefing about your workspace.
In the left sidebar, click Command Center.
The page opens with your latest daily briefing (if one is ready) and a message box at the bottom. If no briefing exists yet, you will see: "The latest workspace snapshot will appear here automatically as soon as it is ready. You can still start a Command Center session below."
Type what you want to work on in the message box and click send (the up arrow) to start a new session.
To begin a clean session at any time, click New session in the panel on the left.
Past sessions appear in the same left panel. Click any one to reopen it.
The daily briefing
The briefing at the top of Command Center is an automatically generated, read-only summary of your workspace's operations. You cannot edit or re-run it. You can switch between past days with the date selector, and leave thumbs-up / thumbs-down feedback with a note. To run your own work, start a session in the message box below.
Important: Command Center auto-confirms actions and has no undo
Unlike the side panel, Command Center automatically carries out every action it decides to take, with no confirmation step and no undo. If you ask it to update a client or change a shift, it does so immediately against your live data. There is no "are you sure?" prompt and no way to roll the change back from within the AI.
Because of this, the safe way to explore is to start the session in read-only mode first:
On the Command Center message box, click the shield icon so read-only turns on (amber) before you send your first message.
Send your message. The AI will look things up and tell you what it would do, without changing anything.
Once you are confident, start a New session with read-only off to let it make the changes.
Read-only locks for the whole session. In Command Center, you choose read-only on or off before the first message, and then it is fixed for that session — the shield tooltip warns that you can't change this once the session starts. To switch, you have to start a new session.
Send a message from the side panel to Command Center
If a task you started in the side panel turns out to be bigger than a quick question, you can hand it straight to Command Center without retyping it.
In the Assistant panel's controls row, look for the Assistant / Command Center pills on the left (tooltips: Quick back-and-forth in this panel and More complex work with a Command Center session).
Type your message, choose the Command Center pill, and send. This starts a new Command Center session in the background with your message.
Your read-only setting carries over into the new session — and then locks, as with any Command Center session. Pressing Enter or the send button while Assistant is selected keeps the message in the side panel.
What you can ask for
Both the Assistant and Command Center understand plain language, so describe what you need in your own words. Real examples include:
Looking up a client, caregiver, or shift (for example, "Show me [client]'s upcoming shifts this week").
Summarizing or explaining a client's billing status.
Flagging scheduling risks across your workspace.
Summarizing authorization usage for a client.
Drafting written content, such as intake forms, assessment forms, and care plans
Answering everyday scheduling and operational questions.
The best way to discover what it can do is to read the context-aware suggested prompts on each page and try asking. If you want to explore without risk, turn on read-only mode first.
If you don't see the Assistant or Command Center
Both the Assistant panel and Command Center are available only to people with the workspace admin role who are active in the workspace. There is no separate "AI access" setting to turn on — visibility follows the workspace role. If you do not see them, here is how to get access:
Not a workspace admin? Ask someone who is a workspace admin to update your workspace role to admin. Once your role is updated and your membership is active, the Assistant icon and the Command Center sidebar item will appear.
On a phone or tablet? The Assistant side panel is desktop-only and will not appear. Open Command Center from the sidebar instead — it works on any screen size.
On the Command Center page? The side panel is intentionally hidden there, since Command Center is the full-page version. Navigate to any other page and the right-edge icon returns.
If you are a workspace admin on desktop and still do not see the AI, contact Support at the bottom of the left sidebar.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between the Assistant and Command Center?
The Assistant is a quick chat panel on the right edge of most screens, for fast back-and-forth while you work. Command Center is a full page opened from the left sidebar, built for longer work; it saves your past sessions and shows a daily operational briefing. The Assistant is desktop-only; Command Center works on any screen. They also handle read-only and making changes differently (see below).
Can the AI change my data, or only look things up? How do I stop it from making changes?
By default it can do both. To limit it to looking things up and answering questions, turn on read-only mode with the shield icon in the controls row. When read-only is on, the AI cannot add, edit, or delete anything. In the side panel you can toggle this anytime; in Command Center you choose it before the first message and it locks for the session.
Does Command Center ask me to confirm before it makes a change? Can I undo it?
No. Command Center automatically carries out every action with no confirmation prompt and no undo — changes apply immediately to your live data. To preview safely, start the session in read-only mode first, review what it plans to do, then start a new session with read-only off to make the changes.
Why can't I change read-only after my Command Center session starts?
Read-only is fixed for the lifetime of a Command Center session. You choose it before sending the first message, and after that the control is locked (the shield tooltip warns you can't change this once the session starts). To switch, click New session and set read-only the way you want before sending.
Does the side panel remember my conversations? What happens when I click "New chat"?
The side panel keeps only your current chat. Clicking New chat (the pencil icon) clears it and starts fresh. It does not change your read-only setting — if read-only was on, the new chat is still read-only. To save a conversation before clearing it, use the chevron menu and click Export. (Command Center, by contrast, saves your past sessions so you can reopen them.)
I don't see the Assistant icon or Command Center in the sidebar — how do I get access?
Both require the workspace admin role; there is no separate AI-access setting. Ask a workspace admin to update your workspace role to admin. Also note the side panel is desktop-only and is hidden on the Command Center page — on a phone or tablet, use Command Center from the sidebar instead.
Why don't the suggested prompts I saw on one page show up on another?
Suggested prompts are context-aware and change automatically based on the page you are currently viewing — up to four at a time. They are not something you pick; open the Assistant on a different page and you will see prompts relevant to that page.
How do I attach a file, use my voice, or stop a response?
Use the paperclip icon (or drag a file onto the box) to attach files; previews appear above the message box so you can confirm or remove them. Use the microphone icon to dictate — your browser will ask for mic permission, and the icon changes while recording. While the AI is replying, the send button becomes a Stop (square) button you can click to halt it.