Using Ask AI to Interpret Your Burn Rate
Learn how to use the Ask AI feature inside the AskBiz Burn Rate panel to get instant, context-aware recommendations on your daily cash burn.
Key Takeaways
- The Ask AI button in the burn panel reads your live cost data and provides personalised recommendations.
- Framing your prompt with context — stage, goals, constraints — produces more actionable answers.
- Ask AI can suggest both cost-cutting and revenue strategies based on your burn breakdown.
Where to Find the Ask AI Button in the Burn Panel
Step 1: Navigate to the /intelligence page in AskBiz. Step 2: Click the Daily Net Gain/Burn card to open the Burn Rate drill-down panel. Step 3: Scroll to the bottom of the burn panel. You will see a button labelled 'Ask AI' or an AI chat input area. Step 4: The Ask AI feature in this panel has access to your current burn figures, cost breakdown, and formula data — you do not need to paste numbers into the prompt.
Example Prompts for Burn Rate Analysis
Here are effective prompts to use in the Ask AI field within the burn panel. Try: 'My daily burn is higher than I expected. Which cost category should I cut first?' The AI will reference your Sensitivity Table and recommend the highest-impact category. Try: 'We are a seed-stage startup with 8 months of runway. Is our burn rate healthy?' The AI will compare your figures to stage benchmarks. Try: 'We need to extend runway by 3 months without cutting staff. What are my options?' The AI will look at your non-payroll cost categories and suggest reductions. Try: 'What daily revenue target do I need to reach cash positive?' The AI will calculate the break-even revenue using your current gross burn.
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The Ask AI feature inside the burn panel automatically reads your live dashboard data including daily burn value, fixed and variable cost totals, the formula breakdown, the Sensitivity Table values, and the Best Day and Worst Day statistics. This means its answers are specific to your business, not generic advice. You do not need to describe your costs in the prompt — the AI already knows them. What you should provide in your prompt is context about your goals (for example, 'I want to extend runway by 4 months') or constraints (for example, 'I cannot reduce payroll or marketing').
When to Use Ask AI vs Reading the Panels Yourself
Use the burn panel data directly when you want to understand the mechanics — the formula, the sensitivity values, the channel breakdown. Use Ask AI when you want interpretation, prioritisation, or a recommendation. Good moments to use Ask AI include: when your burn has increased unexpectedly and you want a quick diagnosis, when you are preparing for a board meeting and need a plain-English summary of your burn situation, when you have multiple possible cost cuts and want a recommendation on which to prioritise, and when you are trying to model the path to cash positive and want step-by-step guidance. The AI is most useful when you give it a clear question tied to a specific decision.
Interpreting and Acting on AI Recommendations
Step 1: After the AI responds, read the recommendation carefully. It will typically reference specific categories or figures from your dashboard. Step 2: If it recommends a specific cost cut, open the Cost Config Drawer to verify the current value of that category. Step 3: Before making changes, use the Cost Config Drawer to model the reduction and check the impact on your burn and runway cards. Step 4: If the AI recommends a revenue action, note it and cross-reference with the Cash Runway panel's Break-Even scenario row. Step 5: The AI does not make changes to your settings — all edits must be done manually in the Cost Config Drawer or Expenses tab.