Using Nexthink Assist

Nexthink Assist is the unified entry point to managing digital employee experience across the entire Infinity platform. Embedded directly into the search navigation, Nexthink Assist uses the latest large language models from OpenAI and Anthropic to help IT teams see, diagnose and fix DEX challenges instantly through the power of Generative AI. In particular, Nexthink Assist enables users to perform contextual searches across product documentation, extract data on device performance, user sessions, and applications, and quickly create Nexthink campaigns using natural language requests.

Nexthink Assist is currently in Beta and is continually improving. As it evolves, it may occasionally provide information that requires verification. Nexthink recommends confirming your results to ensure accuracy while using Nexthink Assist.

Getting started with Nexthink Assist

First, ensure that your role allows you to view Nexthink Assist. Refer to the Permissions section for more information.

To access Nexthink Assist, select Nexthink Assist from the main menu.

The Nexthink Assist window appears, allowing you to type your text into the search bar. Use the following options to get the information you need:

  • Search: Type text in the search bar without hitting Enter to conduct searches across various parameters. Refer to the Using Search documentation for more information.

  • Assist: Type text in the search bar and hit Enter to create investigations and campaigns, or to get answers related to Nexthink Infinity.

Assist is activated when you press the Enter key. To continue using Search in standard mode, type the name of a binary, device or package.

Use Nexthink Assist to simplify building investigations, streamline campaign creation and answer your questions about Nexthink Infinity.

  • Ask about Nexthink: Assist enables contextual search across product documentation to get you started quickly, with the information and context you need.

  • Query Data: Assist helps you extract data and quickly find answers about device performance, binaries, user and session data, application information, and more to resolve issues proactively.

  • Create: Assist helps you create Nexthink campaigns, making campaign building instantaneous. Compose a quick request in natural language, and watch Nexthink do the rest.

Once you send your question to Assist, it generates and executes an NQL query, creates a campaign or provides an answer from the documentation.

Ask follow-up questions on the same topic to keep the current conversation going. To start a conversation from scratch, click the reset button in the top-right corner of the Nexthink Assist window.

Imagine that you work for a company with a Sales department in Boston. This department has complained about problems with MS Teams call quality. You decide to investigate this issue using Nexthink Assist. The following documentation sections provide guidelines on using Nexthink Assist with examples related to this use case.

Query data with Assist

To identify the cause of the MS Teams call quality issue, ask Assist to display the average Wi-Fi signal strength per US city sorted in ascending order and hit Enter. The query that Assist creates immediately reveals that the Boston office has the worst Wi-Fi signal strength.

Continue the conversation with Assist in the same window and ask for a list of Sales department employees in Boston. Then, click on View in Investigations to access the Investigations module and get the full list. Refer to the Visual editor and NQL editor documentation for more information about Investigations.

Data available with Assist

Nexthink NQL data model provides an overview of data Nexthink collects. Assist currently supports a subset of the NQL data model presented below. Refer to the NQL data model for table and field definitions.

TopicSupported tables

Device & device performance

device

device_performance/event

device_performance/system_crash

device_performance/boot

Packages, binaries and execution related

package/package

binary

execution/crash

execution/event

User and sessions related

user/user

session/login

Applications and web applications

application/application

application/page

web/page_view

web/transaction

web/error

Collaboration

collaboration/session

connectivity/event

session/event

Data out of Assist scope

The table below identifies a subset of the NQL data model outside of Assist scope. Additionally, Assist does not support custom fields.

TopicUnsupported tables

Web events

web/event

Connections

connection/event

connection/tcp/event

connection/udp/event

Packages

packages.installed_packages

package/uninstallation

Alerts

alert/alert

alert/monitor

Campaigns

campaign/campaign

campaign/response

Remote actions

remote_action/execution

remote_action/remote_action

remote_execution/execution_summary

Devices

device_performance/hard_resets

Sessions

session/logout

session/lifecycle_event

session/connect

session/disconnect

session/lock

session/unlock

Software metering

software_metering/meter_configuration

software_metering/event

Automation

automation/automation

automation/execution

automation/execution_summary

DEX score

dex/score

Workflows

workflow/workflow

workflow/executions

workflow/executions_summary

The response times of Assist may vary, and occasionally, some Assist-generated queries might not display correctly in the Visual editor. If you encounter any display issues, view the query in the NQL editor for optimal results.

Create campaigns with Assist

Once you have identified the problem with the Wi-Fi signal strength in the Boston office, the next step is notifying all affected employees via a Nexthink campaign.

Use Assist to create a campaign to inform employees that the Boston office has Wi-Fi issues. Assist creates this campaign—questions and answers—according to your instructions.

If you would like to improve your campaign, type additional commands into the search bar to provide further guidance.

If you are satisfied with the suggested campaign, simply type Yes in the search bar to save it as a draft in the Campaigns module and define targeted users and the trigger mechanism. Refer to the Creating Campaigns documentation for more information on how to finalize a campaign draft and distribute it among selected audiences.

Types of campaigns Assist can create

Assist can help you complete the content section for any type of Nexthink campaign. Examples:

  • Create a device usage survey

  • Create a campaign to inform users about ongoing Wi-Fi issues in our office

  • Create an IT satisfaction survey

Refer to the Conducting engaging campaigns documentation for more information about creating effective campaigns.

Ask Assist about Nexthink Infinity

Wi-Fi problems are very common and can occur again. Use one of the monitors available in Nexthink Library to effectively monitor Wi-Fi issues and take action to resolve the issue. Ask Assist how you can enable the monitor in the Alerts module.

Assist uses Nexthink Infinity documentation resources to provide the best answer. For further information or instructions, refer to the relevant documentation pages and training linked by Assist at the bottom of its response.

Types of questions Assist can answer

Assist answers your questions using Nexthink Infinity documentation, which includes in-product, and online documentation sources.

Question examples:

  • How to configure a webhook?

  • What is the difference between hard and soft navigations?

  • What is the limit of campaigns I can create in Workplace Experience?

Frequently Asked Questions

I'm getting unexpected answers from Assist. What can I do?

It may be that the answer to your question is based on a topic Nexthink Assist does not support. Refer to the What type of Investigations can Assist create? section for more details.

Assist uses natural language to answer your questions. Sometimes, you might observe that Assist cannot respond to your question or that the response is incorrect. Here are some recommendations for how you can best phrase your questions:

  • Be clear and specific: Provide clear information about the issue you are investigating. Avoid vague or ambiguous questions that may lead to inaccurate results.

  • Use targeted keywords: Use relevant keywords related to the problem you are trying to solve whenever possible. This helps Assist in understanding the context and providing more accurate responses.

  • Frame your questions: Structure your prompts as questions or specific commands. For example, instead of typing Find errors in Teams, try How many Teams calls had bad quality in the last 24 hours?

  • Experiment and iterate: If you do not get the desired results initially, don't hesitate to refine your prompts. Assist learns and improves over time, so experimenting with different phrasing can help you achieve better outcomes.

For more information on effective prompt writing, complete the online course How to fast-track work with Nexthink Assist available on Nexthink Learn.

How can I share feedback on Assist with the Nexthink team?

Help us improve Assist by sharing your feedback using the thumbs-up and thumbs-down icons located in the lower-right corner of the latest response from Assist.

As Nexthink admin, can I pilot the usage of Assist before exposing it to a broader user group?

Yes, Nexthink admins can pilot the usage of Assist by selectively disabling and enabling the Assist permissions of certain roles.

Does Assist apply View-domain constraints and permissions?

Yes, View domain applies to Assist. For example, Nexthink users querying data with Assist will get the same results as running the query in NQL or the Visual editor.

Nexthink also enforces permissions before performing a task. For example, users without permission to edit campaigns cannot create campaigns in Assist, and receive the following error message: You do not have the right permissions to perform this action. Please reach out to your administrator.

Is Nexthink Assist an add-on product? Does it require an additional license?

Nexthink Assist is an Infinity feature, part of the Workplace Experience core product, and available at no additional charge.

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