ClearBox Intelligence is the AI panel docked on the right of every Forecast, Report, and Cash Planning page. Inside a forecast it works two ways:
- Build mode - the AI drafts the forecast for you: it interviews you, reads your history, and proposes the assumptions, drivers, and schedules.
- Maintenance chat - the AI answers questions and makes targeted changes to a forecast that already exists.
Both happen in the same chat panel. Build mode is a toggle, so you move between drafting and refining without leaving the workspace.
Start a forecast with AI
- Create a new forecast and choose Generate with AI instead of Start blank.
- Name the forecast, confirm the period range, and create it.
ClearBox FPA opens the forecast workspace with the chat panel already in build mode: a green outline frames the panel and the build icon in the panel toolbar is lit green.
Build mode
While build mode is on, the AI is proactive. It interviews you about the business, reads your historical data, and drafts the forecast a change at a time.
Answer the interview
The AI asks structured questions - revenue model, cost structure, headcount, growth posture. Pick the answers that fit; nothing is pre-selected, so each choice is yours. Upload a budget, prior model, or board deck if it will ground the forecast. You can also reply in plain text instead of using the question widget.
Review what it builds
Every change the AI makes - an assumption, a driver, an employee, a schedule - arrives as a suggestion in the review queue, with a plain-English description and a before-and-after impact on revenue, expenses, profit, and cash. Accept the ones you want and reject the rest. Nothing is written to the forecast until you accept it.
When the draft is done
When the AI judges the forecast substantially complete, it posts a summary of what it built and stops driving the build. Switch build mode off from the toolbar icon to continue in normal maintenance chat - you can switch it back on at any time.
Turning build mode on or off
Build mode is on by default for forecasts you start with Generate with AI, and off for blank ones. Toggle it any time from the build icon in the chat toolbar. It is unavailable while a version is locked.
Workspace chat
With build mode off, the same panel is a context-aware assistant for the page you have open.
- In Forecasts, it suggests assumption changes, explains forecast logic, and helps modify the model.
- In Reports, it explains trends, metrics, and report content in the current report context.
- In Cash Planning, it helps review liquidity, timing, and near-term cash issues.
How suggestions are reviewed
The chat panel and the recommendation list are separate:
- the chat panel is where you ask questions and read the conversation
- Recommendations open from the panel controls when the AI has actionable changes for you
- History lets you reopen past conversations in the same context
Not every answer creates a suggestion, and a suggestion is a separate object from the message thread.
Prompting well
Use prompts that identify the target and the change you want.
Good:
Reduce SaaS revenue growth to 6% from April 2026 onward and show me the EBITDA impact.
Too vague:
Update the forecast.
Watch out for
Suggestions go to a review queue and apply only after you accept them; nothing is written automatically. Build mode keeps the AI proactive - switch it off once the draft reflects the version you want, so the assistant waits for your prompts instead of driving further changes.