AI ForumBot 1.1.3

Updates:

1) The chat box now supports multi-line entries with the standard ctrl/cmd keystroke:

• Ctrl+Enter (Command+Enter on a Mac) inserts a line break without sending. Shift+Enter does the same.
• Enter sends.

2) If the ForumBot license is not active, permitted usergroups see: "{botName} is unavailable. Contact the site administrator."

3) Members who can use the chat now see "Ask {botName}" next to the robot icon on posts.

• Once installed and a valid key supplied, the AI tab will no longer show to people who don't have access. Unpermitted members get a normal "not found" if they hit the URL; you can grant access to user groups in the Permissions system.
• Admins are granted chat and @tag permissions on install, so you can try it as soon as the key is in (but see note below re: using @tag in public forums before purchase).
• The guest join-funnel is off by default. Turn it on when you want guests to see a sign-up prompt instead of a login redirect.

Existing installs keep their current permissions and guest-funnel setting.

If you'd like a one-day demo key, message me. The demo agent isn't loaded with your forum yet; that's what happens after payment (so as noted above, I'd suggest using @tag in a private forum for admins only).

Fixed an install failure on MySQL 5.7 and MariaDB, where a database column was created with a default value those versions don't allow (the "BLOB, TEXT… can't have a default value" error). That column is now created in a portable way, so ForumBot installs cleanly on all supported MySQL and MariaDB versions.

• @tag is now permission-based. A new "Tag ForumBot" permission opens @tag replies to any usergroup you choose, not just admins and moderators.
  
  
• Moderation queue for member @tags. Bot replies to a member's @tag are held in XenForo's standard Approval Queue for staff review before they post. A new "Bypass moderation for ForumBot replies" permission lets trusted groups post instantly.
  
  
• Approval + usage alerts. The member who tagged the bot is notified when their reply is awaiting approval, and sees how many of their daily messages they have used.
  
  
• @tag now counts toward the daily message limit, shared with 1:1 chat. Users with the Unlimited permission are exempt.
  
  
• After upgrading: @tag is now controlled under Groups & permissions. Your existing admin/mod @tag access is carried over; review your permissions to confirm it and to open @tag to other groups if you want.

• Copy message. Every message in the chat now has a small copy button, so a member can grab one answer (or their own question) without selecting text by hand.
• Copy chat contents (the whole conversation). A new "Copy chat contents" option copies the entire exchange as plain text, which is handy for quoting an exchange with ForumBot.
• A reminder about shared links. Shared chat pages expire after five days, so the share window now points members to "Copy chat contents" whenever they want a reference that will stay put.
• Better answers on posts that quote someone. When a member uses the robot icon on a post that quotes an earlier reply, ForumBot now focuses on what that member actually wrote, rather than blending it together with the text they quoted. Previously it could read two people's words as if they came from one person, and that is now fixed.
• No wasted daily messages on a hiccup. If an AI request fails to complete, it no longer counts against the member's daily message limit. Only the answers they actually receive are counted.

For admins

• Delete individual chat log entries. The chat log viewer now lets you remove a single entry, instead of only clearing the entire log.
• Cleaner options page. Dependent settings now stay hidden until the feature they belong to is enabled (for example, the bot username and tag scope appear only when mentions are turned on), so the ForumBot options page is easier to scan.

• New daily message counter on the chat page: members see how many messages they have left today and when it resets, or a live "messages today" tally if they have unlimited access.
  
  
• New optional setting (off by default) that shows members on a daily limit an "Upgrade for unlimited access" link beside the counter (goes to /account/upgrades).
  
  
• Removed a straggling branding mention in the public shared-chat pages. ForumBot has no visible branding on your site.
  (h/t @JamesBrown banger thread on this topic ).

This release introduces Project Info, a new way for your members to give ForumBot lasting context about their situations, setups, or goals. This context can optionally be submitted with each request, so ForumBot has maximum context for each session.

Details:

Members (with requisite usergroup-level permissions) can save up to 1,500 characters describing their project, current setup, ongoing goals, or background. When chatting, they toggle Use Project Info to attach that context to a question. The bot grounds its answers in their saved details. For example, a member of a home aquarium community asking "what species fits my setup?" gets a setup-specific answer when their tank parameters are saved, instead of a generic response.

Use cases vary by community: in the case cited above, aquarium keepers save tank parameters. In other communities, hobbyists can save gear lists or current project status; researchers can save their area of focus; commerce communities can save buyer profiles. The free-form text means it adapts to whatever your forum is about.

As admin, you can add your own custom instructions in addition to ForumBot's general instructions for the end-user.

Two-layer permission gating:

• Master option Enable Project Editor (off by default). Flip in AdminCP > Options > ForumBot when ready to enable for your community.
• Per-usergroup permissions: Use ForumBot Project Info (off by default). Grant to the usergroups who should have access (typical patterns: admins, mods, and paid tiers).

Chat (end-user) experience:

• Members with the permission but no saved project see a "Set up Project Info" link in the chat panel
• Members with saved project see a "Use Project Info" toggle chip plus a "Manage Project Info" link
• Toggle starts OFF on every page load (clean slate per session) and the Clear chat button also resets it.

UX polish​

• Refreshed chat panel layout: single-column with native XF block styling
• Larger welcome and intro copy for readability
• Privacy notice and My shared chats links moved to small footer-of-block links

Admin / configuration​

• ForumBot permissions now appear in their own "ForumBot permissions" section in AdminCP > Groups & permissions (previously listed under General Permissions)
• New Type column in the AI chat log: shows at a glance whether a chat used Project Info context (values: chat or project)
• Various small consistency improvements in admin copy

Upgrade notes​

Standard upgrade from v1.0.7 (v1.0.8 was an internal build; this is the first public release of the Project Info feature). No schema-breaking changes; existing chat logs preserved. The xf_di_forumbot_project storage table is created automatically. Project Editor is off by default. Flip the master option and grant the permission when you're ready to enable for your community.

• Fixed AdminCP navigation URLs for AdminCP > Logs > AI chat logs and AdminCP > Logs > Shared chats. Prior to this fix, both nav entries resolved to the same URL, causing both to land on the Shared chats page. Pagination and post-action redirects on the AI chat log viewer were affected by the same underlying issue. v1.0.7 restores each entry to its correct destination.

• Suggested starter prompts: admins can configure 3-5 prompts in AdminCP > Options > ForumBot that appear as clickable chips in the empty chat state. One click sends the prompt as the first message. Closes the blank-page problem and gives admins a way to demonstrate the bot's best use cases without writing instructional copy in three places.
  
  
• Share this chat: members can now create a public read-only snapshot of a conversation, valid for 5 days. Off by default; turn on in AdminCP > Options > ForumBot > Enable chat sharing. A new "Share chat" link appears in the chat action row once a bot reply has landed; clicking it generates a public URL that auto-copies to the clipboard. Members manage their active shares (5-max with replace-oldest confirm) from a sidebar link on the chat page; admins review the full active list in AdminCP > Logs > Shared chats. Expired snapshots are pruned automatically by the existing daily cron.
  
  
• Improved chat page layout: the chat page now uses a right-sidebar layout (collapses below on mobile). Privacy policy link moved to the sidebar; "My shared chats" link appears there when a member has active shares.

Screenshots added to overview.

• Quality feedback on bot replies: members can now thumbs-up or thumbs-down each bot response in the chat panel. Ratings show up as a column in the AdminCP chat log viewer, making it easy to spot which kinds of questions the agent is nailing and which need tuning on the prompt side. Screenshots added to the Overview page. Screenshots added to overview.
  
  
• Hardened input handling: the chat history payload now has a size cap matching the existing user-message cap, preventing oversized requests from being forwarded upstream.

Service-side improvements:

• Smarter knowledge base citations: the agent now walks articles, then forums, then community CTAs in a deliberate order, combining citations rather than stopping at the first hit. Richer, more useful responses on forums that have both an article library and discussion threads in the KB.
  
  
• Cleaner forum routing: the agent now sees the full forum directory (useful for scenarios where forum-level links are warranted in the response).
  
  
• Markdown anchor escaping: special characters in thread titles no longer break the renderer when the agent links to them.
  
  
• Standardized KB filenames and associated templates: three optional knowledge-base files a customer can submit, each with a clear naming convention.
  • {site}-articles-kb.csv for published articles, blog posts, KB entries, documentation, or any non-forum content the agent should be able to cite.
  • {site}-forums-kb.csv for forum thread titles and post content, so the agent can draw on community discussion.
  • {site}-nav-kb.csv for the list of forum sections, so the agent can route users to the right place when warranted.