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Adaptive Planning
Last Updated: 2026-03-13
Concept: Ask Workday for Adaptive Planning

Concept: Ask Workday for Adaptive Planning

Ask Workday for Adaptive Planning (Ask Workday) is a generative artificial intelligence (AI) feature that enables users to interact with Adaptive Planning using natural language. The feature includes Contextual Help which provides a conversational interface to enable you to quickly access information from Adaptive Planning documentation.
Contextual Help is an AI feature and is different from Online Help for Adaptive Planning. While you can access Online Help from the question mark icon, Contextual Help is available seamlessly within Ask Workday.
With Ask Workday, you can:
  • Ask questions in natural language and access relevant help exactly when needed.
  • Receive concise, context-aware answers without disrupting your workflows.
  • Use a "Help me find an answer" prompt on the welcome screen to discover relevant questions.
  • Only view the data they you access to.
In addition, Ask Workday provides:
  • Type-ahead recommendations
  • Smart prompt suggestions
  • Response feedback
  • Full screen mode

Benefits

Ask Workday:
  • Enables faster, more strategic decisions by uncovering insights and suggesting next steps in context.
  • Boosts productivity and user adoption by making advanced planning tools intuitive, conversational, and accessible to all skill levels.
  • Streamlines access to Adaptive Planning information by combining comprehensive search with contextual analysis.
  • Provides contextual how-to information for critical tasks such as:
    • Setting up alternate calendars
    • Creating Machine Learning (ML) forecasts
    • Reviewing scenario changes
    • Changing default currencies
  • Reduces dependency on support teams by making learning intuitive and seamless.
  • Reduces AI errors and hallucinations by ensuring the AI is grounded in your actual data service (MDS) elements rather than general terms.
  • Eliminates the need to memorize strict naming conventions or prefixes for complex model structures, allowing for a more natural, conversational workflow.
  • Simplifies the process of creating rich, contextual prompts, enabling both new and expert users to derive deeper insights from their data more quickly.

How to Access

Assign the
Access Ask Workday for Adaptive Planning
permission to:
  • Administrators so they can enable Ask Workday for an Adaptive Planning instance. After it is enabled, the
    Ask Workday
     icon displays on the global toolbar across the application.
  • End users so they can view the
    Ask Workday
     icon on the global toolbar for accessing Ask Workday.

Best Practices for AI Prompts

To structure effective prompts that help you get the best answers, adhere to these best practices:
  • Be clear and specific. Use explicit language to avoid ambiguity.
    Example: "How can I schedule a matrix report to run every week?"
  • Use conversational language. Phrase your prompts as questions and type in natural language.
    Example: “How do I quickly find what permissions a user has?”
  • Provide context and add details for precise responses.
    Example: "When viewing a standard sheet, how can I check why certain rows are hidden?"
  • Use keywords as filters.
    Example: "How do I assign sheets by level for headcount planning?”
  • Use exact page or metadata names and quotes.
    Example: “On the Formulas page, how can I add a formula for my ‘1700 Long Term Assets’ account?”
  • Provide onscreen context. To anchor the response, reference specific data elements visible on your screen or within your model.
    Example: “While viewing the 'Expense Forecast' sheet, how do I filter results to just the Marketing department?”
  • Clarify your expectations. Include constraints or parameters for more targeted responses.
    Example: “What’s the difference between Design Integrations and Setup Pipeline? Show the response in a table view.”

Troubleshooting

Even with well-crafted prompts, Ask Workday might provide unexpected responses. Use this troubleshooting guide to refine your queries or resolve common issues:
Cause
Solution
Response seems incomplete or incorrect
  • Refresh the screen or report. Outdated data can affect the response from Ask Workday.
  • Reword your question. Using simpler or more specific terms might result in a better response.
    Example: Instead of "Compare revenue," try "Compare revenue by region for FY 2024."
  • Use the exact names or codes of your metadata. Review the report labels to guide you.
Query is referencing missing elements
  • Refer to the metadata for the displayed data. Check that the account, dimension, or level you are asking about is visible on your page or part of the data in your model available to Ask Workday.
  • Add the missing elements to the dataset. If you’re asking about a specific account or dimension that’s not displayed on your page, then add the element to your dataset. Then try your query again.
Ask Workday doesn’t understand the prompt
  • Iterate your query. If the first response isn’t helpful, refine your question and try again.
  • Submit in-app feedback. Use the feedback option in Ask Workday to report the issue. To help improve its performance, include details about what you were trying to achieve.

Providing Feedback

To provide feedback, click the thumbs up or thumbs down icon. If you click thumbs down, you must provide details. You can either:
  • Select from options we provide or select Something else to type in your own feedback. When done, click Submit.
  • Cancel out at any point by clicking the X. We'll still capture your thumbs down selection.
You only see the options for additional feedback on the last response in the chat. If you scroll back up and click thumbs down then you don't get these options.