Release Notes - 4.2 - AO Easy Answers
Intended audience: ALL USERS
AO Easy Answers: 4.2
Release Date
April 2025
Overview
Release 4.2 builds on previous 4.x releases of the AO Easy Answers solution.
The 4.2 release continues to focus heavily on UI and functional enhancements in the AO Easy Answers solution, including many enhancements relating to Question interpretation using LLMs, Dashboard Filtering, and new Quick Insights.
This topic includes a high-level introduction to the enhancements made during this release.
New in Release
AO Easy Answers
Easy Answers Questions and Results Page
Ability to Update Apps from the Results Page across one or more Dashboards. See Updating an App in Dashboards.
New options for Data Summaries (previously GenAI Insights) for the Results page and individual Apps, including Show Summaries, Refresh, and Delete options. See Adding Data Summaries.
Much improved handling of Easy Answers questions in AI Enhanced/LLM mode.
New and enhanced dropdowns for known words in an Easy Answers question make it easier to replace a Topic, Topic Property, and Values with alternatives. This includes search options in dropdowns with many values, predefined time periods for date values, units for number values, etc… See Easy Answers - Using AI Enhanced LLM Questions | Replacing Words in an Existing Question.
Questions are now Cached automatically, but with an option to Retry from LLM. See Easy Answers - Using AI Enhanced LLM Questions | New Question Interpreted by LLM or Previous Question Retrieved from Cache.
New User and LLM Feedback dialogs to allow ongoing improvement of LLM-based question interpretation. See Easy Answers - Using AI Enhanced LLM Questions | Providing Feedback.
All Feedback can be viewed in a History list. See Viewing Feedback History.
New Review Feedback workflow has been added for supervisors managing LLM-related Feedback from users. See Reviewing Feedback for LLM-Based Questions.
Improved process feedback during question interpretation by LLM. See Easy Answers - Using AI Enhanced LLM Questions | Overview.
New visual clue on App data tooltips to indicate additional actions, such as drill down or opening a popup for details. See Actions on Data within Apps.
Dashboards Page
Configure Filter enhancements. See Configure Filters.
New Dependent Filters for String, Date, Number, and Boolean data types.
New options to configure Filter visibility and availability.
Values shown for a Filter can now be shown based on an expression.
Applying and Viewing Filter enhancements. See Viewing and Applying Filters.
New options to View Filters on Filter Row - All Filters, Applied Filters only, and My Filters, with a configuration option for My Filters.
All Filters are now shown without the need to expand/collapse the Filter Row, and Filters can be ordered on the Filter Row.
Multiple general Dashboard enhancements, including… See Create and Edit a Dashboard.
Lazy loading of Apps - progressive rendering as the user scrolls the page.
Auto-adjust row height in Sections.
New Template-based Header that sticks to the top of the Dashboard.
Ability to use JavaScript in Dashboard Header or Sections to control visibility of Sections and/or App Groups.
Download Report enhancements. See Download Report.
Download can now be done for some or all Apps in the Dashboard or Sections.
New Concise PDF Report option in the Download dialog based on how the Dashboard looks on screen.
Optional inclusion of Filters in Verbose PDF Report.
Download Data enhancements. See Downloading Data - All Apps | Downloading Data for All Apps on a Dashboard.
The downloaded files, CSV or Excel format, now have optional “Header Details” which, if selected, will include App Name, Filters, Question, etc… for each App being downloaded.
Download of data from Map Layers in Map Apps.
Manage Layout - previously known as Configure Sections. See Manage Layout.
New ability to view App information in the Manage Layout dialog.
New ability to create App Groups. Apps in an App Group will only show default App, - other Apps in the Group can be made visible using JavaScript in Template Headers.
Insights Feed Page and Quick Insights
New and updated Quick Insights are available for generation via schedule Insights Composer and appearing on Insights Feed page.
Survival Rate - includes Base Event Rate, Date Effect, Cohort Effect, and Covariate Effect. See Quick Insights for Survival Rate.
Time-Series (Single) - enhancement adding new exogenous variables impacting Forecast. See Quick Insights for Single Time Series (Exogenous Variables).
Spatial Correlation - ability to create Insight that will model the correlation of some variable (cluster of activity) relative to geographic distance and/or to other clusters of activities. See Quick Insight for Spatial Correlation.
Content Repositories
Improved search performance and results across large amounts of documents due to improved indexing and Entity Extraction functionality. See Easy Answers - Content Repositories.
New options for responses from Content Repository, including…
Download - downloads the question and response to a PDF file.
Copy - copies the question and response to Clipboard.
Delete - deletes the question and response from Chatbot thread.
Documentation
Updated the Open Source Library list included with AO Platform and AO Easy Answers as of April 2025.
The product documentation can also be accessed from outside the software. However, the documentation is not publicly available, a token is required to access it unless accessed from within the AO Platform and Easy Answers product UI in the User menu. Use the following URLs:
AO Easy Answers - https://docs-easyanswers.apporchid.com
AO Platform - https://docs.apporchid.com
A new ChatGPT-based AO Knowledge Assistant is now available in Preview. The 400+ topics available in the combined AO Platform and Easy Answers documentation have been used to create a GPT that can generate summarized responses to practically any question about the functionality and use of the AO Platform and Easy Answers solutions.
Deprecations/Removals
None
System Requirements
For workstation system requirements, see System Requirements.