07_Working in Inspire IQ: Prompts, Skills, and Search Scope Inside Your Project (8:48)

Overview

IQ is Inspire Query — the project intelligence and AI LLM chat built into every AECinspire project. This video is a full tour of the IQ interface: where your saved prompts live, how prompt packages and IQ skills work, how to control what IQ searches, and the tools that help you write a better prompt. Every project is its own database, so IQ only searches items in that project or documents you have uploaded into its folders — you do not have to worry about IQ wandering on you like a typical LLM.

What you'll learn

• What IQ searches and why the first load takes time
• How to save, rename, and share Favorite Prompts across your team
• How to revisit past conversations with History and Shared with Me
• How to run Prompt Packages, Inspired Prompts, and IQ Skills
• How to set the search scope to the whole project, a folder, or the current sheet
• When to switch on Deep Analysis instead of quick chat
• How to use Enhance Prompt and voice input to write better prompts
• How to open IQ in a separate tab for a two-screen workflow

 

Before You Begin

IQ can only answer from what is in the project. Before prompting, make sure your sheets and documents are uploaded into the project's folders — specs, floor plans, submittals, contracts, and so on. The first time you open the IQ window on a project, IQ has to learn that project before it can answer accurately.

 

Part 1 — Open IQ and Let It Learn the Project

1. Open the project you want to work in.
2. Open the IQ window.
3. Wait for the loading screen to finish. It shows how many sheets are left to identify.
4. Once IQ is loaded, begin prompting.
5. In the upper left corner, open Favorite Prompts.
6. Click the plus (+) to add a new prompt.
7. Type the prompt in, or paste it from Microsoft Word or whatever source it is coming from.
8. Save the prompt.
9. To use a saved prompt, click it. It fills straight into your prompting window, and you can prompt from there.
10. Hover the prompt in Favorite Prompts and click the three dots next to it.
11. Choose Rename to edit the prompt.
12. To send the prompt to a teammate, choose the share option, click the team member's name, and click Share Prompt.
13. Click History to see the chats already started on this project.
14. Click any chat to reopen it and continue the conversation.
15. Click Shared with Me to see prompts team members have shared with you.
16. Open Response Format.
17. Click the sheet upload control.
18. Upload your example document in PDF format, or drag and drop the file right onto it.
19. In the center of the screen, open Prompt Packages.
20. Click Create New Package.
21. Select the prompts you want in the package.
22. Reorganize the order the prompts run in.
23. Kick the package off.
24. Open Inspired Prompts from the center of the IQ screen.
25. Click into a prompt.
26. IQ processes that prompt immediately.
27. Along the top of the IQ screen, open IQ Skills.
28. Select the skill you want — for example, Auto Detect Panels.
29. To see the result of a skill that has already run, click into History and open the run. In the example, the panel extraction ran and the panels were saved to the project.
30. Click New Chat. This refreshes the chat.
31. Keep one conversation per topic.
32. Open the search scope control in the project window.
33. Leave it on the entire project to search the full set.
34. Or select floor plans or specifications to target one document type.
35. Or select current sheet to have IQ look at that one sheet only.
36. Locate Deep Analysis next to the search scope control.
37. Switch it on before submitting a complex or long prompt.
38. Expect a longer processing time in exchange for better results.
39. Type your question into the prompt window — for example, "Can I use MC cable?"
40. Click Enhance Prompt.
41. Read the expanded prompt IQ produces. It pulls in the caveats behind your question: where you can and cannot use it, what types, and the specifications or specific items you need to identify.
42. Submit the enhanced prompt.
43. Activate the chat's voice input.
44. Speak your prompt. IQ listens and transcribes what you say into the prompt window.
45. Submit the transcribed prompt.
46. Head into IQ.
47. In the upper right corner, go down to Open in New Tab.
48. Pull the new tab over to a second screen.
49. Keep your project open on the first screen to review documents while you prompt in the second.

Note: The first time you open IQ on a project it takes some time to load. That wait is IQ learning your project so your prompts return accurate answers. Later opens do not repeat the full learning pass.

Note: IQ treats every project as its own database. It only searches items that are in that project or that you have uploaded into its folders — specs, floor plans, submittals, contracts, etc.

 

Part 2 — Build Your Favorite Prompts

Favorite Prompts sits in the upper left-hand corner of the IQ window. These are prompts you have curated to fit your workflow, so you are not trying to remember on every project how you prompted something last time.

Note: Favorite Prompts save to your user profile, not to the project. Every time you log into a new project your prompts come with you, so you have access all the time.

 

Part 3 — Rename and Share a Favorite Prompt

Note: A shared prompt shows up in the recipient's Shared with Me folder.

 

Part 4 — Revisit Work with History and Shared with Me

Panel	What it holds	Typical use
History	Every chat you have started in this project	Reopen an existing chat, or continue a conversation with IQ to dig into a deeper report
Shared with Me	Prompts shared with you by team members	Pick up a colleague's curated prompt without rewriting it

 

Part 5 — Upload a Response Format

Response Format sits underneath Shared with Me. It is where you upload example documents — an RFI template, or a template you use as a company standard — so IQ's output matches what your company needs.

Note: Response Format is covered in depth in a separate training video. This part only shows where it lives and how to get a document in.

 

Part 6 — Run Prompts in Sequence with Prompt Packages

The center of the IQ screen holds three things: Prompt Packages, Inspired Prompts, and IQ Skills.

Prompt Packages lets you create multiple prompts and run them in sequence. It is typically meant for more complex work — discovering large sets of data and stepping it through different processing stages to end with a final output, more than one mega prompt could accomplish on its own.

Note: When a prompt package runs, IQ has the conversation automatically. It runs prompt 1, takes the response, and builds prompt 2 on that response — the whole conversation is triggered automatically.

 

Part 7 — Use Inspired Prompts

Inspired Prompts are curated by the AECinspire team. They capture a good scope of work and are meant to inspire you on what you could prompt and what reports you could get out of Inspire.

Best practice: Play around with the Inspired Prompts outside of training and test what the AECinspire team has curated for you.

 

Part 8 — Run an IQ Skill

IQ Skills run along the top of the IQ screen. A skill is a deeper trained prompt, so you are not prompting two or three times to get an end result — and, unlike a plain prompt, a skill makes something actionable out of the answer.

	Inspired Prompt	IQ Skill
What it is	A curated prompt written by the AECinspire team	A deeper trained prompt built into the system
How many prompts	One prompt you click and run	One skill instead of prompting two or three times
What you get back	A response / report	A response plus an action, such as saving panels to your project
Example	Curated scope-of-work prompts	Auto Detect Panels — identifies all the panels and their specific information, then saves those panels to your project

 

Part 9 — Start a New Chat per Topic

Best practice: One chat per thread. If you are prompting about lighting, do not switch that same chat over to in-wall power or fire alarm. Never be afraid to start a new chat — it keeps AI and IQ on track for what you need to see.

 

Part 10 — Set the Search Scope

In the project window, the search scope controls how much of the project IQ reads for your prompt. By default it is set to the entire project.

Scope	What IQ searches	When to use it
Entire project (default)	All documents in the project, whether it is 10 sheets or 10,000 sheets	Broad questions where you do not know which document holds the answer
Floor plans	Only the floor plans folder	Layout, device location, and plan-level questions
Specifications	Only the specifications	Spec-driven questions such as approved materials and methods
Current sheet	The one sheet you have open	Certain IQ skills, and any time you want IQ to analyze a single sheet

 

Part 11 — Turn On Deep Analysis

Deep Analysis sits next to the search scope. It is IQ's deep think mode and gives advanced reasoning.

Mode	Speed	Best for
Quick chat (default)	Faster	Straightforward questions and short prompts
Deep Analysis	Takes a little bit longer to process	More complex, longer prompts — results are a lot better on really complex items

 

Part 12 — Improve a Prompt with Enhance Prompt

Enhance Prompt is a good tool for beginners to AI chat. It takes a basic question and enhances it by referencing the uploaded documents and adding more information.

Note: A broad question like "Can I use MC cable?" will not get you the best answer on its own. Enhance Prompt expands it out, and reading it often surfaces information you know you need but forgot to ask for.

Best practice: With any AI, type in your entire thought process for what you want it to do. Prompt like you are trying to explain something complex to a fifth grader — that nets better results to start with.

 

Part 13 — Talk to IQ with Voice Input

Best practice: Voice input is the fastest route for anyone who does not like typing long prompts — and long prompts are exactly what gets the best results.

 

Part 14 — Open IQ in a Separate Tab

Opening IQ in its own tab is a popular workflow in Inspire.

Best practice: The separate tab gives you a lot more real estate for tables, which makes IQ's tabular reports far easier to read.

 

Quick Reference

What you need	Where to find it
IQ (Inspire Query)	Inside each project
First-load progress	Loading screen showing how many sheets are left to identify
Favorite Prompts	Upper left-hand corner of the IQ window
Add a favorite prompt	Favorite Prompts → plus (+) → type or paste
Rename or share a prompt	Three dots next to the prompt → Rename, or select name → Share Prompt
Prompts shared with you	Shared with Me
Past conversations	History
Company template upload	Response Format → sheet upload → PDF or drag and drop
Prompt Packages	Center of the IQ screen
Build a package	Prompt Packages → Create New Package → select and reorder prompts
Inspired Prompts	Center of the IQ screen
IQ Skills	Along the top of the IQ screen
Panel extraction example	History → the Auto Detect Panels run
Start over	New Chat
Search scope (default)	Project window — entire project
Narrow the search	Search scope → floor plans, specifications, or current sheet
Deep think mode	Deep Analysis, next to the search scope
Prompt help	Enhance Prompt
Voice input	Activate the chat to listen and transcribe
Two-screen workflow	Upper right corner of IQ → Open in New Tab

 

Troubleshooting

Issue	Resolution
IQ takes a long time to open the first time	Expected. The loading screen shows how many sheets are left to identify while IQ learns the project. Wait for it to finish before prompting.
IQ will not answer about a document	IQ only searches items in that project or uploaded into its folders. Upload the spec, floor plan, submittal, or contract into the project first.
Answers drift off topic within one chat	Keep one conversation per topic. Click New Chat before switching from, for example, lighting to in-wall power or fire alarm.
A complex prompt returns a weak answer	Switch on Deep Analysis for advanced reasoning. It processes longer but returns much better results on complex items.
A broad question returns a vague answer	Run it through Enhance Prompt so IQ references the uploaded documents and adds the caveats and specifications you did not include.
IQ is searching too much of the set	Change the search scope from the entire project to floor plans, specifications, or current sheet.
Output does not match your company's document standard	Upload your company standard or RFI template under Response Format as a PDF.
Retyping the same prompt on every project	Save it under Favorite Prompts. Favorites save to your user profile and follow you into every project.
Tables are too cramped to read	Use Open in New Tab from the upper right corner of IQ for more screen real estate.

 

Next Steps

Continue to the next video in the series: Creating Panels – Manual and IQ.