What an AI planning assistant does
An AI planning assistant keeps the project and resource plan current and answers questions from it: who’s free next month and which projects are at risk. Chello, Mosaic’s AI planning assistant, does this in Mosaic, an AI project and resource planning tool, and in Microsoft Teams, where it asks project managers for updates so one reply keeps the plan current.
What can an AI planning assistant answer?
An AI planning assistant answers questions about the plan in plain words: who’s free next month by role, which projects are at risk, what changed this week, how utilization is tracking and what the forecast shows. Chello answers from the live plan in Mosaic, so the answer reflects this week’s staffing and schedule rather than last month’s export.
Ask what the team is working on this week, how much budget is left on a phase, or who could take on a new project next month, in Mosaic or in a Microsoft Teams chat.
“Previously you’d have to make a phone call and ask 10 questions to try to get to the answer. This shortcuts that substantially.”
Can an AI assistant staff projects and reschedule work when a phase slips?
Yes: for each open role on a project, Chello proposes people who fit by role, skill and availability, and adds them when the project manager agrees. When a phase slips, Mosaic’s patented automatic rescheduling moves the work and the people after it, so the schedule and the staffing stay in step.
When a phase moves, the phases and assignments linked to it move with it, without anyone redrawing the timeline.
Staffing looks across every team and office, so the person who fits isn’t limited to whoever the project manager already knows.
Can an AI assistant in Microsoft Teams ask for updates and keep the plan current?
Yes: Chello in Microsoft Teams asks each project manager what changed on their projects, in the chat they already use, and one reply gets the plan to match reality. It brings the update to the people who own the work, instead of waiting for them to open the plan.
People never seem to have time to keep up on planning. Most firms on Mosaic get most of their people planning. The only thing that gets everyone planning is the Teams integration.
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Does an AI planning assistant get more of the firm planned?
Yes: typical firms on ERPs and spreadsheets have a plan for under 50% of their billable staff capacity, firms on Mosaic plan 80% or more, and with Chello in Microsoft Teams the figure is over 90%. The planning benchmark is 90% of billable staff capacity planned 30 days out, with Chello.
Share of billable staff capacity with a plan, firm-wide. The benchmark: 90% planned 30 days out, with Chello.
Under 50%
of billable staff capacity planned at typical firms on ERPs and spreadsheets
80%+
planned at firms on Mosaic
Over 90%
planned with Chello in Microsoft Teams
Can leaders get a regular summary of projects, staffing and budgets?
Yes: Chello prepares briefs for leaders on projects, staffing and budgets, covering what changed, which projects are at risk and where capacity is short or spare. Between briefs, Chello flags at-risk projects as they appear, so leaders don’t wait for the next brief to hear about a slipping deadline.
Every brief and every flag comes from the same live plan the rest of the firm works from, so leaders and project managers are looking at the same numbers.
How do firms use an AI planning assistant to run operations?
Firms hand Chello the upkeep: getting everyone planning, keeping everyone informed, helping leaders work out what to do next and teaching people as they go. Leaders and project managers keep the decisions, and spend less of their week collecting the information behind them.
Gets everyone planning
Every project scheduled and every person planned to capacity two to four weeks out, with Chello chasing the updates.
Keeps everyone informed
Answers in plain words, briefs for leaders, and problems flagged as they appear.
Helps you strategize
Who’s free, where the work is heading and which roles run short, worked through from the live plan.
Teaches as you go
People learn planning in Mosaic as they do it, by asking Chello.
What should firms look for in an AI planning assistant?
Look for one that works from the live plan rather than exports, reaches people where they already work, staffs and reschedules within permissions you set, and connects to the systems the firm already runs. Then ask how much of the firm’s capacity it gets planned, since every answer is only as good as the plan behind it.
Works from the live plan
Answers come from the plan everyone updates, not from an export that went stale last week.
Reaches people where they work
Chello in Microsoft Teams asks for updates in chat, so planning doesn’t depend on people opening another tool.
Staffs and reschedules
Finds people by role, skill and availability, and moves the work after a phase that slips.
Works with your other AI assistants
Mosaic’s MCP server, the connection that lets an AI assistant such as Claude or ChatGPT work with Mosaic’s data, gives those assistants the same plan.
Plugs into your ERP
Mosaic plugs into your ERP. ERPs record what happened. Mosaic helps you run the firm.
Quick to roll out
Firms are integrated, trained and live in 30 to 60 days.
Does an AI planning assistant change the plan on its own?
Chello keeps the plan current on its own, within the permissions your firm sets, and brings the decisions that need a person to the person who makes them. AI assistants connected through Mosaic’s MCP server act within the permissions of the person who connected them.
Permissions decide what each person, and each assistant acting for them, can see and change. Access defaults to locked, and planning gets gated. Connected assistants can change the plan as well as read it, and their changes go through Chello.
What else do firms ask about AI planning assistants?
Does Mosaic have an AI assistant?
Yes. Chello, Mosaic’s AI planning assistant, works in Mosaic and in Microsoft Teams. It answers questions about the plan, asks project managers for updates and keeps the plan current.
Does Chello work in Microsoft Teams?
Yes. Chello in Microsoft Teams asks project managers for updates and answers questions about the plan in chat, and one reply gets the plan to match reality.
Does Chello change the plan on its own?
Yes, within the permissions your firm sets. It brings the decisions that need a person to the person who makes them.
Can Chello be wrong?
Yes. Like any AI, Chello can misread a question, work from the wrong context or make a mistake. It answers from the live plan, works within the permissions your firm sets, and brings the decisions that need a person to the person who makes them.
Does an AI planning assistant replace a resource manager or project manager?
No. Chello does the legwork of keeping the plan current and flagging what needs attention, and people make the calls: who to hire, which work comes first, what to tell a client.
How long does it take to get started?
Firms are integrated, trained and live in 30 to 60 days. Mosaic plugs into your ERP, so the plan starts from the projects and people your books already hold.
Book a 20-minute demo
See Chello answer questions about a plan and keep it current, in Mosaic and in Microsoft Teams.