Getting Started with VAL Agent

What is VAL Agent?

VAL Agent is an AI assistant built into your VAL workspace. Ask it a question in plain English and it will query your data, run the numbers, and come back with an answer — sometimes with a chart, sometimes with a table, sometimes both.

No spreadsheets. No report builders. Just ask.

Two Ways to Start

VAL Agent is available in two places. Both connect to the same assistant and your same data.

Home Page

When you log in, the Home page greets you with an Ask Val bar right at the top. Type a question or tap a quick action to jump straight in.

Chat Page

For deeper conversations, open the Chat page from the sidebar. This gives you a dedicated full-screen assistant where you can ask follow-up questions, upload files, and go back and forth exploring your data.

Quick Actions

Not sure what to ask? You will see five quick action buttons below the input. Tap any of them and VAL Agent takes it from there:

Or just type your own question. "What were my top 5 outlets last week?" works just as well.

What Can VAL Agent Do?

Ask Questions About Your Data

Type a question in plain English. VAL Agent figures out which data to look at, runs the query, and explains the results.

Try asking:

• "What were total sales yesterday?"
• "Which outlet had the highest revenue last month?"
• "Show me daily sales for the past 2 weeks"

Get Charts and Visualizations

When the data lends itself to a visual, VAL Agent generates charts automatically. You do not need to ask for a chart specifically — it picks the right format based on your question.

Upload Files

Click the + button in the input area to attach files. VAL Agent can analyse:

• CSV and Excel files — instant data analysis
• PDF documents — extract and summarise content
• Images — read receipts, invoices, screenshots

Follow-up Questions

VAL Agent remembers the context of your conversation. After getting an answer, you can ask follow-ups:

• "Break that down by outlet"
• "Now show me the same thing for last month"
• "Which ones are below average?"

Skills — Your On-Demand Specialists

VAL Agent is smart on its own, but Skills make it an expert.

Skills are pre-built specialist workflows that have been configured for your domain. When you activate a skill, VAL Agent follows a structured process with domain-specific knowledge — like having a dedicated analyst who knows exactly what to look for.

To use a skill:

1. Click the + button in the input area
2. Browse available skills in the menu
3. Select one — VAL Agent loads the skill's instructions and gets to work

The skills available to you depend on what has been deployed to your domain. To find out what is available, ask VAL Agent "What skills do I have?" or reach out to your ThinkVAL representative.

Tips for Getting the Best Results

• Be specific with time periods — "last week" works, but "7 Mar to 13 Mar" is better
• Name your outlets — VAL Agent knows your outlet names, so use them
• Ask follow-ups — don't start a new chat for related questions, just keep going
• Try the quick actions first — they are tuned to the most common questions

Need Help?

If you are not getting the results you expect, or want to learn what other analyses are possible:

• Ask VAL Agent: "What can you help me with?"
• Contact your ThinkVAL representative — they can walk you through your domain's setup and available skills

Next Steps

Ready to see it in action? Continue with the next guides in the series:

• Asking Questions & Getting Answers — real examples of asking questions and getting charts, tables, and insights
• The Report Canvas — the side panel for dashboards and deeper exploration
• Using Skills — activate specialist workflows for structured analysis
• Uploading & Analysing Files — attach CSVs, PDFs, and images

You can also connect your VAL data to Claude for an alternative way to explore — see Connect VAL to Claude via MCP.