Evo Researcher gives you two ways to work with the AI: Chats and Projects. Both let you have conversations and produce outputs, but they are designed for different types of work. Understanding the difference helps you choose the right starting point and get the most out of Evo Researcher.
Chats
A Chat is a lightweight, single-user conversation. It is the fastest way to get started - there is no setup required, and you can begin typing straight away. Chats are private to you, and each one is a self-contained conversation. They are best suited to:
Quick, one-off questions where you need an immediate answer.
Summarising or reviewing a document you have attached to a message.
Drafting short pieces of content, such as emails, agendas, or summaries.
Exploring an idea informally before committing it to a more structured piece of work.
Running a task using a pre-configured template, where the actions and connectors are already set up for you.
Chats do not support persistent file uploads, collaborators, folders, or mid-session configuration changes. The AI's context is limited to the current conversation - it does not carry knowledge across separate Chats.
Projects
A Project is a full workspace designed for more substantial or ongoing work. Projects are better suited to situations where you need to:
Upload files that the AI can search across throughout the entire project, not just within a single message.
Run multiple conversations that all share the same context and source material.
Collaborate with colleagues by inviting them as contributors to the same workspace.
Connect to live data sources using connectors, such as other Access products or third-party services like OneDrive.
Organise your work into folders.
Build on a body of work over time, with all conversations, uploads, and outputs kept together in one place.
Projects also support Skills and instructions that apply across all conversations within the project, giving the AI consistent guidance throughout your work.
Which should you use?
If you are not sure which to use, start with a Chat. It requires no setup and is ideal for most day-to-day tasks. If the work grows - for example, you want to share it with a colleague, add more source material, or continue it across multiple sessions - you can convert the Chat into a Project at any point without losing your conversation history.
📌 Note: Chats do not support folders, collaborators, or mid-session configuration changes. If you need those features, use a Project instead.
Feature | Chat | Project |
Quick, one-off questions | ✅ | ✅ |
File uploads (persistent) | ❌ | ✅ |
Connectors and actions | Via template only | ✅ |
Skills | ✅ | ✅ |
Collaborators | ❌ | ✅ |
Folders | ❌ | ✅ |
Multiple conversations sharing context | ❌ | ✅ |
Per-project instructions | ❌ | ✅ |