---
title: Limits and troubleshooting
description: What the assistant's on-screen messages mean and how to fix the common problems.
---

Use this page when an assistant does not appear, refuses to help, or shows an error.

## The assistant is missing

| What you see | Why | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| No **Workspace AI** in the left rail, and no robot buttons in mail, calendar or drive | AI is not set up on your Metis Suite server | Ask the person who runs your server. You cannot turn it on yourself. |
| No **MCP clients** in your settings | AI is not set up on your Metis Suite server | Same as above. MCP clients need AI on the server. |
| The `@` list does not offer an item you expect | AI is off for that mailbox, calendar or drive | Ask its owner to turn AI on for it in this workspace. |

## The assistant is turned off

| Message | Why | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Assistant turned off**, with "This workspace has AI turned off, so the assistant is unavailable here." | The workspace has AI set to **Off** | An owner or admin can allow AI under **Workspace settings**, **General**, **AI & privacy**. Click **Workspace settings** to go there. |
| **Assistant turned off**, with "AI is turned off for this mailbox, so the assistant has nothing it can read." (or calendar, or drive) | The owner of this mailbox, calendar or drive has not turned AI on in this workspace | If it is yours, click the button under the message (**Your mailboxes**, **Your calendars** or **Your drives**) and turn AI on. Otherwise, ask its owner. |
| "AI is off for every mailbox, calendar and drive here" under the Workspace Assistant title | No mailbox, calendar or drive in this workspace has AI turned on | Turn AI on for at least one of them. |
| "AI is turned off for this workspace" (or "for this mailbox", "for this calendar", "for this drive") in the error box | AI was turned off while you were chatting | Ask an owner, admin or the item's owner to turn it back on. |

For how the switches work, see [How AI works in Metis Suite](/guide/assistant/how-ai-works).

## A reply fails

When a reply fails, the chat shows a box titled "Workspace Assistant hit a problem", "Mail AI hit a problem", "Calendar AI hit a problem" or "Drive AI hit a problem". The box shows the reason and a **Retry** button.

| Message | Why | What to do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| The reason includes "Too many requests. Please slow down." | You sent many messages in a short time. Each person has a limit on how many messages they can send per minute. The Mail, Calendar and Drive AI panels share one limit, and Workspace AI has its own. | Wait a minute, then click **Retry**. |
| "The assistant is busy right now. Wait a moment and try again." | The AI service your server uses has too many requests right now | Wait a moment, then click **Retry**. |
| "The assistant is unavailable right now. Try again later." | The AI service your server uses refused the request. This usually needs a fix on the server. | Tell the person who runs your server. |

If one step in a reply fails but the rest work, that step shows the reason, or "That step didn't work".

## Other things to know

- **Panel conversations disappear.** The Mail, Calendar and Drive AI panels do not save conversations. Use [Workspace AI](/guide/assistant/use-workspace-ai) when you want to come back to a conversation.
- **Mail AI will not send.** Mail AI cannot send email or save drafts. Ask Workspace AI instead.
- **Drive AI cannot move a file to another drive.** It can only move files within the same drive.
- **Conversations cannot be renamed.** The assistant gives each conversation a short title for you.
- **Deleted conversations cannot be brought back.** Deleting your account or the workspace also deletes its conversations.

For problems with outside AI apps, see [Manage MCP clients](/guide/assistant/manage-mcp-clients).