Using Ask Link to answer questions about documents | DealCentre AI

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Applies to: Deal Administrators, Buyers, and Sellers

This article explains how to use Ask Link to get answers about document content in your deals.

Icons_Approved.svg Link

Link is Intralinks' conversational AI assistant. It answers questions about documents in your deals by searching across all applicable files and providing responses with source references. Uploading additional documents can influence the answers you receive.

Ask Link supports PDF, Microsoft Word (.docx, .doc), PowerPoint (.pptx, .ppt), and Excel documents in the Marketing, Preparation, and Diligence tabs.

The Ask Link option is available in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Dutch, Turkish, Korean, Swedish, Greek, Polish, Hebrew, Arabic. 

Ask Link only uses documents you currently have permission to view. Answers are limited to documents available to you at the time you ask a question. 

Ask Link does not scan documents with more than 500 pages, and information in those documents will not be included in Ask Link's responses. 

Ask Link remembers your current session. If you already asked a question, the chat opens automatically when you click Ask Link.

Note:

  • Ask Link availability depends on your role in the deal. If Ask Link does not appear in your deal, it may have been disabled by the deal administrator.
  • Buyers and sellers may not have the same access to Ask Link features. For more information about enabling and disabling AI features, see Creating and managing deals.
  • Personally Identifiable Information (PII) is any sensitive information that can be used to identify a user.
  • Examples of PII include full name, phone number, email address, government ID, date of birth, bank account number, biometric information, and IP address. Identification of PII elements is not supported for Japanese, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Dutch, Turkish, Korean, Polish, Hebrew, and Arabic.
  • Scanned PDFs are not supported for Arabic, Hebrew, and Traditional Chinese languages.

Icons_Approved.svg Key features of Link

Some Ask Link features may be visible or hidden depending on whether you are a buyer or seller and the settings applied to your role.

  • Clickable page references: When you ask a question, Ask Link offers a response from all documents that it found that were applicable to the question. The documents that were referenced are listed below the answer, along with the page numbers. Page numbers in answers are clickable links. You can click a page number to open the document at the exact page.
  • Chat history: All chats remain available while your deal is open. This allows you to refer back to information that you previously accessed. Chat titles are based on your first question and can be renamed.
  • Suggested questions: Ask Link suggests three further questions based on your documents content.
  • Copy with formatting: You can copy content directly from the Ask Link panel. When you copy a response, the rich formatting including the bullets, headers, bold text, and document references with source locations is preserved. References are included as clickable links when pasted.
  • Document-specific chat: When you view a Word, PowerPoint, or PDF document in the viewer, you can restrict Ask Link to answer only about that document, if required. This functionality is not available for Excel documents.
  • Bulk import: You can upload up to 100 questions in an Excel file and get the AI response along with source locations. Additionally, you can download the questions and responses in a Word format. For more information, see Importing questions using AskLink. 
  • Two view modes: By default, Ask Link opens in a slider panel on the right, allowing you to see the folder structure while chatting. You can also to the full screen mode, where you can see current and past conversations, open documents, and use the Viewer screen.
  • Role based access: Buyers and sellers can use Ask Link across all documents they can access. The responses are limited to documents each user has permission to see. If you are a buyer, Ask Link responses exclude redacted content. As a result, answers may not include all information available in a document. Note: The Ask Link feature may not be available if it has been disabled by the deal administrator. 
  • Multilingual support: Ask Link works in multiple languages. The deal documents can be in one language but you can ask questions and receive answers in your preferred language.

Icons_Approved.svg Overview of Ask Link interface 

Side panel (default): The Ask Link panel opens on the right side of the screen. Your document folder structure remains visible on the left side.

Full screen mode: You can view the chat history, current conversation, and document viewer together.

Scroll to bottom button: This option appears when you scroll up in a long chat. Click to jump to the latest message. The button includes a hover tooltip.

Answer generation indicator: A Working indicator appears in the chat while Ask Link generates an answer when you hover over icon.  You can type a new question but cannot submit it until the current answer response is generated. Similarly, you also see Generating suggested questions indicator when Link is generating follow-up question suggestions.

Blank state before the first chat: The Add New option remains enabled. You can either import questions using an Excel file or start a new chat.

Video - Use AI to answer questions about documents

In this video tutorial, learn how to use Ask Link to transform your dealmaking process by asking questions for the AI assistant to provide insights about deal documents. 

Icons_Approved.svg How to access Ask Link

  1. Click the DealCentre AI icon DCAI product icon.png in the upper left corner of the screen to display the deals list.
  2. Click the Preparation icon DCAI prep icon.png or the Diligence icon DCAI diligence icon.png on the left side of the screen.
  3. Click Ask Link.

Icons_Approved.svg How to ask your first question

  1. From within Preparation or Diligence, click Ask Link. 
  2. To start a new chat, click the Add New icon, and then select New Chat. 
  3. (Optional.) To use Ask Link in full screen mode, click the expand/collapse full screen icon.png icon in the top right of the side panel.
  4. Type your question in the Ask about your documents field.
  5. Click the send button to the right of the field.
  6. (Optional.) To view the answer to a suggested question, click the question.

Best practices for asking questions

  • Ask clear, concise questions.
  • Keep questions specific and focused on one topic.
  • Review all answers for accuracy. 

Note: Some Ask Link limitations are system-enforced, such as document permissions or redactions, and cannot be resolved by rephrasing a question.

Icons_Approved.svg How to navigate to referenced pages

  1. From within Preparation or Diligence, click Ask Link. If you have asked a question during your current session, that chat is displayed.
  2. Click any page number in an answer. The document opens at that exact page.
  3. To view a document, click the name of the document.
  4. (Optional.) For PDF, Microsoft Word, or PowerPoint files, select the checkbox Chat only about this document to restrict answers to that document.

Icons_Approved.svg How to view and copy chat responses from the Ask Link panel

  1. From within Preparation or Diligence, click Ask Link.
  2. Type your question in the Ask about your documents field and click the send button to the right of the field.
  3. Click the Copy the answer copy the answer.png icon below the generated response. You can paste the content into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet or a Microsoft Word with the original layout preserved.
  4. (Optional.) If the generated response is in a table format:
    • Click the Copy Table above the generated table to copy the contents. You can paste the content into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet or a Microsoft Word with the original layout preserved.
    • To view a clearer and scrollable table display, click Expand Table. You can scroll horizontally or vertically if the table is large.
    • Click X in the top right corner to close the window.

Icons_Approved.svg How to view recent chat from the Ask Link panel

  1. From within Preparation or Diligence, click Ask Link.
  2. Click the Recent DC chat history icon.png icon in the Ask Link panel.
  3. Click the chat. 

Icons_Approved.svg How to manage any chat

You can manage the current chat using the three dots menu.

  1. From within Preparation or Diligence, click Ask Link.
  2. Select one of the following options from the Actions menu in any open chat:
    • To rename the chat, select Rename.
      • Enter the new name
      • Click Rename.
    • To export the chat to a PDF file, select Export.
    • To delete the chat, select Delete. Click Delete to confirm.

Icons_Approved.svg How to handle multiple questions in Ask Link

Using bulk import

The Ask Link bulk import feature handles multiple buyer questions at once. It allows you to scan documents and download a ready-to-use Microsoft Word file with answers and sources. 

Question Limits

You can enter maximum up to 100 questions per file. Each question can be up to 500 characters. Multiple worksheets are supported.

Preparing your questions import file

  1. From within Preparation or Diligence, click Ask Link.
  2. Click the Add New icon Ask Link add new icon.png and then select Import Questions.
  3. Click Download Excel Template. The template includes required columns and guidelines.
  4. Enter your questions in the template.
  5. Save the completed template file and make a note of its name and location.

Import the questions file

  1. From within Preparation or Diligence, click Ask Link.
  2. Click Add New icon Ask Link add new icon.png and then select Import Questions.
  3. Click Import Questions.
  4. Click Select Excel file.
  5. Select your import file from your device and click Open.
  6. (Optional.) In the List Name field, enter a name for the import list up to maximum of 32 characters. If no name is provided, the system assigns the name New Questions Import.
  7. Click Import x Questions. The process takes some time, and the Question Import List screen is displayed.

Icons_Approved.svg Managing imported question lists

You can view responses and track the status of the bulk import questions list from the Question Imports area. Additionally, you can also rename or delete the import question list.

  1. From within Preparation or Diligence, click Ask Link.
  2. Click the Recent DC chat history icon.png icon and select Question Imports.
  3. To view answers, click the Name of any import questions list with Answer Status as Answered.
  4. To export answers as a Word file, click the Download icon in the Actions column for that list.
  5. To rename an import questions list, click the Pencil icon in the Actions column for that list.
    • Enter a new name (maximum 32 characters).
    • click Rename.
  6. To delete an answered questions list, click the trashcan icon in the Actions column for that list. Click Delete to confirm.

Icons_Approved.svg Answer status

The Questions Imports list can have the following answer statuses:

  • Pending - The questions list is queued, not started.
  • In Progress - Ask Link is processing the questions list.
  • Answered - Ask Link responses are ready
  • Error - The uploading of the questions list failed.

Note: If Link cannot answer your question, you will see a message to ask the question differently.

Icons_Approved.svg Troubleshooting

  • Link cannot answer my question: Rephrase your question to be more specific. Ask Link works best with clear, focused questions about document content.
  • I cannot find a previous chat: Click the Recent DC chat history icon.png icon to see all chats. Use the search or scroll to find older conversations.
  • My question list shows "Error" status: The upload failed. Check your Excel file format and try again. Ensure questions are under 500 characters and you have up to 100 questions per file.

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