Ask the map assistant
Try the assistant with five visitor messages a day, or sign in for twenty. Tell it what you want to make, or ask about something that is not working as expected. It can make changes to your open map, or give short steps with links to the illustrated instructions.
Ask in your own words
Choose Map assistant near the bottom right of the tool. You can try it before signing in. Your account allowance appears as soon as you sign in; there is no need to refresh the page. Type a question such as “How do I keep my logo in the corner?” or choose one of the example questions. Press Ask, or press Enter. Shift + Enter starts a new line. You can drag the assistant by its heading to move it out of the way.
Ask while you read a guide
Look for Ready when you are near the top of each help page. Type your question or describe what you would like to make, then choose Ask. The assistant knows which topic you are reading. Inside the mapping tool, this continues your existing map conversation and can offer changes for you to approve. In a separate help page, the chat opens below the heading and explains what to do; it is not connected to an editable map. Browse other topics without losing your conversation or an unsent question. Close the chat to read on, then choose Continue chat to return. Your usual daily allowance and first-question notification tracking apply across help and the tool. The small greeting settles by itself and is turned off when your browser requests reduced motion.
Show me how
The answer gives a few short steps. Each Show me where button opens the relevant panel and briefly highlights the controls for that step. For example, one can point to a territory name box and the next to its colour swatch. You can use the buttons in any order or click one again to see its highlight. These buttons only highlight controls. If you would like the assistant to do the work, ask it to make the change and use the separate Make these changes button. Ask a follow-up if a step is not clear.
Let it do the work
Try “Split this map into North and South, with blue for North and green for South” or “Add three 10-mile circles around YO18 7TG”. Read the short plan, then choose Make these changes. Watch the progress in the answer. You can ask for titles, colours, map details, legend notes, shapes, text, image layout, circles, markers, a small list of dots, insets, travel areas and shading from a saved dataset. Existing items can be changed by name or number. A north/south split uses the centres of the map polygons at the map’s midpoint; it is not a formal regional boundary.
Build it up, one change at a time
Keep talking in the same conversation. After creating three markers, try “Move those three to YO18 7TG, LS1 1UR and M1 1AD”, then “Make the second marker blue and call it Leeds office”. The assistant can move or restyle the same markers without adding replacements. Check that the plan says Edit existing marker when you want a tweak; Add marker means another marker will be created. You can also refine existing shapes, text, territories, circles and other supported items. Names help when there are several similar items. If it is unclear which one you mean, the assistant should ask. After a manual edit or Undo, ask again so it uses the current map. Start again clears the conversation, not your map.
Colour the postcodes within reach
Try “Colour the postcodes inside my circles and keep my existing territories” or “Use this travel analysis to replace all current postcode colouring”. The assistant can create circles or a small set of dots first and then colour their coverage in the same job. Existing travel areas are reused without another route calculation. Add keeps already-coloured areas; Replace clears their colours and key entries, so check the plan. Black circle or dot outlines are given automatic zone colours; other chosen coverage colours are kept. You can ask to change a territory colour afterwards. The selection tests polygon centres, not every individual address. Undo this job restores the whole change.
Change your mind
Choose Undo this job to put the map back as it was before the assistant started. The ordinary Undo and Redo buttons also work. If you have made other edits afterwards, use the main Undo button to step back through them first. If the map changes while a plan is being prepared, ask again so the assistant uses your latest version. Undo changes the open map; it does not delete a saved copy or refund a travel calculation.
Your files stay under your control
The assistant can arrange an image already on the page and use a dataset already in your account. It can open the correct panel when you need to choose a new file. You still choose files and check the import columns yourself. Heat maps replace existing territory colours, so check the proposed job first. Save requests create a first save or a separate copy; they do not overwrite another saved map. Downloads save the current map and open the normal export process and may still ask you to choose save or download options.
Travel areas without wasted calculations
Ask for a starting place, a distance or travel time, and the number of bands. One job can create one analysis with up to five bands and uses the normal travel allowance. Changing colours, names, labels or visibility reuses the existing result. Saved travel polygons reopen without being calculated again.
See the pictures
Choose Read guide below an answer for the full illustrated instructions. When you are already reading help, Ask about this topic brings you back to the assistant with that topic in mind. Close the assistant to continue working; your conversation stays here until you leave the page or choose Start again.
Help that fits the map you have open
Use my map settings shares settings such as map type and layout, the names and positions of map items, territory names, and dataset names and column headings. It does not attach your map artwork, uploaded files, sales figures or account email. Untick it for general guidance without automatic editing. What does the assistant see? explains what is sent. Open it and scroll down inside that section to read the details. Do not type passwords, verification codes or private customer information into a question.
Your daily messages
Signed-in users can send 20 AI messages a day; visitors can try 5. Follow-up questions count too. Allowances reset at midnight UTC (1am UK time during British Summer Time). The assistant shows what is left. Visitor checks also consider the connection you use; if a shared office connection has used its trial, sign in for your own allowance. Service spending limits may temporarily pause AI. The small line below the heading tells you which is available. Handbook search finds relevant guides without using an AI allowance, including when AI is not enabled or has reached its limit. The blue question marks throughout the tool always open the normal help pages.
How we use chats
GBMaps keeps questions, validated replies, topics, helpfulness ratings and reported editing results for up to 90 days to understand problems and improve the tool. Authorised staff can read these private records. To understand initial use, your first question may also be emailed to GBMaps support. That internal mailbox copy is managed separately from automatic chat expiry; follow-up questions do not send more emails for the same account or recognised visitor. They are linked to an account reference or a visitor reference, not displayed publicly. We do not automatically save your attached map settings or uploaded files in these records. Common email addresses and obvious key or password patterns are masked, but this cannot catch everything: do not type confidential information. Start again clears the chat on your screen; it does not delete the feedback record. Contact GBMaps if you need help accessing or deleting a conversation record. After expiry, anonymous counts of topics and outcomes can remain.
Visitor checks and your information
A first-party security cookie called MCSASSISTANT recognises your visitor trial for up to 30 days and may renew when you return. Server-side counters enforce limits; daily protected references derived from your connection help prevent repeated trials and abuse. We use these checks to run a secure service, not for advertising. Your question, recent conversation and chosen map settings are sent to OpenAI for an AI answer. OpenAI has its own API retention rules. GBMaps uses conversation feedback to improve this service and security records to protect it; it does not use these records to train a public model. You can read the handbook without asking the assistant.
Tell us what helped
Choose Yes, helpful or Not helpful below an answer. We also receive a small status update when you apply an assistant job, undo it with Undo this job, or it fails. These reports help us spot awkward controls and missing features.
Check before an important change
AI answers can make mistakes. Use the linked guide if you are unsure, save a copy before trying changes you may want to undo, and contact GBMaps for an account or payment question that needs a person to investigate. The assistant cannot see your private account records.