oboloo AI (also called oboloo Assist) answers plain-English questions about your suppliers, contracts, documents, sourcing activities and savings, using only what's recorded in oboloo. It can also request and chase supplier documents and build spreadsheets, and nothing is sent until you confirm.
Before you start
Open oboloo AI
oboloo AI is the first item in the left-hand menu, above Home. oboloo opens on this page when you sign in and when you click the oboloo logo. To get to your dashboard, click Home.
What's on the page
Area | What it shows |
Header | The oboloo name with an AI (beta) badge, the Ask and Action switch, and New chat to clear the conversation and start again |
Greeting and question box | What would you like to do, <your first name>? and the box where you type. In Ask, the box says Ask about your supplier records. The line under it says what the selected mode does, with Enter to send |
Example questions | Ready-made questions you can click, such as What's coming up this month? in Ask or Chase overdue document requests in Action |
Recent | Your recent questions. Click one to ask it again |
Also works in your AI tools | Connect Claude, Connect ChatGPT and Connect Copilot, to use the same oboloo data from those tools. A connected tool shows as, for example, Connected · Claude |
Answers | A one- or two-sentence summary, with the matching records shown as a table, list or preview underneath |
Ask a question
Open oboloo AI
Click oboloo AI at the top of the left-hand menu.
Make sure Ask is selected
Ask only looks things up and never changes anything. The line under the box reads Searches your supplier, document, sourcing and savings records.
Type your question or click an example
Write it the way you'd ask a colleague, then press Enter. The examples in Ask are:
What's coming up this month?
What's expiring this month?
Who hasn't sent their paperwork?
Which suppliers are missing insurance?
What sourcing events are closing soon?
What savings have we recorded this year?
What contracts do we have?
Read the answer
oboloo AI gives a short summary and shows the records underneath. For example, What's coming up this month? shows a table with Name, Record type and Due date, with overdue items first.
Ask a follow-up
oboloo AI remembers the supplier, contract, document type or date you've already mentioned, so you can carry on with What about their contracts? If it needs more detail, it asks for everything missing in one message.
What you can ask about
Topic | Example question | What you get |
Suppliers | How many suppliers do we have? or Which suppliers are based in London? | A count or list of matching suppliers |
Contracts | What contracts do we have? or Which contracts are managed by me? | Matching contracts |
Documents | Who hasn't sent their paperwork? or Which suppliers are missing insurance? | What's on file, what's been requested but not supplied, what's awaiting your approval, and who has never been asked |
Coming up | What's coming up this month? or What's expiring this month? | Document due and expiry dates, contract end dates, notice deadlines, closing dates of open sourcing activities and incomplete savings milestones |
Sourcing (Ask only) | What sourcing events are closing soon? | Each activity's status, close date, and how many suppliers were invited and responded |
Savings (Ask only) | What savings have we recorded this year? | Recorded projected and realised amounts, totalled separately for each currency |
Duplicates (Ask only) | Do we have duplicate suppliers? | Possible duplicate suppliers, or more than one open request for the same document |
Chasing | What has been chased? | The chases already sent |
What oboloo AI can't see yet
Custom fields
Categories and sub-categories
Savings types
Supplier scorecards
Supplier questionnaires
Supplier onboarding
The sourcing library
Notifications
Ask and Action modes
Mode | What it does | Plan |
Ask | Searches your supplier, document, contract, sourcing and savings records, and creates spreadsheets. Never changes anything. | All plans (spreadsheets on paid plans and trial) |
Action | Requests documents from suppliers and chases overdue requests. Also creates spreadsheets. Sourcing, savings and duplicates questions stay in Ask. | Paid plans and trial |
Both modes share one conversation, so switching doesn't lose your thread. If you ask for a request or chase while you're in Ask, oboloo AI replies I can request that for you. Switch to Action? Click Switch to Action to carry on.
Request or chase documents
Click Action
Click Action at the top of the page. The line under the box reads Creates and sends document requests. Nothing sends without your confirmation.
Say what you want done
Request: Request insurance from Apex Facilities, or Request anti-bribery from everyone missing it. You can also click Request a document from a supplier.
Chase: click Chase overdue document requests, or chase one named supplier who already has an open request.
If an example fills in words in brackets, such as [document type] or [supplier], replace them before you send.
Check the preview
oboloo AI shows what it will do, marked Nothing sent yet:
Will be contacted: the suppliers and the email address of each one's primary contact.
Needs your decision: suppliers with no primary contact or email address. They won't be contacted.
Skipped: suppliers left out, and why.
Send it or cancel
Click Send request (or Send 3 requests, Send 2 chases) to go ahead, or Cancel to stop. After a cancel, the preview shows Cancelled. Nothing was sent.
What happens next
Requests: each supplier's primary contact gets an email with an upload link. The request is due on the date you gave, or in 14 days by default. One request can go to up to 200 suppliers.
Automatic chasing: oboloo chases anyone who hasn't replied after 3 days, again after 10, and then stops.
Chases: a chase follows up an existing open request. It doesn't create a second request.
Create a spreadsheet
Ask for a spreadsheet, CSV or export
For example Export suppliers based in London as CSV, Spreadsheet of 2026 savings, months as rows, projected and realised columns, or Make me an evidence pack. This works in Ask and Action.
Check the preview
The preview shows the filters, the Columns, the first few rows, and anything it Could not include, such as spend or a "compliant" column, which oboloo doesn't hold.
Click Generate spreadsheet
Click Generate spreadsheet (it shows the number of rows). The file downloads as Excel, or as CSV if you asked for it. Nothing is stored in oboloo, so ask again if you need another copy.
You can report on suppliers, contracts, supplier documents, contract documents, sourcing activities, savings, savings milestones, what's coming up, missing documents and document coverage. An evidence pack lists each supplier document with the supplier, primary contact and email, document type, status, expiry date, approved date and chase history. Amounts in different currencies are kept on separate rows. A spreadsheet can have up to 5,000 rows; narrow the filter if it's bigger.
Who can use oboloo AI
Permission: users need Create ticked on the AI Assist row of their role, under Settings > User Roles > Edit Role > Role Permissions > Module Access. Users without it can't use oboloo AI or connect AI tools. See User Roles & Access Rights (RBAC).
Record access: answers only include records you can open. Records restricted to their owners stay hidden. See Restrict Access to Individual Records.
Requests and chases: these are sent from oboloo in the same way as one sent from a supplier record.
Plans and question limits
What you get | Free Forever plan | Paid plans and 14-day trial |
Questions each month | 5, in Ask only | 50, across Ask and Action |
Request and chase (Action) | Locked: Requesting documents is on the paid plan. | Yes, after you click the button on the preview |
Spreadsheets | Preview only: Reports are on the paid plan. | Yes, up to 5,000 rows |
Claude, ChatGPT and Copilot | Questions only | Questions, plus requests and chases you confirm |
Reset: the count resets on the 1st of each month.
What counts: each question you send in Ask or Action. Questions oboloo AI turns down, opening the locked Action tab on the free plan, and clicking Send or Generate spreadsheet don't count.
Running low: under an answer you'll see, for example, You have 2 questions left this month. They reset on 1 November.
Used them all: a Monthly limit card says, for example, You've used your 50 questions for October. They reset on 1 November. On the free plan, click See plans to upgrade.
Keep going in your AI tools: questions asked from a connected Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot don't use your in-app allowance, and you can still request and chase from them. Nothing sends until you confirm.
See What's Included on the Free Plan and Plus Plans and Upgrade Your oboloo Subscription.
Use oboloo AI from Claude, ChatGPT or Copilot
Under Also works in your AI tools, click Connect Claude, Connect ChatGPT or Connect Copilot. The panel shows the oboloo MCP URL with a Copy URL button and the steps for that tool. The tool calls the same oboloo tools as oboloo AI, and you sign in with your oboloo account. See Connect Claude to oboloo, Connect ChatGPT to oboloo or Connect Microsoft Copilot to oboloo.
What oboloo AI won't do
Change records: it can't edit or delete records, approve documents or merge duplicates. Do those in the module itself.
Guess: if your records don't hold the answer, it says so rather than inventing a number, date or supplier. It can't see spend or contract terms.
Advise: it won't comment on prices, rates or benchmarks, whether to switch supplier or renegotiate, who should win a sourcing activity, or what you might save in future.
Judge compliance: it won't say a supplier or contract is compliant, or that a document is legally required. It reports what's been requested, supplied and approved.
Assume renewals: it won't say a contract will auto-renew. It reports notice deadlines where notice hasn't been given.
Mix currencies: it never adds amounts in different currencies together.
Common questions
I can't use oboloo AI
Your role doesn't have Create ticked on the AI Assist row. Ask your administrator to update your role in Settings > User Roles, then log out and sign in again.
Why is there a lock on the Action tab?
Your organisation is on the Free Forever plan. Requests and chases are on the paid plans and the trial. Opening the tab doesn't use a question. Click See plans to upgrade.
oboloo AI says it can't find a supplier I named
Check the spelling, or use the name as it appears in oboloo. If there's a close match, oboloo AI offers it. If several suppliers share a name, it lists them so you can pick one. If the supplier is restricted to its owners, it won't appear unless you're an owner.
A supplier is listed under Needs your decision
That supplier has no contacts, no primary contact, or a primary contact without an email address, so oboloo AI won't email anyone. Add or update the primary contact on the supplier record, then ask again.
Where has my conversation gone?
Your conversation stays if you refresh the page, but not if you close the browser tab. New chat clears it on purpose. Your recent questions are listed under Recent.
Can I trust the numbers?
The figures come straight from your oboloo records; the AI only writes the short summary. Records that are incomplete or out of date give incomplete answers, so check anything important on the record before you act.
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If you need further assistance, please contact your internal platform administrator for support. Otherwise please reach out to oboloo's support team. If you are unable to view the above area in the oboloo platform, please check your user permissions and access rights.