# Docs Support Assistant block

> Ask AI docs support panel that shows the knowledge base being read

A support assistant docked to a documentation page as a hideable right sidebar, answering only from the product knowledge base and showing its work while it does. Every question runs a visible retrieval: the search, then each matched article ticking from queued to read, then the write, and the finished answer folds that reading into a receipt naming how many articles were read and how many survived into the answer. Answers arrive as prose with numbered steps and a caveat, carry helpful and not helpful voting, and when the documentation genuinely does not cover a question the assistant says so and opens a support ticket instead of guessing.

- Type: Pro block
- Category: [AI Chat](https://reui.io/blocks/ai-agents/ai-chat.md)
- Page: https://reui.io/blocks/ai-agents/ai-chat/ai-chat-12
- MCP: `get_block("ai-chat-12")`
- Built with: Bubble, Button, Collapsible, Dropdown Menu, Empty, Field, Icon Stack, Input Group, Item, Kbd, Marker, Message Scroller, Sidebar, Skeleton, Spinner, Tooltip
- Installs with a ReUI Pro or Ultimate license; setup: https://reui.io/docs/license-setup

## Best for

A support sidebar beside a docs page that ticks each knowledge base article from queued to read and offers a ticket when none covers it

## Agent notes

- Point `ARTICLES` at your knowledge base and replace `REPLY_LIBRARY`; each answer hardcodes the `matched` and `usedIds` that the reading shows
- `DocsPage` is a `Skeleton` placeholder page to swap for yours, and every `ArticleRow` is a placeholder link to #
- `contact` opens no ticket: it prints `ticketOpenedText` with a canned `TICKET_IDS` id and `SUPPORT_AGENT`, and votes stay in local `votes` state

## When not to use

- A general assistant beside any page, replying to a sentence quoted from an answer: use [Quote Reply Sidebar](https://reui.io/blocks/ai-agents/ai-chat/ai-chat-4.md) (`get_block("ai-chat-4")`)
- Answers scoped to connected work apps such as Drive and Slack, not a docs library: use [Connected Apps Chat](https://reui.io/blocks/ai-agents/ai-chat/ai-chat-5.md) (`get_block("ai-chat-5")`)

## Install

```bash
npx shadcn@latest add @reui/ai-chat-12
```

## About AI Chat blocks

### When to use

- A full page assistant chat, new chat welcome screen or 2 model comparison inside an AI product
- A copilot docked beside the page it works on, or opened from a launcher in the page corner
- Answers that show the work behind them: sources read, tool steps, plans to approve and run cost

### When not to use

- The product layout around the chat: a sidebar of threads, workspaces and account menus: use the [App Shell blocks](https://reui.io/blocks/application/app-shell.md)
- A plain overlay chat panel opened from a button, with suggestion chips and a composer: use the [Sheet blocks](https://reui.io/blocks/application/sheet.md)
- A highlighted snippet with a filename header and copy button, outside any conversation: use [Code Block](https://reui.io/components/code-block.md) (`get_component("code-block")`)

### Agent notes

- Each `AiChat` root sizes itself to the viewport with `h-svh`, or `min-h-svh` in ai-chat-5; give it your layout's height inside an app shell
- Every reply is canned content from the block's data file, played back on `setTimeout` and `setInterval` timers; stream your model's output there instead

Every ReUI item has a twin like this one; the index is https://reui.io/llms.txt. Agents with the ReUI MCP (https://reui.io/docs/mcp) get the same guidance from the getters named above.