Ask — how it answers, and where the answer comes from
Ask a question in your own words and get an answer on this device. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Ask is the teal button in the top-right of every tab except Chart, which carries no Ask button at all.
One more wrinkle, and it is deliberate: on the Maintenance tab that row is full, so Ask sits inside the ••• at the end of it. Same button, one tap further. Maintenance carries more of its own tools than any other tab — add, log, needs-attention — and the owner chose to keep all of them rather than drop one to bring Ask back out. Tap it, type a question the way you'd say it out loud, and press Go.
Ask answers on this device — iPhone or iPad. Which engine does the answering depends on the device:
- On iOS 26 with Apple Intelligence switched on, Ask uses Apple's on-device model. You get a written answer in full sentences, and it can use your boat's own numbers — draft, tank capacities, how many issues are open — to answer things like "how many jobs are still open?"
- On every other iPhone or iPad, Ask ranks the help library and hands you the closest article. No sentences, but it never fails and it works with no bars, forty miles out.
The banner at the top of the sheet always tells you which one you're getting, and if you're on the library-only path it tells you why. There is no silent switching — you'll never wonder which one answered.
Under every answer is the list of articles it came from. Tap one for the long version.
Use Ask for how-tos and explanations. Use Search for finding a specific record — a trip, a vendor, an observation. The "?" glyph on a screen is a third thing: it explains that screen only.
Steps
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Open Ask
Tap the Ask button in the top-right of any tab except Chart — on Maintenance it sits inside the ••• at the end of that row. The sheet opens with the text field focused.
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Type a question and press Go
Plain English. "How do I add a fuel stop?" "What does the purple chip mean?" "How many issues are still open?" As you type you'll see matching articles; pressing Go is what asks for an answer.
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Check the banner
The top of the sheet names the engine — "On this iPhone" ("On this iPad" on an iPad) or "Help library". If it says help library and you expected sentences, the banner says what to do about it.
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Turn on the full answers (optional)
Written answers need iOS 26 and Apple Intelligence switched on in Settings. Any iPhone or iPad without both keeps the help-library path — Ask still works, it just doesn't write prose.
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Ask vs. Search vs. "?"
Ask = explain how something works. Search = find a specific record. "?" = what is this screen.
Related
- Find anything with the search boxOne box, behind the magnifier in the top right of every screen — a screen, a record, or a question. You never have to learn the menu.
- What search actually looks atSearch reads from one index of the boat's records — trips and legs, observations and issues, work orders, playbooks, people, stowage and supplies, documents and manuals, and more.
- Search anywhere — the queries that workGet more out of the search box by understanding what it indexes and how to phrase queries.
- Still stuck — send us feedbackHow to reach the people who built theONE.