Note:
Whatfix Seek is a new product, currently in Beta and available to select customers for early access. Contact your Customer Success Manager or the Whatfix representative for more information.
Overview
Whatfix Seek is a digital coworker that performs cross-functional enterprise workflows and ensures data quality and compliance through guided context injection. Seek automates repetitive, time-consuming tasks, such as creating a purchase requisition on procurement applications, underwriting of policies, and more, across desktop and web-based applications. Using intelligent vision-based AI automation, Seek reduces the manual effort required to complete manual tasks.
Seek understands the business context and workflows by using guidance context available on the page. It performs actions directly within applications by scrolling, navigating, and clicking, just like a human. You can run Seek as a user-led tool or unattended in virtual machines.
Components of Seek
Whatfix Seek Desktop Application
Whatfix Seek Browser Extension (for background execution of browser tasks)
Whatfix Studio and Dashboard (for creating and maintaining guidance context for Seek as business rules)
Custom Prompt (for advanced configuration, if required)
Trigger tasks using the Whatfix Seek Desktop Application
The Whatfix Seek Desktop application enables you to trigger tasks using natural language prompts and attachments.
It can execute tasks in the following two modes:
Work directly on desktop: Executes tasks on desktop and browser applications. However, it blocks you from performing any other task as it takes control over the desktop.
Work in browser: Executes tasks on the browser application, on the current active tab in the background, while the user can work on other tasks.
The following GIF shows how you can open Seek and select the modes:
Note:
As a prerequisite to using the Work in browser mode in Whatfix Seek, install the Whatfix Seek Browser Extension.
Installation and usage guide for Whatfix Seek Desktop Application
To start using Whatfix Seek, install and configure the Whatfix Hub app on the system. Whatfix Seek is part of the Whatfix Hub app.
Installation steps
Prerequisites
Install the Whatfix Hub app using the organization’s ORG ID.
Note:
Contact your Customer Success Manager to get the ORG ID.
Download the installers
Installers are available for the US region, supporting both Windows and MacOS.
Post installation setup
MacOS: After installing the Whatfix Hub app, grant Accessibility and Screen Sharing permissions to the app.
Click System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility → Enable the toggle for WhatfixHub
Click System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen & System Audio Recording → Enable the toggle for WhatfixHub
Note:
If the Whatfix Hub app is installed without providing the required permissions, grant the permissions, and then restart the Hub app.
Windows: The Windows installer currently supports only a display scale of 100% and a default resolution of 1920x1080 (1080p).
Info:
In Windows, if you don’t see the Hub icon after installation, press the Windows + R keys and go to the Local App Data folder.
In the Run command, enter %localappdata%.
Scroll down to find the Whatfix Player folder and click it.
Under Whatfix Player, search for Start Player and double click it to launch the Whatfix Player.
Usage guidelines
You can launch Whatfix Seek on an application in the following two ways:
Active browser tab: Launch Seek on the last active browser tab visible on the screen.
For example, to create a purchase requisition with an attached quotation, open SAP Ariba, and then launch Seek in the active browser tab.
Application URL: Launch the application by entering the URL in the input prompt.
Note:
Seek currently supports launching only the Chrome browser as an application, using the Default Profile available on the user’s machine.
When specifying a website name, such as Google, https:// is not required.
A sample task could be: search for Whatfix on google.com.
Provide the URL domain where you want Whatfix Seek to perform the task. Also attach a PDF, such as a quotation or reference document, that helps Seek execute the task and enter what Seek needs to do in the prompt.
Hub (Seek) Behavior on Multi-Monitor Setup
Consider a setup with two monitors in MacOS:
Monitor 1: Extended Display
Monitor 2: Main Display
The Hub launches on the Main Display by default. Verify which monitor is set as the Main Display by navigating to Settings → Display. In the example below, DELL SE2722H is marked as the Main Display (Monitor 2), so the Hub launches on Monitor 2.
When the screen sharing prompt appears, select the Main Display (Monitor 2) to enable Seek function correctly.
Note:
Currently, a new browser window opens automatically when executing a task, if the URL is provided. If the Seek UI is not visible (as it might appear behind the browser), a workaround is to resize the browser window so that the Seek panel becomes visible on the right side. This ensures smooth interaction.
By default, a browser window opens on the monitor where it was last used. For instance, if Chrome was last accessed on Monitor 1, it might open there, even though the Hub appears on Monitor 2.
Seek functions only if the browser window is opened or dragged to the Main Display (Monitor 2), where the Hub interface is active.
Providing Instructions for Task Execution in the Desktop mode
Note:
While Seek is designed to help improve efficiency and accuracy, it’s recommended to review its outputs, especially for critical tasks, to ensure accuracy.
To execute a task, attach a PDF, such as a quotation or reference document, that helps Seek execute the task.
Seek captures screenshots to make operational decisions before executing an action. While Seek does not require explicit permission for every task, you must grant screen sharing permissions during installation. On MacOS, the permission is only required once. Refer to the demo video for a visual walkthrough.
Note:
In Desktop mode, do not move the cursor or use the system while Seek executes a task. Manual input interrupts the process and causes it to pause the task. Use the Browser mode to help Seek execute tasks in the background.
Ensure that you don’t share sensitive information while using Seek during screen sharing.
Seek operates the machine as it completes the task in the Desktop mode.
Any cursor movement during this time is considered a deliberate action by the user to work on another task, and it pauses the Seek.
The user is presented with the message: User has paused the task, and has two choices:
Click Resume task to continue, or
Enter a prompt and then press the Play icon to resume execution.
Seek might seek the user’s permission or input at times, which is prompted to the user with a message in the Seek’s chat window:
For example, to create a purchase requisition with an attached quotation in SAP Ariba, Seek enters the required information and then confirms with the user if it can add the request to the cart or if the user wants to make changes. The user can mention yes or any relevant text based on the query and press the Play icon to resume execution.
Set up the background execution of Seek using the Whatfix Seek Browser Extension
The Whatfix Seek Browser Extension enables users to run Seek in the background mode on the browser, while they continue with other tasks. The extension acts as a companion extension to enable background task execution on browser apps for Whatfix Seek’s desktop application.
Use the following steps to set up the background execution of Seek using the Whatfix Seek Browser Extension:
Note:
Prerequisites:
Ensure that the Whatfix Seek Desktop Application and the Whatfix Seek Browser Extension are installed.
Install the Whatfix Seek Browser Extension using the following link: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/whatfix-seek/lmjbgopejjfdggcbhdgnnfhanelejblf.
Add the extension to the Chrome profile you are using for Seek automation.
In the browser application on your current tab, open the Whatfix Seek Desktop Application.
Select the Work in browser option.
Enter the prompt for Seek and attach a PDF.
The following GIF shows how you can use Whatfix Seek in the background to execute tasks:
Seek looks for the current active browser tab and starts executing the task. Once it detects the current active browser tab, an orange border appears to indicate that Seek is executing the task. While Seek executes the task in the background, users can open new tabs outside of Seek’s group tab where it performs the task, a new browser window, or desktop applications and perform other tasks in parallel.
Note:
If the user opens a new tab within the same group tab where Seek executes the task, Seek may start working on the new tab that is opened.
In the Browser mode, launch Seek from the active tab of your Chrome profile where you’ve installed the browser extension. If you use multiple Chrome profiles, install the Whatfix Seek Browser Extension on only one profile.
Example
The following video shows how you can use Seek to automate the non catalog purchase requisitions in SAP Ariba. Typically, users get a quotation from a supplier, extract information from it, and perform the process manually.
Here’s how the process is automated with Seek:
Seek is given the instruction and the quotation is added as a PDF attachment.
Seek looks for the current active browser tab and starts executing the task.
Since Seek can work with Whatfix Guidance content, it opens a Flow that shows how to create a purchase requisition and follows the Flow. This ensures that Seek follows business compliance rules while executing the task.
Seek also takes guidance from Smart Tips configured on the page.
It extracts information from the provided PDF and adds it to the requisition form.
It can also access data from external links added to Smart Tips.
You can open other tabs while Seek is executing the task on SAP Ariba.
Set up Seek in unattended mode
Whatfix enables you to set up Seek in unattended mode, where it runs in a virtual environment without any user intervention. To configure the setup, contact your Customer Success Manager or the Whatfix representative.
Automate Seek using Whatfix guidance content for context injection
Whatfix Seek uses existing Whatfix Guidance content, such as Flows, Smart Tips, and Self Help to establish the business and compliance rules it follows during execution. To create Whatfix Guidance content, see In-app Content.
Note:
Currently, Seek can only follow guidance provided using Flows, Smart Tips, and Self Help.
Best Practices for creating Seek guidance content
Flows
Configure completion rules: Set the Completion rule to On click of selected element or On click of “Next” button whenever possible to minimize the number of steps Seek requires.
Use On click of “Next” button for inputs: Set the Completion rule to On click of “Next” button when a step requires user input.
Name Flows accurately: Ensure the Flow name reflects the specific process.
Place Flow tooltips on the exact UI element: Attach Flow tooltips only to the exact elements Seek must interact with. Incorrect placement can cause step completion rule failures.
Smart Tips
Optimize for size: Do not use extra-small Smart Tips; the minimum size should be Small or Medium to ensure readability and reliability.
Select appropriate trigger behavior: Use On Hover/Focus over the element for the highest success rate as it minimizes execution steps.
General Best Practices
Maintain visibility and accessibility: Ensure the Smart Tip and Flow tooltip do not block input fields or cover the element Seek needs to interact with.
Avoid underlining: Do not underline text in Smart Tips or Flow tooltips, as Seek may interpret underlined text as a link and behave incorrectly.
Prioritize Smart Tips: Prefer Smart Tips over Flows when defining workflow rules for Seek automation.
Self Help segmentation: Use segmentation rules to restrict Self Help to the current application's scope only, preventing Seek from encountering similarly named flows from different processes.
Increase text verbosity: Ensure text in Smart Tips and Flow tooltips is verbose and clear for Seek to understand the business rules.
Examples:
i) Add an instruction to Seek to clear the placeholder text in a field before entering a value.
ii) Reference a third party link to fill the form field.
iii) Provide instruction for what Seek has to refer to in a third party app and execute on the main application.
Provide a Custom Prompt to Seek
Whatfix Seek supports custom prompts configured at the account or enterprise level using a Seek article file (such as a .md file) on the Whatfix Guidance Dashboard. These prompts provide essential instructions for Seek to follow during all tasks. Only configure these advanced settings if your specific use case requires them.
Info:
To set up a custom prompt, contact your Customer Success Manager or the Whatfix representative.
Seek refers to the custom prompt for all tasks executed in the specific account or enterprise.
Note:
If you face any issues while using Whatfix Seek, contact your Customer Success Manager or the Whatfix representative.