# Quick Start

!!!info Prerequisites
Sunrise Business AI Assistant runs on the Sunrise AI Model Service. An active, fully provisioned **Base LLM API** subscription is required before you can provision a Sunrise Business AI Assistant instance.

You do not need to create an API key yourself: the platform creates one on your Base LLM API and attaches it during provisioning. See [Provision Sunrise Business AI Assistant](../provision-sunrise-chat/index.md).
!!!

### 1. Access to Sunrise Business AI Assistant

Access to Sunrise Business AI Assistant starts with a subscription, either through your company or one you purchase yourself. We offer a free **Evaluation plan** and a **Chat Dedicated plan** ([compare them](../subscriptions/index.md)).

If your company already has a paid Sunrise Business AI Assistant subscription, your administrator has added you as a user and shared your access URL (e.g., `chat.your-company.ch`). Paid plans include enterprise SSO with the option to login with your custom company identity provider or choose the ones we have out of the box. You never type a password into Sunrise Business AI Assistant; your identity provider stays in charge.

**If you are buying a Sunrise Business AI Assistant subscription for the first time**, make sure your Base LLM API subscription is active and fully provisioned first. See [Provision Sunrise Business AI Assistant](../provision-sunrise-chat/index.md) for the full procedure.

The features available to you depend on the plan your company has subscribed to.

### 2. Get oriented

*Before you start, take a quick tour of the Sunrise Business AI Assistant interface, six main areas you'll use most.*

<p style="text-align: center; font-style: italic; color: #666; margin-bottom: 2.5rem;">Sunrise Business AI Assistant Interface</p>

*Use the table below to learn how to navigate the chat interface.*

| Navigation Component | Purpose |
| :--- | :--- |
| **1.** &nbsp; <span style="display:inline-block;padding:0.25em 0.7em;border:1.5px solid #1aadca;color:#1aadca;background:transparent;border-radius:0.375rem;font-size:0.9em;font-weight:600;white-space:nowrap;">Sidebar (left)</span> | Your private conversation history, sorted by most recent, with search and account and personalisation settings. |
| **2.** &nbsp; <span style="display:inline-block;padding:0.25em 0.7em;border:1.5px solid #1aadca;color:#1aadca;background:transparent;border-radius:0.375rem;font-size:0.9em;font-weight:600;white-space:nowrap;">Sidebar (right)</span> | Agent builder, saved prompts, model parameters, knowledge files (RAG), bookmarks, and MCP/tools connection settings. |
| **3.** &nbsp; <span style="display:inline-block;padding:0.25em 0.7em;border:1.5px solid #1aadca;color:#1aadca;background:transparent;border-radius:0.375rem;font-size:0.9em;font-weight:600;white-space:nowrap;">Conversation area</span> | Where messages, citations, code, and file outputs render. |
| **4.** &nbsp; <span style="display:inline-block;padding:0.25em 0.7em;border:1.5px solid #1aadca;color:#1aadca;background:transparent;border-radius:0.375rem;font-size:0.9em;font-weight:600;white-space:nowrap;">Input field</span> | Where you type, dictate, or attach files and images to send to the AI assistant or model. |
| **5.** &nbsp; <span style="display:inline-block;padding:0.25em 0.7em;border:1.5px solid #1aadca;color:#1aadca;background:transparent;border-radius:0.375rem;font-size:0.9em;font-weight:600;white-space:nowrap;">Model and agent selector</span> | Switch models and agents anytime, even mid-conversation. |
| **6.** &nbsp; <span style="display:inline-block;padding:0.25em 0.7em;border:1.5px solid #1aadca;color:#1aadca;background:transparent;border-radius:0.375rem;font-size:0.9em;font-weight:600;white-space:nowrap;">Toolbar</span> | Enable capabilities for the assistant: file search, transcription, web search, code interpreter, artifacts, and MCP connectors. |

### 3. Have your first conversation

Click the **"New chat"** icon and try writing a real prompt based on the task you want to solve. Strong prompts give the AI assistant four things: a **role** to take, **context** about the situation, the **task** to complete, and the **format** of the answer. For example:

*"You're a legal counsel at a Swiss SaaS company. Draft a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) between our company and an enterprise customer, compliant with the Swiss Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) and aligned with EU GDPR Article 28. Cover the standard sections, purpose of processing, categories of data, sub-processors, security measures, data subject rights, and breach notification, and reply in clean clause-numbered format ready for legal review."*

Each piece of that prompt does work:

- **Role**, "a senior legal counsel" sets the expertise and perspective
- **Context**, "a Swiss SaaS company… compliant with the FADP and aligned with GDPR Article 28" anchors the answer in the right legal framework
- **Task**, "Draft a Data Processing Agreement covering the standard sections" tells the assistant exactly what to produce, with a clear scope
- **Format**, "clean clause-numbered format ready for legal review" defines the shape and the audience for the output

The response streams in as the assistant works. You can edit your message to refine and retry, copy the answer, share the conversation with a colleague, or keep asking follow-ups.

!!!tip
The more specific the role and context, the sharper the answer. Vague prompts produce vague replies.
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### 4. Upload a document and ask questions

Click the 📎 **"Upload"** icon or drag a file straight into the conversation area. Sunrise Business AI Assistant handles text, image, and audio file uploads.

This is the simplest approach; however, for text file uploads, two file search modes are available:

| Mode | When to use | How it works |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| <span style="display:inline-block;padding:0.25em 0.7em;border:1.5px solid #1aadca;color:#1aadca;background:transparent;border-radius:0.375rem;font-size:0.9em;font-weight:600;white-space:nowrap;">Mini-RAG</span> | Quick Q&A on files uploaded during a single conversation. | Attach up to 10 files directly during the conversation and start asking questions. |
| [!badge size="l" variant="primary" text="Persistent Knowledge Base"] | Building a reusable knowledge base of uploaded files for repeated reference across chats. | Create an assistant from the right sidebar, enable the File Search option there, and upload up to 10 files the assistant can use. |

Try asking the assistant:

*"Analyse the attached 'Cloud AI Services Agreement' under FINMA outsourcing rules and identify the three highest-risk clauses our legal team should examine. Reply as a numbered list with one sentence per clause explaining why a lawyer should review it."*

### 5. Switch the model

Open the **"Model selector"** and pick the right model for what you want to achieve.

When to switch:

- Quick question or everyday task? → **Chat model**
- Long document or large amounts of input? → **Chat model** with a longer context window
- Complex problem requiring step-by-step thinking? → **Reasoning model**
- You want to analyse images? → **Multimodal model**

*Not sure which to pick? Sunrise Business AI Assistant surfaces a [catalogue of recommended models](../../../maas/active-models.md) helping you pick the right model for your task.*

!!!tip
The model's context window is shown in the referenced documentation. For very long inputs, pick a model with a higher context window.
!!!

### What's next:

- **Need your own instance?** → [Provision Sunrise Business AI Assistant](../provision-sunrise-chat/index.md)

- **First-time user?** → [Build Your First AI Assistant](../../agents/build-your-first-ai-assistant.md)

- **Ready to automate?** → [Connect MCP Tools](../connect-mcp-tools/index.md)