# Conversations & Chat History

This guide explains how to manage conversations in [PromptOwl](https://promptowl.ai), including chat history, memory settings, sharing, and feedback.

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## Table of Contents

1. [Understanding Conversations](#understanding-conversations)
2. [Conversation Sidebar](#conversation-sidebar)
3. [Starting New Conversations](#starting-new-conversations)
4. [Continuing Conversations](#continuing-conversations)
5. [Memory and Context](#memory-and-context)
6. [Sharing Conversations](#sharing-conversations)
7. [Annotations and Feedback](#annotations-and-feedback)
8. [Managing Conversations](#managing-conversations)
9. [Conversation Branching](#conversation-branching)
10. [Best Practices](#best-practices)
11. [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting)

---

## Understanding Conversations

A conversation in PromptOwl is a chat session with an AI prompt. Each conversation:

- Is tied to a specific prompt
- Maintains message history
- Can be named with a topic
- Supports feedback and annotations
- Can be shared with team members

### Conversation Components

| Component | Description |
|-----------|-------------|
| **Topic** | Auto-generated title from first message |
| **Messages** | User questions and AI responses |
| **Metadata** | Model used, timestamps, settings |
| **Annotations** | Feedback and quality ratings |
| **Citations** | Source references (if RAG enabled) |

### Conversation vs Prompt

| Concept | Purpose |
|---------|---------|
| **Prompt** | The AI's instructions and configuration |
| **Conversation** | An instance of chatting with that prompt |

One prompt can have many conversations. Think of prompts as templates and conversations as sessions.

---

## Conversation Sidebar

The sidebar shows your conversation history for the current prompt.

### Accessing the Sidebar

1. Open any prompt in **Use** mode
2. Sidebar appears on the left
3. Toggle with the hamburger menu if collapsed


### Sidebar Elements

| Element | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| **New Chat** | Start a fresh conversation |
| **Search Bar** | Filter conversations by topic |
| **Date Groups** | Today, Yesterday, Last Week, Last Month |
| **Conversation List** | Click to switch conversations |
| **Active Highlight** | Current conversation is highlighted |

### Date Grouping

Conversations are organized by recency:

- **Today**: Conversations from today
- **Yesterday**: From yesterday
- **Last Week**: Within the past 7 days
- **Last Month**: Within the past 30 days

### Search Conversations

1. Type in the search bar
2. Results filter in real-time
3. Matches against conversation topics
4. Clear search to show all

---

## Starting New Conversations

### Creating a New Chat

1. Click **New Chat** button in sidebar
2. Or navigate to the prompt's use page fresh
3. Type your first message
4. Conversation is created automatically


### Automatic Topic Generation

When you send your first message:

1. AI generates a 3-word topic summary
2. Topic appears in sidebar
3. You can rename it later (hover and click edit)

**Examples:**
- "Help with Python code" → "Python Code Help"
- "What's the weather today?" → "Weather Query Today"

### What Gets Saved

When a conversation starts, PromptOwl records:

- The prompt being used
- Your user account
- Model and settings at the time
- All messages exchanged
- Timestamps for each message

---

## Continuing Conversations

### Resuming a Conversation

1. Find the conversation in sidebar
2. Click on it
3. Full history loads in chat area
4. Type new message to continue

### Conversation Context

The AI remembers previous messages in the conversation:

| What AI Remembers | What AI Doesn't Remember |
|-------------------|-------------------------|
| All messages in current chat | Other conversations |
| Your questions and its responses | Conversations with other prompts |
| Context from earlier in thread | Information from before chat started |

### Long Conversations

For lengthy conversations:

- Scroll up to see history
- AI maintains context throughout
- Very long threads may truncate context (model limits)
- Consider starting fresh for new topics

---

## Memory and Context

### What is Memory?

Memories are persistent context snippets that get injected into your conversations automatically. Unlike conversation history (which is per-chat), memories persist across all conversations.

### Memory Categories

| Category | Example Content |
|----------|-----------------|
| **Preferences** | "I prefer concise answers" |
| **Personal** | "My name is John" |
| **Professional** | "I work in marketing" |
| **Technical** | "I use Python 3.11" |
| **Schedule** | "I'm in EST timezone" |
| **Prompt Specific** | Context for specific prompt |

### Enabling Memory

1. Open a prompt's settings
2. Find **Memory** toggle
3. Enable to include memories in conversations


### Managing Memories

1. Click the **Memory** tab in the chat sidebar
2. View all your memories
3. Add new memories
4. Edit or delete existing ones
5. Tag memories for organization

### Memory Questions

Some memories include questions that prompt you for information:

1. First time using a memory-enabled prompt
2. Modal appears with questions
3. Answer the questions
4. Answers are stored and used in conversations

### How Memory Affects Conversations

When memory is enabled:

```
User sends message →
System retrieves relevant memories →
Memories added to AI context →
AI responds with memory context
```

---

## Sharing Conversations

Share valuable conversations with colleagues.

### Sharing a Conversation

1. Find conversation in sidebar
2. Right-click or click menu icon
3. Select **Share**
4. Enter email addresses or select teams
5. Click **Share**


### Share Requirements

| Requirement | Description |
|-------------|-------------|
| **Prompt Access** | Recipients need access to the prompt |
| **Auto-Sharing** | Prompt is shared if recipient doesn't have it |
| **Permission** | Only conversation owner can share |

### Shared Conversation Indicators

| Indicator | Meaning |
|-----------|---------|
| "Shared by: email@example.com" | Someone shared this with you |
| Share count badge | Number of people with access |

### Viewing Shared Conversations

Shared conversations appear in your sidebar like your own, but show who shared them.

---

## Annotations and Feedback

Provide feedback on AI responses to improve quality.

### Response-Level Feedback

For individual AI responses:

1. Find the response in chat
2. Click **thumbs up** (good) or **thumbs down** (bad)
3. Optionally add text feedback
4. Feedback is saved immediately


### Conversation-Level Feedback

For the overall conversation quality:

1. Click **Annotate Conversation** button
2. Select overall sentiment (good/bad)
3. Add detailed feedback text (max 2000 chars)
4. Click **Save**

### Sentiment Options

| Sentiment | Icon | When to Use |
|-----------|------|-------------|
| **Good** | Thumbs up | AI was helpful and accurate |
| **Bad** | Thumbs down | AI was unhelpful or wrong |
| **Neutral** | No icon | No strong opinion |

### Where Feedback Goes

Your annotations are used for:

- **Monitor Dashboard**: Review feedback across conversations
- **Evaluation Sets**: Create training datasets from feedback
- **Prompt Improvement**: Identify patterns in negative feedback
- **Quality Metrics**: Track satisfaction over time

For more on using feedback, see [Monitoring, Evaluation, and Improvement](https://nest.promptowl.ai/d/promptowl-documents/platform/enterprise/monitoring-evaluation).

---

## Managing Conversations

### Renaming Conversations

1. Hover over conversation in sidebar
2. Click the **edit icon**
3. Enter new topic name
4. Press Enter or click away to save

### Deleting Conversations

1. Hover over conversation in sidebar
2. Click the **trash icon**
3. Confirm deletion in dialog
4. Conversation is removed

> **Note**: Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.


### Conversation Metadata

Each conversation tracks:

| Metadata | Description |
|----------|-------------|
| **Created At** | When conversation started |
| **Updated At** | Last message timestamp |
| **Model** | AI model used |
| **Provider** | LLM provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.) |
| **Prompt Version** | Which version of prompt was active |

---

## Conversation Branching

PromptOwl supports conversation branching, allowing different model responses to the same question.

### What is Branching?

When you switch models mid-conversation:

1. Same question can be answered by different models
2. Each model's response creates a "branch"
3. You can switch between branches to compare

### Viewing Branches

1. Look for model indicator on responses
2. If multiple models answered, you can toggle between them
3. Each branch maintains its own thread

### When to Use Branching

- Comparing model capabilities
- Getting a second opinion from different AI
- Testing prompt performance across models

---

## Best Practices

### Conversation Management

**Do:**
- Use descriptive first messages (better auto-topics)
- Delete conversations you no longer need
- Add feedback to help improve the AI
- Share valuable conversations with your team

**Don't:**
- Keep hundreds of old conversations
- Start new chats for follow-up questions
- Forget to rename important conversations
- Skip providing feedback on poor responses

### Memory Usage

**Do:**
- Add memories for frequently needed context
- Use categories to organize memories
- Update memories when information changes
- Enable memory for prompts that benefit from personalization

**Don't:**
- Add sensitive information to memories
- Create duplicate memories
- Enable memory if you need stateless interactions
- Forget that memories affect all conversations

### Feedback Best Practices

**Do:**
- Provide specific feedback text, not just thumbs
- Note what was wrong in bad responses
- Highlight what was helpful in good responses
- Review feedback patterns to improve prompts

### Sharing Guidelines

- Only share conversations that are helpful to others
- Ensure recipients have appropriate prompt access
- Consider privacy when sharing customer-related chats
- Use team sharing for group access

---

## Troubleshooting

### Conversation Not Saving

1. Check internet connection
2. Refresh the page
3. Verify you're logged in
4. Try sending another message
5. Check for error messages

### Can't Find a Conversation

1. Check all date groups (scroll down)
2. Use search to filter by topic
3. Verify you're in the correct prompt
4. Check if conversation was shared (look in shared section)
5. Conversation may have been deleted

### Memory Not Working

1. Verify memory is enabled on the prompt
2. Check you have memories created
3. Ensure memories aren't empty
4. Try removing and re-enabling memory
5. Memories may need relevant keywords to activate

### Feedback Not Appearing

1. Ensure you clicked save after annotating
2. Refresh the page
3. Check in Monitor dashboard for feedback
4. Verify you have edit permissions
5. Feedback may take a moment to sync

### Shared Conversation Not Visible

1. Ask sender to verify sharing
2. Ensure you have prompt access
3. Refresh your conversation list
4. Check your email for correct sharing
5. May take a moment to appear

### Model Branching Issues

1. Branches only work if same prompt used
2. Ensure multiple models are enabled
3. Check enterprise settings allow model switching
4. Branches maintain separate context

---

## Quick Reference

### Keyboard Shortcuts

| Action | Shortcut |
|--------|----------|
| Send message | Enter |
| New line | Shift + Enter |
| New chat | Click button (no shortcut) |

### Conversation Limits

| Limit | Value |
|-------|-------|
| Topic length | ~50 characters |
| Annotation text | 2,000 characters |
| Message length | Varies by model |
| History retention | Unlimited |

### Status Indicators

| Indicator | Meaning |
|-----------|---------|
| Highlighted row | Active conversation |
| "Shared by" text | Someone shared this with you |
| Thumbs icon | Feedback has been provided |

---

## Related Guides

- [Editing and Maintaining Prompts](https://nest.promptowl.ai/d/promptowl-documents/platform/enterprise/editing-maintaining-prompts)
- [Reviewing and Managing Annotations](https://nest.promptowl.ai/d/promptowl-documents/platform/enterprise/reviewing-managing-annotations)
- [Monitoring, Evaluation, and Improvement](https://nest.promptowl.ai/d/promptowl-documents/platform/enterprise/monitoring-evaluation)