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Getting Started with AI Features

Set up your first AI agent in 5 minutes

This guide will walk you through enabling AI features, asking your first natural language query, and understanding the rich media responses.

Prerequisites​

Before you begin, ensure you have:

  • ✅ SyncNow Release 6.0 or later
  • ✅ At least one work system connector configured (Jira, Azure DevOps, ServiceNow, etc.)
  • ✅ User account with AI permissions (see Permissions Setup)
  • ✅ Active sync process (optional but recommended)

Quick Start (5 Minutes)​

Step 1: Enable AI Features​

  1. Navigate to SyncNow Settings

    • Go to Settings → AI Features

  2. Enable AI Agents

    • Toggle Enable AI Features to ON
    • Select which work systems to include (Jira, Azure DevOps, etc.)

  3. Confirm Configuration

    • Click Save
    • You'll see a confirmation: "AI Features enabled"

Time: ~1 minute

Step 2: Access the AI Chat​

  1. Open AI Chat Window

    • Click the AI Chat icon in the top navigation bar
    • Or press Ctrl/Cmd + K for quick access

  2. Chat Interface Overview

    • Input field: Type your questions here
    • Rich media display: Diagrams, code, and images appear here
    • History: Previous queries and responses

Time: ~30 seconds

Step 3: Configure Permissions​

AI Features use multi-layer permissions for security.

SyncNow Layer (AIAgentPermission)​

  1. Go to Settings → Users & Permissions
  2. Select your user or group
  3. Under AI Permissions, enable:
    • ✅ AI Query - Ask questions to AI agents

Work System Layer​

Permissions are automatically inherited from your work system (Jira, Azure DevOps, etc.). AI agents will only show data you have permission to see in the source system.

Time: ~2 minutes

Step 4: Ask Your First Query​

Let's try a simple query across your work systems.

Example 1: Basic Query

Show me all work items assigned to me

What happens:

  • AI agent queries all enabled work systems
  • Returns unified view of your assignments
  • Displays results grouped by system

Example 2: Cross-System Query

Show me all critical bugs from Jira and Azure DevOps created this week

What happens:

  • Queries both Jira and Azure DevOps
  • Filters by priority (Critical) and creation date (this week)
  • Returns unified results with source system labels

Example 3: Query with Visualization

Show me the dependency tree for epic PROJ-123

What happens:

  • Retrieves epic and related items
  • Generates visual dependency diagram
  • Displays hierarchical tree structure

Time: ~1 minute

Step 5: Explore Rich Media Responses​

AI chat supports multiple media types:

Diagrams​

Show me a workflow diagram for our deployment process

Result: Visual flowchart of the deployment workflow

Code​

Show me code changes in pull request #456

Result: Syntax-highlighted code diffs

Images​

Display the architecture diagram for project ABC

Result: Architecture diagram image

Aggregations​

Show team velocity over the last 6 sprints

Result: Bar chart with velocity data

Time: ~30 seconds

Using AI via MCP​

You can also query SyncNow AI directly from your AI client (Claude Desktop, VS Code) using the Model Context Protocol.

Connect VS Code​

Create .vscode/mcp-servers.json:

{
  "syncnow": {
    "url": "http://your-syncnow-instance/mcp",
    "oauth": {
      "authorizationUrl": "http://your-syncnow-instance/oauth/authorize",
      "tokenUrl": "http://your-syncnow-instance/oauth/token",
      "clientId": "vscode-mcp-test",
      "scope": "mcp:read mcp:write"
    }
  }
}

Connect Claude Desktop​

Add to your Claude Desktop config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "syncnow": {
      "command": "mcp-client",
      "args": [
        "--url", "http://your-syncnow-instance/mcp",
        "--oauth-authorize", "http://your-syncnow-instance/oauth/authorize",
        "--oauth-token", "http://your-syncnow-instance/oauth/token",
        "--client-id", "vscode-mcp-test"
      ]
    }
  }
}

On first use a browser window opens for OAuth login — approve once and the token is stored automatically.

First MCP Query​

User:   "Show me my open Jira tickets"
Claude: [calls GetAvailableAgents → Query]
Claude: "Here are your 5 open tickets: ..."

See MCP Integration → for full setup details, all available tools, and the admin endpoint for process management.

Common First Queries​

Get Status Updates​

What work items were updated today?

Find Assignments​

Show me all bugs assigned to the backend team

Check Sprint Progress​

What's the status of current sprint items?
Find all items mentioning "authentication" across all systems

Time Tracking​

What's the average time in status for completed items last month?

Next Steps​

🎯 Try More Advanced Queries​

Explore the Query Examples for:

  • Cross-system aggregations
  • Time-based analytics
  • Team performance metrics
  • Custom filters and sorting

🔐 Review Security Settings​

Configure advanced permissions:

Troubleshooting​

"AI Features not available"​

Solution: Ensure you're on SyncNow Release 6.0 or later. Check with your administrator if AI features are enabled for your organization.

"No results found"​

Possible causes:

  • Check that work system connectors are configured and active
  • Verify you have permissions in the source work systems
  • Try a simpler query to test connectivity

"Permission denied"​

Solution:

  1. Check your AIAgentPermission settings (Settings → Users & Permissions)
  2. Verify you have access in the source work system (Jira, Azure DevOps, etc.)
  3. Contact your SyncNow administrator to grant AI permissions

Queries are slow​

Solutions:

  • Try more specific queries with filters
  • Limit date ranges (e.g., "last week" instead of "last year")
  • See Performance Optimization

Rich media not displaying​

Check:

  • Browser compatibility (Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge supported)
  • Pop-up blocker settings
  • Network connectivity

Tips for Better Queries​

✅ Be Specific​

Good: "Show me critical bugs from Jira created this week"
Avoid: "Show me bugs"

✅ Use Natural Language​

Good: "What's the average cycle time for user stories?"
Good: "How many items are in progress right now?"

✅ Specify Time Ranges​

Good: "Items created in the last 7 days"
Avoid: "Recent items" (ambiguous)

✅ Name Your Systems​

Good: "Show bugs from Jira and tasks from Azure DevOps"
Helps: AI agent knows exactly which systems to query

✅ Ask for Visualizations​

Good: "Show me a diagram of dependencies"
Good: "Display a chart of team velocity"

What You've Learned​

After completing this guide, you can:

  • ✅ Enable and access AI Features
  • ✅ Configure AI permissions
  • ✅ Ask natural language queries
  • ✅ Understand rich media responses
  • ✅ Query across multiple work systems
  • ✅ Troubleshoot common issues

Learn More​

Core Features​

Integration​

Security​

Get Help​

  • Questions? See the FAQ
  • Issues? Check Troubleshooting
  • Feature Requests? Contact your SyncNow administrator

Ready to dive deeper? Continue to Work System AI Agents →