---
title: "Get the most out of the AI assistant"
description: "Best practices for the built-in AI assistant — how to ask so it gets it right the first time, ready-to-use example prompts for reports, creatives, linking, delivery diagnosis, limits, macros, VAST and link checks, raw logs and restoring deleted items, what it cannot do, which model to pick and how to keep the cost down, how to check its work and how to send feedback."
type: "howto"
audience: [network-manager]
keywords: [ai assistant, best practices, tips, prompts, example prompts, examples, how to ask, prompt examples, what to ask, write a good request, ai chat tips, save money, cheaper, cost, new chat, model, fast, balanced, deep, which model, what it cannot do, limitations, check the result, undo, feedback, thumbs, privacy, attachments, catfish, vast check, why not serving, empty report, raw logs]
ui_path: "Account → AI assistant"
---

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/llms.txt. Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. Append .md to any documentation page URL to get its markdown version.

# Get the most out of the AI assistant

The [AI assistant](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/collaboration/ai-assistant.md) does real work in your account — it pulls reports, creates and
links creatives, diagnoses delivery and changes settings, as you and with your permissions. How you
ask decides how quickly you get a correct answer and how much it costs. This page collects what works:
how to phrase a request, prompts you can copy, what the assistant cannot do, which model to use, and
how to check what it did. For how the chat itself works — attachments, keys, limits, billing — see
[Work with the AI assistant](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/collaboration/ai-assistant.md).

## Who this is for

Network managers, publishers and advertisers whose role has the *AI Assistant Chat* permission (see
[Prerequisites](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/collaboration/ai-assistant.md#prerequisites)). Everything below applies equally to an assistant
you connect yourself over [MCP](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/api/mcp.md) — it runs the same tools.

## Prerequisites

- The **AI assistant** tab is visible to you in the account.
- Each example below needs the permission the same action needs in the console: a report needs the
  report type, creating a banner needs banner create rights, and so on.

## Steps — how to ask the AI assistant

1. **Name the entity.** Give the advertiser, campaign, banner, site, zone or placement by its name or
   its id (`#4512`). The assistant cannot see the page you have open, so "this campaign" means nothing
   to it. If a name matches several entities, it asks which one you mean — an id saves that round trip.
2. **Give the dates — and the time zone when it matters.** "Last week" is fine; "Oct 1–6, UTC+2" is
   better when you compare with someone else's numbers. The **General** report always counts days in
   your network's reporting time zone; the **Advanced** report can use another one — say which.
3. **Give the sizes, links and values.** For a creative: the size, the click URL with any macros, and
   the file (attached or as a link). For a limit: the number. For targeting: the countries or devices.
4. **One task per message.** "Create the banner" and then "now link it" works better than five tasks
   in one message — each step is confirmed before the next starts, and a mistake stays small.
5. **Say the outcome you want**, not only the action: "so it serves on mobile placements of Sunrise
   News", "as a table sorted by revenue", "I need the number for an invoice".
6. **Follow up in the same chat** while you stay on the same task — "now the same for October",
   "link it to the 728×90 one too". The assistant keeps the context of the chat.
7. **Start a new chat for an unrelated task.** Every reply re-reads the whole conversation so far,
   so a long chat makes every next reply more expensive, even for a short question. A fresh chat for
   a new topic is cheaper and keeps old details from getting in the way.

> **Note:** Before it deletes something, switches several entities on or off, changes a budget, a
> price, a bid or a payout, or touches more than a few entities, the assistant lists what it is about
> to change and waits for your yes. A single edit you asked for in so many words goes ahead directly.

## Example prompts

Copy and adapt these — replace the names with your own. All names below are examples.

### Reports

| Who usually asks | Prompt |
|---|---|
| Network manager | *Impressions, clicks and revenue by campaign for advertiser Northwind Games, last week, as a table sorted by revenue.* |
| Publisher | *Requests, impressions and fill rate for each placement of site Sunrise News, yesterday.* |
| Network manager | *Advanced report for site Sunrise News, Oct 1–6 in UTC+2: impressions by country and device.* |
| Advertiser | *Why did impressions of campaign Spring Sale drop yesterday compared with the day before?* |

The Advanced report needs that report type in your role (and Advanced analytics switched on for your
network), and each breakdown — region and city, referrer, custom parameter — needs its own report
permission. The assistant names what is missing before it runs anything.

![A report request that names the advertiser, the dates and the outcome, and the table it returns](https://epom.com/docs-images/ad-server/ai-assistant-tips/example-report-prompt.webp)

### Creatives and templates

| Who usually asks | Prompt |
|---|---|
| Advertiser | *(attach `spring-sale-300x250.png`)* *Create an image banner from this in campaign Spring Sale of Northwind Games. Click URL: `https://northwind-games.example/sale?src=epom&placement=$$PLACEMENT_ID$$`. Link it to every placement it fits.* |
| Network manager | *(attach an image)* *Make a catfish for mobile with this image in campaign Spring Sale.* |
| Network manager | *Move the catfish of banner Spring Sale Catfish to the top of the screen and turn off its close button.* |

If the account has no catfish template yet and your network has Epom's template library switched on,
the assistant says so, describes the template in one line and adds it only after you agree. See
[Templates](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/templates.md).

### Linking and delivery

| Who usually asks | Prompt |
|---|---|
| Network manager | *Link banner Spring Sale 300x250 to placement Sunrise News — Sidebar 300x250.* |
| Network manager | *Why isn't banner Spring Sale 300x250 serving on placement Sunrise News — Sidebar 300x250?* |
| Publisher | *Placement Sunrise News — Sidebar 300x250 fills badly this week. Why?* |
| Advertiser | *Campaign Spring Sale stopped at its total impressions limit. Raise the total limit to 2,000,000 and switch the campaign back on.* |
| Publisher | *Set a frequency cap of 1 impression per user every 30 minutes on placement Sunrise News — Interstitial.* |

Ask for both halves of the limit change: a campaign switched off by a reached Total limit stays off
after the limit is raised (see [When a Total cap is reached](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/delivery/limits-how-caps-behave.md#when-a-total-cap-is-reached)).

### Reports that look wrong

| Who usually asks | Prompt |
|---|---|
| Network manager | *My General report for advertiser Northwind Games, Oct 1–5, grouped by placement, is empty. Why?* |
| Network manager | *Are there clicks without impressions on placement Sunrise News — Sidebar 300x250 yesterday? Which IPs repeat?* |

Questions about single clicks, impressions and conversions read the raw event logs (up to 3 days at
a time) and need the same permissions as the log reports: the log report type in your role, plus
view access to all campaigns and all inventory. See
[Ask the assistant to analyse the raw logs](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/analytics/report-types.md#ask-the-assistant-to-analyse-the-raw-logs)
and [My report is empty](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/troubleshooting/analytics-discrepancies.md#symptom-my-report-is-empty).

### Macros, capping and how the product works

| Who usually asks | Prompt |
|---|---|
| Advertiser | *Which macro puts the site's domain into my click URL, and how do I pass a `sub1` custom parameter from the ad tag?* |
| Network manager | *Does frequency capping work for ads inside an app WebView?* |

The assistant answers these from this help center and links the page it used.

### Checking a VAST tag or a link

| Who usually asks | Prompt |
|---|---|
| Network manager | *Check this VAST tag: `https://ads.adtech-partner.example/vast?id=4411`. Does it return an ad, and which media files?* |
| Publisher | *What CSS selector does the video player have on `https://sunrise-news.example/video/`? I need it for the overlay's Parent Selector.* |

> **Corner case:** the check runs from the ad server's datacenter and runs no JavaScript. A tag
> targeted by country, device or IP can answer *no ad* there and still fill for a real visitor, and a
> player that the page builds with JavaScript is not in the HTML the check reads.

### Undo and restore

| Who usually asks | Prompt |
|---|---|
| Any | *What did I change today? Undo the price change on campaign Spring Sale.* |
| Any | *Restore the campaign Autumn Promo I deleted this morning.* |

The assistant sees only **your own** recent changes. Deleted advertisers, campaigns, banners, sites,
zones and placements come back within 90 days — see [Restore something you deleted](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/troubleshooting/restore-deleted.md).

## What it can’t do

- **See your screen or a live page.** It knows what you write, the files you attach and what its
  tools return. It reads a page's raw HTML, but does not run its JavaScript, so it cannot see what a
  visitor's browser renders.
- **Change what only Epom support changes for your network** — switch on a module or tab
  (SSP, HTML5 templates, Advanced analytics, traffic quality), connect an RTB endpoint, add a serving
  domain, grant access to a feature. It says so and offers to send a support request.
- **Go beyond your permissions.** A refused action is refused for it too, and it names the missing
  permission. It cannot change passwords, API keys or Anthropic keys.
- **Make figures agree across time zones.** A day in the General report is a day in your network's
  reporting time zone; a day in the Advanced report is a day in the zone picked for it; a partner's
  report may use a third. Ask for the same time zone on both sides before comparing.
- **Work with a file it has no link to.** A file on your computer must be attached; a file behind a
  login or on a private network cannot be fetched. It does not edit images or videos — it passes the
  file you give it to the tool that creates the creative.

## Models and cost

| Model | Price per token | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| **Fast** (default) | 1× | Most everyday work: reports, settings, creating and linking creatives, help questions. |
| **Balanced** | 4× | Tricky diagnosis — why something isn't serving, numbers that don't match — or many entities at once. |
| **Deep** | 8× | The hardest cases, when Balanced isn't enough. |

Start on Fast. Switch up when an answer misses the point, contradicts what you see in the account,
or the request spans many entities; switch back when the hard part is done. You do not have to watch
for this yourself: the assistant suggests a switch with a button under its reply (*Try on Balanced*,
or *Switch back to Fast*), and rating a Fast reply **Not helpful** offers Balanced the same way. The
choice is per chat — see [Models](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/collaboration/ai-assistant.md#models).

![The Try on Balanced button under a Fast reply that could not settle a diagnosis](https://epom.com/docs-images/ad-server/ai-assistant-tips/model-switch.webp)

**Ways to spend less:**

- Stay on **Fast** unless the task needs more.
- **One chat per topic.** A long chat makes every reply re-read more history; switching the model
  mid-chat makes the next reply re-read it at full price.
- Run it on **your own Anthropic key** (Preferences → AI assistant) — Anthropic bills you directly and
  the platform bills nothing — or use **your own Claude** through the [MCP connector](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/api/mcp.md).
- Every reply shows its cost, and the header shows your month against your **monthly limit** (on the
  platform's key, $20 per user unless your administrator sets another).
- During your network's **promo** — set in your network's billing plan; for existing networks through
  November 8, 2026 — usage on the platform's key is not billed, up to the promo's allowance for the
  whole network. See [The promo month](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/collaboration/ai-assistant.md#the-promo-month).

## Check the result

- **Open the links.** Every entity the assistant creates or finds comes back as a link on its name.
  Open it and check the fields that matter to you before the creative goes live.
- **Open the steps.** Each tool the assistant ran shows as a step; open one to see exactly what it
  sent and what came back.
- **Ask what changed.** *"What did you change in this chat?"* lists your recent changes with the
  values they replaced, and any of them can be undone the same way.
- **Rate the reply.** The thumbs under each reply go to the team that improves the assistant; a
  thumbs-down asks what went wrong. Short, specific comments help most.

## Send feedback to the team

Tell the assistant when something looks broken, when the product lacks something, or when a feature
is awkward. It first tries to explain the problem with its own tools — most "bugs" are a setting —
and when a request is warranted it drafts a **bug report**, **feature request** or **improvement**
(or a **support request** for what only support can do) in three or four lines. Nothing is sent until
you say yes; the reply then gives the request's kind and number. See
[Report a bug or ask for a feature](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/collaboration/ai-assistant.md#report-a-bug-or-ask-for-a-feature).

## Privacy and files

- Conversations are reviewed by Epom to improve the assistant and are kept for **180 days** in Epom's
  central quality service. See [How Epom uses the conversations](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/collaboration/ai-assistant.md#how-epom-uses-the-conversations).
- Attachments may be removed after a while. An old chat still opens; if the assistant needs a file
  that is gone, it asks you to send it again.
- A creative never links to a chat attachment: the assistant makes a creative that stores its own
  copy of the file. For a creative served from an external link, give a link to your own hosting.

## Corner cases and gotchas

> **Corner case:** **a vague name finds several entities.** "Spring Sale" may be a campaign and three
> banners. The assistant asks which one; give the type or the id up front.

> **Corner case:** **the same request, different answers per model.** A Fast answer that seems wrong
> on a hard diagnosis is worth one retry on Balanced before you report it.

> **Corner case:** **you hit your monthly limit mid-task.** The reply in progress keeps what it did;
> the chat stays closed until the 1st or until your limit is raised. See
> [What it costs you](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/collaboration/ai-assistant.md#what-it-costs-you).

## Per-role notes

- **Advertisers** see and change only their own campaigns and creatives; prompts about placements
  they cannot see are refused.
- **Publishers** see their own sites, zones and placements and the statistics their role allows.
- **Read-only or shared access:** the assistant can read what you can read and change nothing more.

## Related

- [Work with the AI assistant](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/collaboration/ai-assistant.md)
- [Connect an AI assistant (MCP)](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/api/mcp.md)
- [Why is my ad not serving?](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/troubleshooting/ad-not-serving.md)
- [Analytics discrepancies](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/troubleshooting/analytics-discrepancies.md)
- [Report types](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/analytics/report-types.md)
- [Restore something you deleted](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/troubleshooting/restore-deleted.md)
- [Macros](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/reference/macros.md)