Copilot draft problems – Assembled

Plans and permissions:

Add-on: Copilot, billed separately
Change Copilot settings: Admin, Manager, or Team Lead role, or a custom role with Copilot settings set to Can edit Copilot settings
Change brand style settings: Admin role
Upload, edit, or delete knowledge articles: Admin role, or a custom role with Knowledge management settings set to Can edit knowledge management settings
Edit workflow instructions: Admin, Manager, or Team Lead role, or a custom role with Workflows set to Can create, edit, and delete workflows

When Copilot’s drafted replies aren’t what you expect, the cause is usually how the draft was requested, a style setting or instruction, or your knowledge base. Find your problem below, then work through its checks in order. Some fixes are settings that need the access shown above.

Copilot answers your notes instead of drafting a reply

Cause	How to tell	What to do
Copilot is in Ask mode	Below Copilot’s message box, Ask is selected instead of Draft. In Ask mode, Copilot answers your questions instead of drafting, so it answers your notes as if they were questions.	Select Draft below Copilot’s message box.
Your notes don’t say clearly that you want a reply	Draft is already selected.	Say what you want, and structure your notes. See Do your notes say clearly that you want a reply?

Drafts are too wordy

Cause	How to tell	What to do
Message length is set for long replies	In Configure > Brand studio, select the brand your email agent uses, which Copilot also uses. On the Style tab, under Email style, Message length isn’t Brief or Standard.	For shorter replies, choose Brief or Standard, then select Save changes.
Style instructions encourage longer replies	A recent change to the instructions in Chat style and Email style, or in Agent scope and instructions on the General tab, could be encouraging longer replies.	Rewrite the instruction, and add instructions to keep replies short. See Do your style instructions encourage longer replies?

Drafts are in the wrong language

Cause	How to tell	What to do
Copilot detected the wrong language for the case	When translations are on, Copilot’s header shows the language it detected for the case, with a globe icon and a two-letter language code. The language shown is wrong.	Select the language in Copilot’s header and choose the right language.
An ambiguous style instruction tells Copilot to translate	An instruction like “use the customer’s language”, meant to match their word choice or tone, can make Copilot translate the reply.	Rewrite ambiguous instructions to say what you mean.
Default language isn’t your team’s language	On the Features tab of AI support > Copilot, the Translations card shows a Default language that isn’t your team’s language.	Set Default language to your team’s language, then select Save changes. See Copilot translations.
Your workflows don’t say which language to reply in	You use workflows, and the prompt in a Reply or Guide step doesn’t name a language.	Add `Always reply in English`, or your language, to the prompt in each Reply or Guide step. See Guide steps in workflows.

Copilot uses outdated or wrong articles

Cause	How to tell	What to do
Changes haven’t synced yet	You changed the article in your knowledge source recently. Changes reach Assembled at the source’s next sync, and how often that happens depends on the source: see the article for your integration, such as Confluence integration.	Wait for the next sync. For a time-sensitive change, see How do I update an article before the next sync?
A deleted article is still in Assembled	Articles you deleted from your knowledge base are still listed in Configure > Knowledge. After you delete an article in your knowledge source, it can take a few hours to disappear from Copilot.	To delete it in Assembled without waiting, select the three-dot menu on its row in Configure > Knowledge, then Delete.
Access levels are wrong	Internal articles aren’t marked Internal, or customer-facing ones aren’t marked External.	Correct the access levels. See Knowledge access levels.
A knowledge mapping rule limits the search	The case matches a knowledge mapping rule. When a case matches a rule, Copilot searches only that rule’s articles.	Correct the mapping rule. See Knowledge mapping.

Drafts aren’t formatted correctly in the editor

Cause	How to tell	What to do
Your Zendesk settings limit formatting	You reply in Zendesk, and formatting such as bold, italics, or bullet points doesn’t carry over when Copilot moves the draft into the editor. In Zendesk, this formatting depends on your Zendesk settings.	Correct the formatting in the editor before you send the reply.
The channel doesn’t support rich text	You reply on a custom channel that doesn’t support rich text, so Copilot’s formatting is limited in the editor.	Correct the formatting in the editor before you send the reply.

Copilot keeps thinking and never finishes

Cause	How to tell	What to do
A temporary error	Copilot shows Thinking… or Drafting…, and after a minute the message hasn’t changed, so the request has stopped.	Refresh your browser tab, and try again.
You aren’t assigned to the ticket	Copilot still doesn’t finish after you refresh, and you aren’t assigned to the ticket you’re asking it to work on.	Make sure you’re assigned to the ticket, then try again.

If Copilot still doesn’t finish, try a different Copilot feature. For example, if you’re waiting for a drafted reply, try drafting from your notes instead.

Copilot ignores some of your instructions

Cause	How to tell	What to do
Your knowledge articles conflict with your instructions	Copilot ignores your instructions or does the opposite. Search your knowledge articles for style guidance, such as “ways to talk to customers”, that conflicts with what you’re asking Copilot to do.	Remove or reword the conflicting guidance in the knowledge article, so it doesn’t contradict your instructions.
Your instructions aren’t specific enough	For example, Copilot stays formal when you ask it to be casual.	Make your style and workflow instructions more specific. For example, describe what “casual” means to you, with examples of the right level of formality.
A critical instruction isn’t in every step where it applies	A very important requirement is missing from some of the workflow steps where it applies.	Repeat it in each workflow step where it applies.

Do your notes say clearly that you want a reply?

When you write notes in Copilot, it should turn them into a reply to the customer. If Draft is already selected below Copilot’s message box and Copilot still answers your notes, your notes may not say clearly enough that you want a reply.

To fix it:

Say what you want. Start your notes with Draft a reply or Respond to the customer.
Use bullet points. Bullet points help Copilot pick out the key information.
Structure your notes. Break them into clear parts that say what you expect, as in the example below.

For example:

Greet the customer by their first name.
Acknowledge their specific issue.
Resolution: [your notes]
Ask them to reply by email.

Do your style instructions encourage longer replies?

Copilot follows your brand’s style settings, and uses the same brand as your email agent. Drafts that are too long or include things you didn’t ask for usually come from those settings.

To check and fix the instructions:

Go to Configure > Brand studio and select the brand your email agent uses.
Review the instructions in Chat style and Email style, and in Agent scope and instructions on the General tab. If a recent change could be encouraging longer replies, rewrite it.
Add instructions to keep replies short, such as Always reply in the first person, as the support team member assigned to the ticket and Keep replies concise and focused on the customer's question. An example of the ideal length and format also helps.
Select Save changes.

For more on style settings, see Brand studio.

How do I update an article before the next sync?

For a time-sensitive change, upload a PDF of the updated article. The upload takes effect immediately.

Go to Configure > Knowledge.
Select Upload documents, then Upload manually, and upload a PDF of the updated article.

Delete the upload once the sync brings in the update.

What if it still doesn’t look right?

Chat with our team and include:

The ticket or case ID where you see the problem
Which Copilot feature you used, such as a drafted reply or a draft from notes
What you expected, and a screenshot of what Copilot produced
What you’ve already tried