Best Practices
Get the most accurate answers from Osprai.
Upload the right documents
Osprai works best when it has the relevant source material. Before asking questions:
- Upload the specs, drawings, and manuals for your current project
- Enable relevant Knowledge Packs for vendor documentation you don't have locally
- Use PDF format when possible. It gets the most thorough parsing
Ask specific questions
The more specific your question, the better the answer:
- "Tell me about the AHU"
- "Show me the wiring"
- "Project info"
- "What speakers should I use?"
- "What is the cooling capacity of AHU-01?"
- "What cable type connects Panel A3 to the speaker zone in Ballroom B?"
- "What is the total budget for Phase 2 of the renovation?"
- "What is the maximum SPL of the QSC AD-S6T at 1 meter?"
Choose the right grounding mode
When to use Strict mode
Use Strict for any question where the answer must come directly from a document: compliance checks, specification verification, RFI responses, and submittal reviews. Every claim will have an explicit source citation.
Use Assistive for exploration: understanding systems, getting context, comparing approaches, or when you want the AI to synthesise information across multiple sources.
Organise with projects and folders
- Create a Project for each job site, building, or engagement
- Use Folders in Chat to group related conversations (e.g., "Electrical queries", "Submittal reviews")
- Set your default search scope to Active project in Personal > Search & Retrieval for focused results
Verify your sources
Always review the source citations in AI responses. The AI is grounded in your documents, but:
- Click citations to see the full original context
- Check that the cited document is the correct version
- For critical decisions, cross-reference with the original document
AI is a tool, not a replacement
Osprai accelerates document review but does not replace professional judgement. Always verify critical specifications against original documents before making project decisions.
Use equipment identifiers
Osprai has built-in understanding of AEC/AV naming conventions:
- Equipment tags:
AHU-01,VAV-3.2,Panel A3 - Room numbers:
Room 204,Zone A - Drawing references:
Sheet E-101,Detail 4/A3.1 - Model numbers:
QSC AD-S6T,Crestron DM-NVX-360
Including these in your questions gives the AI precise anchors to find the right information.