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Gainsight Inc.

Copilot Best Practices and Known Limitations

This document outlines the best practices for using Gainsight Copilot effectively and highlights current known limitations. It is intended for Gainsight administrators and experienced users who configure or actively use Copilot capabilities.

This document outlines the best practices for using Gainsight Copilot effectively and highlights current known limitations. It is intended for Gainsight administrators and experienced users who configure or actively use Copilot capabilities.

Overview

Gainsight Copilot empowers users to extract insights and automate analysis through intelligent queries. This document provides best practices to optimize Copilot usage and outlines current feature limitations to ensure effective and accurate use.

Best Practices for Creating Key Definitions

Key Definitions guide how Copilot understands and responds to user queries. To ensure accurate, consistent responses, follow these best practices when creating or editing a Key Definition.

Create Effective Key Definitions

Key Definitions help Copilot interpret user queries and deliver accurate responses. Follow these guidelines to create high-quality Key Definitions:

Use Clear and Descriptive Names

  • Avoid acronyms or internal jargon.
  • Choose names that reflect business intent clearly. Example: “Renewals in Next 90 Days".

Write Specific Intent-Driven Descriptions

  • Describe the scope, logic, and purpose.
  • Avoid vague or overly generic descriptions.

Example

  • Name: At-Risk Renewals (Next 90 Days)
  • Description: Includes companies with renewal dates in the next 90 days, flagged as "at risk" based on health scores.

Validate Using the Output Section (for Data type Key Definitions only)

  • Review the Output tab to confirm the definition is returning correct results.
  • Adjust filters and logic as needed.

Validate Using the Output Section for Data type Key Definitions only

Note: Copilot displays a maximum of 2000 records in the output preview.

Leverage Existing Definitions

  • Only supported objects can be used in Key Definitions. Using unsupported objects generates an error.
    Only supported objects can be used in Key Definitions. Using unsupported objects generates an error

  • Copilot refers to related Key Definitions while processing queries.
  • Ensure consistency across all Key Definitions created using the same object. 

Copilot evaluates multiple related Key Definitions and selects the most relevant ones based on the query context.

Format Queries for Better Results

Use Structured Format: Prefer structured conditions with supported filters.

Correct Format Example

List CTAs where:

  • Type is Product Investment Request
  • Status is one of: Submitted to Product, New, WIP, Stalled
  • Owner is ABC XYZ

Incorrect Format Example

  • Using OR conditions or unsupported logic like Owner = ABC XYZ OR Is Important = Yes

Follow Naming Conventions for Entities

  • Use single quotes around entity names.
  • Specify the entity type clearly.

Example: Summarize 'Enterprise Support Risk' CTA. Include associated tasks and summaries.

Use Clear and Actionable Prompts 

For example: Summarize all available information on the 'Q4 Renewal Risk' CTA including all open tasks.

Retry Queries if Results are Inaccurate

If the response is incorrect, try rephrasing your query in a new chat.

Timeline Query 

Copilot analyzes only the 50 most recent Timeline entries.

Best Practices

  • Use account-specific queries for better accuracy.
  • Avoid broad cross-account queries as they return incomplete results due to the 50-entry timeline limit.
  • Use time filters on CTAs, Success Plans, and Tasks with caution. Copilot does not fully support filtering across these objects in all configurations or object types.

Supported Query Types:

  • Structured (tabular data)
  • Unstructured (account-level)

Not Fully Supported:

  • Cross-account queries with large data volume
  • Views created by users in CTA or Success Plans
  • Playbooks and Gantt charts

Do’s and Don’ts for Key Definitions

Do Don’t 
Use clear business terminology Use internal acronyms that are not easily recognizable to users
Be descriptive and specific Leave descriptions vague and generic 
Include intent in the description Provide clear, business-relevant descriptions with intent and logic (required field)
Match how users naturally ask questions Use overly technical terms unless commonly used

Examples of Good Practice

Field Good Example Why It Works
Name Backlog CTAs Clearly communicates that the definition is focused on overdue CTAs.
Description Backlog CTAs are all open Call to Actions that have passed their due date and are not yet closed. They help users track overdue work and ensure timely follow-ups. Provides clear criteria of open and past due and explains the business value by tracking overdue actions for better follow-through.

Structured versus Unstructured Query Support

Copilot supports different types of Timeline queries depending on how the question is structured and the scope of analysis.

Query Type Description Example Support
Structured Copilot returns tabular data with specific fields How many activities were there for company A? Supported
Unstructured (Account-Level) Analyzes note content and standard/custom fields for one account From my last EBR activity for ‘Acme Corp’, summarize goals. Supported
Unstructured (Cross-Account) Queries across multiple accounts or activities Summarize business goals across all EBR activities. Supported (limited to last 50 entries; results are often incomplete)

Note: Cross-account queries are supported but often return incomplete results due to the Timeline Agent’s 50-entry limit. Use account-level queries whenever possible for accuracy.

Known Limitations

Copilot currently has the following restrictions:

Area Limitation
Key Definitions OR conditions not supported
Unsupported Objects in Key Definitions Result in error, only supported Gainsight objects can be used
Query Volume Max 2000 records returned in Output
Timeline Analysis Limited to 50 most recent entries
CTA and Success Plan Views User-created views are not queryable
Gantt Charts Cannot analyze Success Plan Gantt Charts
Playbooks Cannot analyze Playbook content

Tips to Optimize your Copilot Experience

  • Preview data before applying Key Definitions to ensure alignment with business expectations.
  • Be clear and specific when writing queries.
  • Use action-oriented prompts such as Summarize, List, or Explain.
  • Avoid using vague or generic language.
  • Use terminology that matches how users naturally ask questions.

Copilot Best Practices

To harness the full potential of Copilot and ensure a seamless, productive experience, it’s crucial to follow certain best practices. This section provides a comprehensive understanding of how to effectively interact with Copilot. By offering clear context, leveraging sample queries, using follow-up prompts effectively, and managing sessions efficiently, users can enhance the accuracy and relevance of the AI's responses. These practices not only improve user experience but also maximize the AI’s capabilities, leading to more insightful and actionable outcomes.

  • Provide Clear Context: Always specify the full name of Company or User while writing the query. The Copilot's Natural Language Processing (NLP) engine parses user input to determine the context. Clear context helps the engine to direct the query appropriately.
    • Example
      • Global Query: Show me the overall customer feedback for the last quarter.
      • Specific Company Query: What was the customer sentiment for Company X in the last month?
  • Follow-Up Effectively: For optimal performance, queries should ideally involve only one service. While multiple services can be utilized, breaking down the query into sequential, single-service queries is recommended In case a query requires multiple services asked in steps one at a time as follow up questions . Follow-up questions help to dig deeper into the initial query results, providing more detailed insights.
    • Example
      • Initial Query: What were the main issues raised by Company X in the last quarter.
      • Follow-Up Prompt: Can you provide more details on the issue related to product delivery?
  • Understand the subtle differences between each service. Copilot may sometimes select an incorrect service for borderline queries. For example:
    • Query: "What are CTAs?" This might be directed to the Brainstorming Assist instead of the Product Documentation Assist.
  • Queries such as "summarize my last three meetings" apply a user filter. 
  • Tip: When asking a question about a specific entity such as a Company, Relationship, Success Plan, CTA, or Task follow these for best results:
    • Use single quotes around the entity’s exact name
    • Clearly mention the entity type
      Example: Summarize 'New CS Project - Assign Sheet' CTA. Don’t miss out on any information.

When asking a question about a specific entity