| Note: From October 1st, 2025, we introduced new plans that better reflect how our customers use Deputy: Lite, Core, and Pro. If you're an existing customer, look out for an email with all the details you’ll need. Learn more about the new plans and what this change means for you. |
| Note: Some features or functions mentioned in this article are currently in beta trials and may not yet be visible in your account. |
You can use Deputy AI to build a schedule, edit shifts, and publish your schedule using natural language. Deputy AI performs tasks at your request after you review and confirm the details.
Before you read
- This article is for users with System Administrator, Location Manager, or Supervisor access.
- To start a request from scratch, click New Topic. This keeps Deputy AI focused on the current request and avoids pulling in context from earlier requests.
This article covers
- How do I navigate to Deputy AI?
- How can Deputy AI help me schedule?
- What are the limits of Deputy AI in scheduling?
- Troubleshooting Deputy AI
- FAQs
How do I navigate to Deputy AI?
Deputy web
Find and click the Deputy AI icon along your top menu.
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Type your question or instruction in plain English and hit send.
Note: Use the @ symbol to easily identify team members, locations, and areas. -
Review the Deputy AI’s proposed plan and either:
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Reply with any changes or corrections until you're ready to confirm.
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Click Confirm to allow Deputy AI to take the proposed action.
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Receive a confirmation that the action has been completed.
Note: If you have multiple unrelated requests, click New Topic to start from scratch. This keeps Deputy AI focused on the topic and prevents it from pulling in context from earlier conversations.
Deputy mobile app
- Click the Deputy AI button at the top of the home page.
To start a conversation from scratch, click New Topic. This keeps Deputy AI focused on the current requests and prevents it from pulling in context from earlier conversations.
Type your question or instruction in plain English and hit send.
Note: Use the @ symbol to easily identify team members, locations, and areas.-
Review Deputy AI’s proposed plan and either:
Reply with any changes or corrections until you're ready to confirm.
Click Confirm to allow Deputy AI to take the proposed changes.
How can Deputy AI help me schedule?
You can manage your schedule by typing simple instructions into the chat. This includes completing the following actions:
| Supported Request type | Description | Example requests |
|---|---|---|
| Get insights about your schedule | Find out who is working when, or identify shifts that haven’t been assigned yet. |
“What shifts does @Marty have next week?” “Are there any shifts that haven’t been filled in the next 7 days at my @Surry Hills location?” |
| Create schedules from scratch | Build a new schedule by specifying the location, date range, and shift times. | “Create shifts for the @kitchen at my @Carlton location for Monday–Saturday next week from 7am to 3pm.” |
| Edit or bulk update shifts | Update details for multiple shifts at once without editing each shift individually. | “Change all @front-of-house shifts this Monday to start 30 minutes earlier.” |
| Assign or unassign team members | Find available team members with the right training, reassign shifts, or change shifts from empty to open. |
“@Andy is sick and can’t work his shift tomorrow. Who would you recommend to fill the shift instead?” “@Rico is going on vacation next week. Change all of his shifts to open.” “Update all @reception shifts from 12–19 June from empty to open.” |
| Publish your schedule | Finalise the schedule and notify your team directly from the chat. | “Publish next week’s schedule for the @Main Street location.” |
What are the limits of Deputy AI in scheduling?
While Deputy AI is a powerful assistant for your daily schedule, it currently has specific limits within its scheduling skillset. Below are some examples of what Deputy AI is yet to be able to do:
| Unsupported Request Type | Description | Example requests |
|---|---|---|
| Predict or recommend staffing levels | Deputy AI cannot predict staffing needs or make recommendations based on historical data. | “How many staff do I need for Christmas based on last year?” “Build a schedule that optimises my labour costs.” |
| Very large bulk actions | Deputy AI cannot make changes that span long periods or involve very large amounts of data. | “Schedule Maria for every Monday and Tuesday for the next 12 months.” |
| Complex, multi-step requests | Deputy AI works best with direct, single-action instructions and cannot complete multiple complex steps in one request. | “Add a Driver training tag to Rishu, then schedule him for all October driver shifts, and then create open shifts for every Wednesday in November.” |
| View or manage budgets and costs | Deputy AI cannot access or manage budget, cost, or financial information related to your schedule. | “Am I over or under budget for this week?” “What is the total cost of this schedule?” |
| Manage employee profiles | Deputy AI cannot update employee profile details such as pay rates, contracts, or primary locations. | “Change Andy’s pay rate.” “Update the primary location for Isaac.” |
| Micro-scheduling within a shift | Deputy AI does not support scheduling a single shift across multiple roles or areas within specific time blocks. | “Create a shift for Riannha on Wednesday from 9am–5pm: 9am–12pm as a @barista, 12pm–2pm as a @kitchen hand, and 2pm–5pm as a @cashier.” |
| Automatic schedule creation | Deputy AI cannot automatically create or fill an entire schedule based on forecasts or optimisation rules. | “Create a schedule for March based on my forecast.” “Fill my March schedule with optimal staff.” |
Troubleshooting Deputy AI
If the AI is not responding as expected, try these steps:
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Click New Topic: If the AI seems confused or is referencing old data, click New Topic to clear the conversation context.
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Be more specific: Always use the @ symbol to include names, dates, and locations in your request.
- Check permissions: If you receive an error when clicking Confirm, make sure you have permission to perform that task in Deputy.
How does Deputy AI handle my data?
Deputy AI is built with security and privacy as its top priorities.
- No model training: Your business data is not stored or used by any model providers to train the Large Language Model.
- Permission aware: Deputy AI respects existing role permissions and cannot perform actions a user is not permitted to do manually.
- Bias protection: Guardrail rules are used to prevent biased or unfair shift recommendations.
FAQs
To learn more about Deputy AI's privacy FAQs visit the Deputy Privacy Center, and to learn more about Deputy's security program visit the Deputy Trust Center.