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Field notes · Entry 00

Ask the archive. Check the margin.

AI Copilot searches the documents your team is allowed to use, drafts a brief in which every claim has a numbered source, says plainly when the evidence is missing, and leaves the next step to a named reviewer.

Scope your AI Copilot Open the example notebook
  • Scoped engagement
  • EU or private hosting, agreed per project
  • Briefs in your team’s language
Entry 00 · 16 Sept · Materials pilot Example data

Can we extend the materials pilot?

  1. Not yet. The humidity test found edge lifting on batch A.1

    1 Lab notebook · 12 Sept Research collection “…the adhesive lifted at the edge.”

  2. The supplier proposes adhesive variant B, but has sent no validation results.2

    2 Supplier note · 16 Sept Research collection “…has not supplied validation results…”

  3. Release requires reviewed humidity evidence and the project lead’s approval.3

    3 Review checklist Research collection “…review humidity test evidence…”

Evidence missing No validation result for adhesive B in this collection.

Needs review · Project lead

Example: a cited answer with three numbered sources in the margin and one missing piece of evidence.

Entry 01 · Open notebook

Ask a question. Follow every claim back to its page.

A research collection with four documents. Choose a question, open a numbered reference and mark the brief as reviewed. Nothing leaves this page.

Materials pilot / research brief Example data

Your questions

Source collection

Working brief Needs review

The next test is the decision point.

The current evidence does not support extending the materials pilot. The humidity test found edge lifting; the proposed adhesive revision still needs validation.

Proposed next step

Repeat the humidity test with the revised adhesive, then send the result to the project lead for review.

Evidence missing

No validation result for adhesive B is in this collection.

  1. Draft preparedDone
  2. Reviewed by project leadPending
  3. Decision recordedDecisions are made in your own system.Open

Review state is kept in this page.

Select a question to update the brief. Open a numbered reference to read its source passage. The selected question and source are kept in the address bar.

Entries 02–04 · Capabilities

Give your team a copilot that knows the work.

Three capabilities, set up around one collection and one team before anything grows.

Entry 02 · Search

Permission-aware knowledge search

Search respects who is asking. Access rules are agreed in scoping and applied before retrieval, so people only get passages from documents they can open.

What you get

  • Collections defined by team or project
  • Access rules agreed in scoping
  • Results that name the document, page and date
Two readers, one questionExample data
adhesive B validation
Materials team
  • Supplier notep. 1 · 16 Sept
  • Lab notebookp. 2 · 12 Sept
  • Review checklistp. 1
  • Material specification v2p. 4 · §4.1
Sales team
  • Supplier notep. 1 · 16 Sept
  • Other documents are outside this team’s access
The same search, filtered by what each team may open.

Entry 03 · Research

Document and research assistance

Turn a scattered folder into a brief with numbered sources. When sources disagree, the brief shows both and asks the reviewer which applies. When nothing in the collection answers the question, it says so instead of guessing.

What you get

  • Research briefs with numbered citations
  • Disagreements passed to the reviewer
  • An explicit “evidence missing” state
How a conflict is presentedExample data

Conflict · 2 sources

[4] Spec v2 · §4.1“Cure time 24 h.”
[1] Lab notebook · 12 Sept“Cured 36 h before handling.”

Brief keeps both and asks the reviewer which applies.

Illustration of the agreed brief format.

Entry 04 · Actions

Human-approved workflow actions

A useful brief usually ends in a next step: a follow-up email, a task, a handover note. The copilot prepares the draft with the exact recipient and content; a named person approves it before anything is sent or recorded.

What you get

  • Drafts with recipient and content visible
  • Named approver per action type
  • Each approval recorded against the version reviewed
Awaiting approvalExample data
Action
Supplier follow-up email
To
Supplier liaison
Contains
3 questions: composition, lead time, validation data
Sources
[2] [3]
Approver
Project lead
ApproveSend back
Illustration · actions and connected systems are agreed per project.

Entry 05 · Scenarios

Four questions teams bring to a first collection.

Which test results support the next design decision?

Collection
Test logs, specs, lab notes
Brief shape
Decision, evidence, open conditions
Reviewer
Project lead

Scenarios are examples of how a collection can be scoped, not customer stories.

Entry 06 · Method

A small pilot. A clear decision.

Bring one recurring question and a collection you are authorised to use. We agree the workflow, access rules and evaluation before agreeing delivery.

  1. 01 Scope

    Pick the collection, the people who use it and the questions that matter. Write down the access boundary.

    Deliverable Source inventory and access boundary

  2. 02 Connect

    Import the documents with their page references, apply the agreed access rules and choose the model setup that fits the data.

    Deliverable Representative questions and expected evidence

  3. 03 Evaluate

    Run the representative questions, check every citation, flag unsupported statements and count an honest “evidence missing” as correct.

    Deliverable Evaluation criteria and results

  4. 04 Expand

    Add the review workflow and a named decision owner, then extend to more people or collections only when the results hold.

    Deliverable Review workflow, decision owner and delivery proposal

Evaluation sheetExample data
Representative questions, the source we expected, the source the brief cited, and the result. An honest “evidence missing” counts as correct.
QuestionExpected sourceCited sourceResult
What blocks the pilot? Lab notebook Lab notebook Correct
Supplier lead time? None in collection None Correctly said evidence missing
Cure time per spec? Spec v2 Spec v2 + Lab notebook Conflict flagged
Release conditions? Review checklist Review checklist Correct

Entry 07 · Connections

Answers from your documents. Next steps into the systems you already run.

Each connection is agreed per project. These are the RDCopilot products and sources AI Copilot works with.

Sources

  • Document collectionsChosen by you; PDFs and scans via Document Workflows, other formats agreed in scoping
  • Document WorkflowsExtracted fields with page references
  • ReportsApproved figures and dashboards
R&D COPILOT AI Copilot Brief + evidence margin Named approver

Destinations, after approval

  • ERP
  • CRM
  • HR
  • Accounting

via Integrations · scoped APIs, retries and monitoring

Private AI Workspace When the data must stay on your infrastructure.

We do not list third-party tools we have not connected for a project.

Entry 08 · Conditions

Your data boundary is written down before the first question.

Six conditions are agreed in scoping, signed off by your data owner and written into the delivery proposal and, where we process personal data for you, the data processing agreement (GDPR Art. 28). If one changes later, the documents change with it.

  1. Hosting is agreed before the first question: EU-hosted, or on your own infrastructure through Private AI Workspace.

  2. Access rules are agreed in scoping and applied before retrieval.

  3. Every claim in a brief cites a passage you can open.

  4. When the collection does not answer, the copilot says so.

  5. Nothing is sent or recorded in another system without a named approver.

  6. Model providers, their data-use and training terms, retention and system access are agreed per project and listed in the delivery proposal.

Where AI Copilot fits

  • Supported
  • Depends on setup
  • Not offered
How AI Copilot compares with a general chat assistant that has no company connectors
General chat assistant (no company connectors)AI Copilot
Sources cited Not offered: No page-level citations to your document collectionSupported: Every claim numbered to a passage
Missing evidence Depends on setup: Can guess instead of saying it does not knowSupported: Says “evidence missing”
Permission scope Not offered: Only what you paste inSupported: Access rules agreed in scoping
Approved actions Not offered: No actions in your systemsSupported: Drafts, a named person approves
Hosting Depends on setup: Provider’s regions and termsDepends on setup: EU-hosted or private, agreed per project

Need everything on your own servers? Private AI Workspace runs the same kind of cited search on your infrastructure.

Entry 09 · Plates 1–3

From the question to the sign-off, on three screens.

The reviewed brief, the same search seen by two teams, and the action card waiting for the project lead. Captured from the product with example data.

RDCopilot AI Copilot notebook: the supplier follow-up brief marked as reviewed by the project lead, citing sources [2] and [3], with the supplier note open in the evidence margin
Plate 1 · Reviewed brief
RDCopilot AI Copilot: the same search seen by two teams, each shown only the documents it may open
Plate 2 · Two teams, one search
RDCopilot AI Copilot: a supplier follow-up action card awaiting approval by the project lead, with its sources listed
Plate 3 · Awaiting approval

Example dataThe supplier follow-up after review: the brief cites sources [2] and [3], the evidence margin shows the supplier note, and the review is recorded.Open plate 1 at full size

Entry 10 · Engagement

One setup. One monthly licence. Priced after scoping.

One-off setup

  • Scoping workshop, source inventory and access boundary
  • Import and indexing of the first collection with page references
  • A repeatable evaluation on your representative questions
  • Review workflow and approver set-up
  • Training for the first team, as part of your AI literacy measures (EU AI Act, Art. 4)

Monthly licence

  • Hosting as agreed: EU-hosted, or support for your private deployment
  • Model usage within the limits set in your delivery proposal
  • Updates and ongoing support

Price: confirmed in the delivery proposal, after scoping. We do not publish a list price because collection size, model setup and hosting change it. Extra work is billed at a fixed hourly rate against estimates you approve.

Scope your AI Copilot

Entry 11 · Questions

Questions teams ask before the first collection.

Which documents can AI Copilot use?

The collection you choose and are authorised to use. PDFs, scans and table-heavy files can go through Document Workflows first (OCR, page and table references), so each extracted value keeps its page reference. Other formats are reviewed in scoping.

What happens when the documents don’t contain the answer?

The brief says “evidence missing” and names what is absent. During evaluation, an honest “not in the sources” counts as a correct answer.

Who can see what?

Access rules are agreed in scoping and applied before retrieval, so a person only gets passages from documents they are allowed to open.

Where is our data hosted, and which models are used?

Hosting is agreed per project before the first question: EU-hosted, or on your own infrastructure through Private AI Workspace. Model providers, their data-use and training terms, and retention are agreed at the same time and written into the delivery proposal.

Can it take actions in our systems?

It prepares drafts such as a follow-up email, a task or a handover note. A named approver sees the exact recipient and content before anything is sent. Connections to ERP, CRM or HR are scoped through Integrations.

Which languages does it cover?

English and Romanian are both covered in scoping, and the representative questions used in evaluation can be in either language. Support is in both.

How do we start, and how long does a pilot take?

Start with one recurring question and one collection. Scoping fixes the timeline together with the evaluation criteria, so you know when the pilot will be judged and against what.

How is it priced?

A one-off setup fee and a monthly licence. Both are confirmed in the delivery proposal after scoping, because collection size, model setup and hosting affect them. Extra work is billed at a fixed hourly rate against estimates you approve.

Entry 12 · Further reading

From idea to implementation

Guides for your workflow

Start with one question

What does your team keep looking for?

Tell us where the knowledge lives and what a useful answer would change. We reply with fit, scope and next steps.

Scope your AI Copilot Request access

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