General Chat & Sidebar

The Chat workspace is Meelio's conversational AI interface. It serves as a general-purpose clinical assistant for topics that aren't tied to a specific patient, and acts as your master conversation history.

Accessing the Chat Workspace

Click the Chat option in the main navigation menu, or click the Chat with AI button on the Dashboard. By default, opening this view lands you on a fresh general chat session.

The Collapsible Conversation Sidebar

The Chat workspace features a collapsible sidebar on the left side of the screen that houses your entire history of conversations — general chats, patient chats, general meetings, and consultation sessions. You can expand or collapse this sidebar to balance browsing capability with focused writing space.

Expanding and Collapsing

The sidebar has two modes:

• Expanded (List View): At 280px wide, the sidebar displays full conversation titles, search fields, and category filters.
• Collapsed (Rail View): At 56px wide, the sidebar collapses into a compact navigation rail showing only icons, maximizing your editing and viewing space.

To toggle the sidebar:

1. Manual Toggle: Click the collapse [«] icon next to the "New Chat" button when expanded, or click the expand [»] icon at the top of the rail when collapsed. The toggle buttons reside in the same vertical position to prevent the cursor from jumping.
2. Keyboard Shortcut: Press ⌘B (Mac) or Ctrl+B (Windows/Linux) to instantly toggle the sidebar's collapse state.
3. Smart Keyboard Focus: If you use keyboard navigation to browse conversations and collapse the sidebar, focus automatically relocates to the toggle button, ensuring you never lose your place.

Smart Entry-Point Defaults

Meelio pre-collapses or pre-expands the sidebar depending on your workflow:

• Browsing Mode: When you click Chat in the top navigation or click Chat with AI on the Dashboard, you are typically browsing. The sidebar opens expanded by default so you can easily browse or search your history.
• Focused Work Mode: When you transition into Chat from a recorded consultation or open a specific patient's chat, you are focused on clinical documentation. The sidebar opens collapsed in rail mode by default, removing distractions and maximizing your clinical workspace.

Viewport Auto-Collapsing

On narrow screens (width below 1400px), the sidebar automatically collapses to rail mode by default to fit your workspace layout cleanly. If you manually toggle the sidebar, your preference will be remembered on that tab until you cross the screen-width threshold again.

Searching and Filtering History

• Search Conversations — Use the search bar at the top of the sidebar to search through past session titles, summaries, or first messages.
• Filter Chips — Quickly filter your conversation list using the chips below the search bar:
  • All — Shows all your past conversations.
  • Patients — Filters to only show patient-specific chats and recorded consultation chats.
  • Meetings — Filters to show chats linked to general meetings.
  • Chats — Filters to show only your general-purpose chats.
• Grouping — Conversations are grouped by when they were last active: Today, Yesterday, This week, and Earlier.
• Rail Search Shortcut: When the sidebar is collapsed in rail mode, clicking the Search [🔍] icon automatically expands the sidebar and places your typing cursor directly into the search input so you can start typing immediately.
• Start a New Chat — Click the New Chat button at the top of the sidebar to instantly open a new, blank general chat session.

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Web Search & Research

The Chat workspace is the ideal place for clinical research and staying current with medical literature.

• Enable Search — Click the Search (globe) icon in the chat input area to allow the assistant to search the web.
• Deep Search — For complex clinical questions, toggle the Deep search option (available via the arrow next to the Search button) for more exhaustive and comprehensive research results.
• Verified Sources — Every web-connected response includes a Sources section. Click any citation to view the original source in your system browser.
• Google Search Suggestions — Use the "Related Google searches" dropdown below web-connected responses for additional research paths.

What You Can Use It For

• Clinical research — Ask about medical topics, nutrition science, or functional medicine treatment approaches.
• General questions — Get help with clinical documentation formatting, medical terminology, or best practices.
• Summary creation — Paste raw clinical notes or external text and ask the AI to generate structured summaries.
• Template guidance — Get suggestions on how to design custom templates for your clinical notes or care plans.

Example Prompts

• "Search for the most recent clinical guidelines for PCOS management in 2025-2026"
• "Explain the difference between SOAP and DAP note formats"
• "Help me create a template for initial nutrition assessments"
• "What supplements are contraindicated with metformin? Search for recent meta-analyses."

Limitations

A general chat does not have access to specific patient records or consultation transcripts unless you attach that context. To chat with a patient's clinical context loaded, use Patient Chat. To chat about a recorded session, use Post-Consultation Chat.

Agent Memory

The assistant automatically learns and recalls your preferences, workflow styles, and practice facts to personalize your experience. To learn more about how memories are saved, viewed, and managed, see Agent Memory.