## Open Copilot Chat

Open the integrated Copilot Chat panel when you want an AI agent to answer
questions about the active Visual Components layout. The panel opens on the
right side of the VC workspace and provides a welcome screen until you start a
chat.

![Copilot Chat welcome panel showing the free trial state, Ask and Edit mode actions, and workspace and settings actions.](https://inspector.4111778.xyz/assets/captures/copilot-chat-welcome-panel.png)

1. On the **HOME** tab, find the **Inspector 3.5** group.
2. Select **Copilot**.
3. In the welcome screen, select **Ask** to start an investigation chat.

The live entry point is the **Copilot** button in the Inspector ribbon group.
Its source command is exposed to UI Automation as
`VcTabHomeInspectorGroupInspector.OpenCopilotChat`.

## Choose a mode

Use the mode that matches the risk of the task:

* **Ask** starts a chat for questions, explanations, and investigation. Ask
  mode excludes edit-capable Inspector tools.
* **Edit** starts a chat that can use edit-capable Inspector tools. The agent
  may edit the layout, save or load files, and write Python scripts directly.
  Use this mode only when those actions are intentional.

New chats start in **Ask** mode. You can change the selected chat's mode later
when it is not busy.

## Welcome actions

The welcome screen also provides:

* **Open workspace** to open the Inspector Copilot workspace folder in File
  Explorer.
* **Settings** to choose the provider and manage authentication or model
  options.

See [Configure Copilot Chat](https://inspector.4111778.xyz/docs/copilot/configure-copilot-chat/) before using a GitHub
Copilot subscription, and [Work with chats and the Copilot workspace](https://inspector.4111778.xyz/docs/copilot/chat-sessions-and-workspace/)
for ongoing sessions.

## Result

The Chat panel shows the selected mode, a message input, and a new chat session.
Use Ask mode for read-only investigation questions before considering any
edit-capable workflow.