Work through the proposal with your client.

Can I collaborate with a client using shared AI in SideQuest today?

Yes, through an available Collaborative room. Invite the client, have them sign in, and work with shared Q. You can share a selected copy of a personal research result. The dedicated Client mode, planned for external callers with allowed shared Q restricted to room-shared context, is not available yet. For private team AI beside a guest conversation, review Interview.

Make the purpose smaller than the whole project

For a proposal review, write one decision into the invitation: “Agree on the first phase of the homepage project.” Ask the client to bring the proposal, an example of the current problem, and the person who can confirm scope. Keep broader ideas on a separate list so the call has a finish line.

Use three working categories: included now, later, and still to confirm. Q can help organize the discussion, but the client and your team must confirm the actual scope and commitments.

Choose shared AI knowingly

In a Collaborative room, the client signs in and participates in the shared conversation. Treat questions and replies in shared Q as material the client can see. Do not use that feed as a private place to discuss your internal position or notes intended only for colleagues.

If the client should speak as a guest while an invited team keeps its AI conversation separate, Interview offers a different, available access model. Its guest needs host admission and has no Team Q access. Its interviewers sign in and share text-only Team Q, including existing team history. Choose the access model that matches the conversation rather than assuming Client permissions have shipped.

Set up a familiar room and a clear invitation

A company room can carry your company name, initials, and brand color. Use a practical title such as “Acorn / Homepage proposal.” Invite internal colleagues to your company when appropriate, then use a separate room invitation for the client. That invitation does not make the client a member of your company workspace.

At the start, explain how you intend to use Q. SideQuest does not record call audio or video. Typed messages and finalized microphone transcripts are saved in the room conversation. Microphone transcription is optional. Make time for the client’s questions before moving into the proposal.

Use Q to make an open question more precise

Start with the client’s account of the problem, then ask Q something bounded. Give the client space to correct its interpretation. A useful reply makes it easier for the people in the call to decide what to discuss next, rather than presenting an AI draft as an agreement.

• “Using only the scope we have discussed, separate phase one from later ideas. Mark unresolved items as questions.”
• “What do we still need to clarify about who supplies the product images and who approves the copy?”
• “Restate the client’s desired outcome in plain language. Do not add targets or commitments we have not agreed.”

Share the useful result deliberately

If a public research question comes up, start a task and follow it in your workspace through Q’s work card. Read the report and check its sources before using it in the discussion. A personal result does not become shared simply because the task started during a call.

When it is ready, share a selected copy with the room. That publishes the chosen result for invited members without exposing other personal work or automatically publishing later revisions. There is one current shared result per room. Choose the document that helps the current decision, and distinguish research findings from the proposal the client is approving.

Finish with an explicit human agreement

Read the outcome back: “Phase one includes the homepage direction, copy, and one review. You will confirm the approver and provide the product images.” Ask what is missing. Give each unresolved item an owner, then capture the agreement through the project or client channel you already use.

The planned Client mode would restrict allowed shared Q to room-shared context and exclude organization-private sources. That is a future proposal, not a shipped guarantee or a release-date commitment. Today, choose ordinary Collaborative rooms for shared Q or Interview for its private-team boundary, and keep any additional permission requirement explicit.

In development: a separate Client permission model

Client mode is being built but is not released. In the planned design, Shared Q would be off by default for each admitted external collaborator. The host would grant or revoke that person’s Shared Q access. Private Team Q would remain available only to the specifically invited room team; signing in or belonging to the company would not grant private access.

When the Shared Q audience changes, it would start a new conversation so a newly added collaborator could not read earlier shared AI history. These are proposed controls for the future mode, not released guarantees or permissions available in today’s Collaborative rooms.

Common questions