PLEASE NOTE: Ella will be available for all Plus networks starting with Zello version 6.6. This article provides an early sneak peek into the feature's functionality and management. 

Functionality 

Ella’s responses are generated using files uploaded to a network’s Management Console. 

She operates as a direct 1:1 contact, and she must be added as a contact for each individual you’d like her to interact with—ensuring the right information remains accessible to the right people. She cannot participate in channel conversations, however adding her to a channel can automatically make her available as a direct contact for other users. For more information, see this section. 

Prerequisites

Ella will be available for all Plus tier networks with the release of Zello version 6.6. Once available, admins interested in utilizing the feature will need to take two critical steps to make it available and functional for their users:

1. Upload their chosen static documentation to the Management Console.
2. Individually add Ella as a direct contact to intended users. 

Once an admin has completed these steps, users can begin interacting with Ella. 

Interacting With Ella 

To prompt Ella, open the Ella contact and either speak or text your question. She may take a few seconds to craft a response; during that time, you’ll notice three dots appear in the interface, indicating a thinking state. When a response is ready, she’ll deliver it in the same format you prompted her—via text if you texted her the question, or via voice response if you messaged her using live voice.  Additionally, please note the following:  Ella can only handle one question at a time; a follow-up question can’t be asked until the initial question has been answered. She operates in a conversational manner, answering any follow-up questions within the context of the ongoing discussion.  The context period lasts 10 minutes; after 10 minutes of inactivity, Ella forgets the conversation and the context is cleared.

Accepted File Types

Ella pulls exclusively from your selected company documentation, ensuring answers are targeted and controlled; because she only references your uploaded documents, her answers stay specific to your organization. 

Currently, Ella only draws from static documentation. If any relevant documents are updated or changed, they should be re-uploaded to ensure the most current information is available. The following file types are accepted: 

All uploaded files must be 10MB or under. Additionally, although Ella can handle questions + responses in over 50 languages, the static documentation she pulls from must be in English.  

File Upload

Please note: Ella’s initial release required admins work with Zello to upload the intended files. However, with Zello version 6.6, admins can upload their files directly to the Management Console. The steps below are applicable to the 6.6 release. 

1. Sign in to your Management Console at (yournetworkname).zellowork.com
   
   
2. Open the Users tab, then select Ella.
   
   
   
3. From the Knowledge Materials section, either upload an existing file or manually add new knowledge content.
   
   
   Manually-added content is best suited for short, quick Q+A information that doesn’t necessitate formal documentation. This content is created and managed through Ella’s user profile. 
   

   Please note: Ella supports over 20 file types, including .pdf, .txt, .doc, .html, .ppt, and more. For more information on supported file types—all of which can be uploaded from this screen—see this section. 

4. Wait for your file to successfully upload. When prompted, add a description that contextualizes the content. Then click Save.
   
   
   
5. A list of uploaded files currently utilized by Ella will be included in the Knowledge Materials section of her user profile.
   

Adding Ella as a Direct Contact 

Ella must be added as a direct contact to all intended users. There are three possible ways to do this: via her user details page, via another user’s details page, or through a channel. While adding her to a channel won’t make her an active participant in that channel—she can only be contacted through 1:1 messaging—it’s a quick way to make her a direct contact for other users in that channel. 

Once Ella has been added as a direct contact, she’ll be accessible to end users from their app’s Contacts and Recents tabs. 

• Ella can be established as a direct contact to others through her user details page. To do this:
  
  1) Open the Management Console’s Users tab. From the list, select Ella to open her user details page.
  
  
  2) Click the + icon located at the top of the Direct Contacts section.
  
  
  3) Select the intended contacts, then click Done.
  
• Ella can be added as a direct contact through a user’s profile page. To do so:
  
  1) From the Management Console, open the Users tab. Select the user you’d like to add Ella as a contact for.
  
  
  2) Click the + icon at the top-right corner of the Direct Contacts section.
  
  
  3) Select Ella (AI Assistant). Then click Done.
  
• Ella will not operate in channels; she only operates as a direct 1:1 contact. That said, adding her to a channel will add her as a direct contact to all others users in that channel.
  

  Note that this shortcut is applicable to team, hidden, and dynamic channels. It is NOT applicable to dispatch channels. Learn more about channel types. 

  To add Ella to a channel: 
  
  1) Open the Management Console’s Channels tab. From the list, select the channel you’d like to add Ella.
  
  
  2) Click the + icon at the top-right corner of the Users section.
  
  3) Select Ella (AI Assistant) from the list, then click Done. Ella is now a direct contact for all other members of the channel.