THEO is conversational — you talk to it in plain language, the same way you would talk to a senior engineer on your team. No special syntax is required for most tasks. This article covers how to open the chat interface, ask follow-up questions, and use optional commands to control how THEO responds.
Opening the Chat Interface
THEO is available in three places:
- Hub portal — navigate to the THEO section from the left sidebar. Your conversation history is visible on the left; the active chat is in the center panel.
- Hub-bar overlay — click the THEO icon that appears on top of any product. The hub-bar inherits the context of the product you are currently viewing, so THEO already knows what you are looking at.
- Desktop app — open the THEO desktop app on Mac, Windows, or Linux. It runs the same interface as the portal.
Starting a Conversation
Type your question or request in plain language. THEO reads your org's live data — tickets, devices, incidents, billing — so you can reference things by name without pasting in IDs.
Example requests:
- "Why is Bob's laptop slow? He's in the Austin office."
- "Open a critical ticket — mail server at Northwind is down."
- "Summarize yesterday's tickets for Contoso and draft a weekly update."
- "Find devices that haven't checked in in 7 days."
If THEO is not sure what you want, it will ask up to six clarifying follow-up questions before acting. Answer them in the same chat thread.
Asking Follow-Up Questions
THEO keeps context within a conversation thread. You can reference earlier parts of the conversation without repeating yourself:
- "What about the other device on that network?"
- "Draft that as an executive summary instead."
- "Actually, add a note to the ticket too."
Conversations persist in your history. You can rename, pin, archive, and export threads, and you can restore a deleted thread before it is permanently removed.
Slash Commands
Optional slash commands switch THEO into a mode that fits the task. Type / in the chat box to see them, or use one directly:
| Command | Effect |
|---|---|
/engineer |
Senior-engineer mode — deeper context across CRM, CMDB and related tickets |
/hr |
People-context questions — org chart, PTO, onboarding |
/reports |
Analytics mode — ask questions about your PSA, CRM and RMM data and get charts |
/rmm/automation-hub/runbooks |
Tier Zero runbooks — pick a playbook, dispatch it, watch it run |
/knowledge (or /kb) |
Capture or update a knowledge-base article from the ticket you have open |
/voice |
Tap-mic dictation — your words are transcribed and submitted |
/help |
Context-aware help — what THEO can do on this page |
You do not need a command to get a security analysis: THEO routes security questions through the ARGUS personas automatically. Some commands depend on your role's permissions; if you cannot use one, THEO tells you what is missing.
Controlling Response Format
Tell THEO what format you want in plain language, or use the response mode keywords:
- bullet — concise bullet list (the default for quick answers)
- narrative — prose paragraphs, good for reading or sharing
- code — code blocks with explanations
- executive — short, leadership-oriented summary
Example: "Summarize this in executive format" or "Give me that as bullet points."
Attaching Files and Images
You can attach files and images (up to 20 MB) directly in chat. THEO reads the content and incorporates it into its response. Use this to share screenshots, logs, or documents when you need THEO to analyze something specific.
FAQ
Does THEO remember things I told it in a previous conversation?
Yes, on paid plans. THEO maintains long-term memory of facts, preferences, and decisions you share. You can view and delete memories under THEO → Memory.
Why did THEO ask me a question instead of just doing the task?
THEO asks clarifying questions when it is not confident enough in what you want — up to six turns. It only proceeds once it has the information needed to act correctly.
Can I edit a message after I send it?
Yes. Messages in a conversation can be edited from the conversation detail view.