A demo setup in which a visitor without an account asks a question and receives an answer that searches the sources. It is the quickest way to see what the product does: no installation, no subscription, no integration. Anyone wishing to ask more questions than the trial allows can connect their own assistant to the connector and will then no longer be restricted; see Claude Koppelen.
The FAQ can be found at /nl/vraag, and in the other three languages at /en/ask, /de/frage and /fr/question. An administrator activates it by setting Ask:Enabled. If this is set to ‘off’, the page does not exist and does not appear in the menu. Available from version 1.3.41.
What a visitor enters
Three things, two of which are compulsory:
- the question, no more than 300 characters;
- the role for which the response is being written: resident, journalist, councillor, director, or council clerk and civil servant. The role determines the tone and level of detail, not the sources;
- an email address, which is only required from the second enquiry onwards within 24 hours.
There is also a drop-down list containing sample questions. This populates the input field but does not replace it: the text remains editable afterwards, and you are always free to type in your own question.
How many questions are allowed?
The limit applies per IP address and per email address, over a 24-hour period:
| Question | What happens |
|---|---|
| The first | The answer appears on the screen |
| The second through to the fifth | An email address is required, and the reply will be sent by email |
| From the sixth | No further reply will be given, with a reference to the instructions page |
An email address must first be confirmed. Until this has been done, any replies will be held and nothing will be sent to that address. The confirmation link releases all pending replies for that address in one go.
There is also a limit to the costs. All visitors combined have a daily budget of 100 euros. Once that has been used up, no further replies will be given that day, regardless of who asks.
What the answer implies
Each answer is located at its own address containing a unique identifier. That address is the key: whoever has it can see the answer, whilst search engines cannot access it. It is therefore suitable for sharing but unsuitable for posting publicly anywhere.
Above the answer are two notices, each serving a different purpose:
- The answer has been generated by AI and may contain errors;
- This is a test facility, and any response is not intended for reuse in a publication, a recommendation or a decision.
The first is a requirement under the European AI Regulation. The second is a commitment regarding the service and does not replace the first. Both are also included on the form and in the email.
The placement is part of the requirement and is not a matter of formatting. The regulation stipulates that it must be clearly visible to the reader. Anyone who reads the entire answer first and then discovers below it that it was written by a machine will already have accepted the text at face value. Up to version 1.3.49, the notices appeared below the answer; from version 1.3.50 onwards, they appear above it, even for questions that are still pending.
Below that, it states which model generated the answer and at what level of complexity. This choice helps to keep the costs of the free service down.
For machines, the reply page has the subject line ‘AI-Generated: true’. The email containing the reply has the same subject line. A page without generated text does not have this subject line.
Case files
An administrator can promote one of their own questions and its answer to a public page. These pages are all available at /nl/dossiers and serve as examples of what the sources provide.
There are three rules to bear in mind:
- Only a question asked by the administrator themselves can be promoted; never one asked by a visitor;
- A page with a PhD exists only in the language in which the question was asked. The address does not exist in any other language;
- Above the answer, the page states that it was generated by AI, and specifies the time it was generated and the sources consulted.
What is recorded
Every query is stored, along with the answer, the role, the language, the duration and the cost. The aim is to improve the product’s performance. The storage process takes place in three stages:
- After 30 days, the IP address and email address are deleted;
- After a year, the answer disappears, leaving the question regarding the role, duration and costs;
- After two years, the registration is completely deleted.
A promoted page is exempt from this rule; otherwise, a public page would clear its own content.
The question relates to a model from a supplier outside the European Union. This is also stated on the form. Therefore, please do not include any personal data in a question, not even that of the person asking the question: the text is not filtered. Anyone wishing to have a question removed should follow the procedure at Verzoek over Persoonsgegevens.
What the Q&A section is not
It is not a service on which a recommendation or decision can be based. It is a trial with a daily budget, and it may be taken offline without notice. Anyone who uses the product seriously should link their own assistant to the connector: this is free, unlimited, and the answer will then come from their own environment. See Claude Koppelen and, for asking a useful question, Een Vraag Stellen.