Prompting BuckyAssist

BuckyAssist is Bucky's AI assistant. Ask in plain language — you do not need special commands or syntax. On the map, Project Scout helps you explore blocks, highlight lots, and compare site options. See Site exploration for how the map workflow fits together. Elsewhere, BuckyAssist can research parcels and zoning, find designs and professionals, and help you manage project work.

This guide shows what to say and how to get better answers.

How to get better answers

A few habits make a big difference:

• Start from the map when you are scouting — pan to the area, drop a pin, or draw a site boundary, then ask BuckyAssist to explore or assess it.
• Lead with an address when you ask what can be built on a site — a street address or postal code works best.
• Be specific about the outcome you want: a block preview, setbacks and height, townhouse designs under a budget, or a comparison between two streets.
• Use @ mentions to reference a specific design, completed build, or seller when you want to compare or ask follow-up questions.
• Open or save a project when you need live city data, site options, or work that should stay attached to a project.
• Ask one clear thing per message, then follow up after results appear — BuckyAssist works best as a conversation, not a single mega-prompt.

Project Scout (map exploration)

Project Scout is the assistant in the map dock. Start here when you are studying land — previewing blocks, highlighting lots, comparing corridors, and saving site options — rather than browsing the full design catalog.

Example prompts:

• Explore a block-sized site at the center of my current map view
• Explore the block around this location on the map and highlight its lots
• Explore development sites near Vancouver
• Help me draw an area on the map and highlight the lots inside it
• Show the zoning layer in my current map view
• Assess development potential
• Review zoning for the lots in this selected area
• Summarize the lots, total area, and known site constraints in this selection
• Compare these two streets for development potential
• Save Option A as a site option on my project

Where Project Scout appears

Project Scout lives on the Projects map — the map inside your projects workspace when you are studying land. It is not available on the general marketplace browse view. Open the map, frame a site (search an address, drop a pin, or draw an area), then use the Project Scout dock at the bottom of the feasibility panel.

You can also start from address search with Ask Scout about … when you have a query typed in.

Explore, assess, and refine

The right-hand panel switches modes as you work:

• Explore — no site framed yet; Project Scout is expanded so you can scout the map view or a block around an address.
• Assess — a site is framed and Scout is collapsed; you see the full feasibility body for that selection.
• Refine — a site is framed and Scout is open again; use this to dig deeper without losing an in-flight exploration.

What you see during exploration

When Scout runs a map exploration, you may see:

• Map Exploration Plan — a guided flow (focus map, preview a block, highlight lots). Nothing is saved unless you later choose Review & create or save a site option on a project.
• Site comparison — when comparing two or more corridors or options, a table with parcels, area, zones, and a verdict (Good / Review / Limited).
• Site options strip — session candidates labeled Unsaved (up to eight). Flip between them on the map; they attach to a project when you use Review & create.
• Site summary — a short brief after exploration (parcels, area, zone, build envelope hints). This is an early read, not the full feasibility report.
• AI draft area — a suggested polygon on the map marked Not saved; confirm or replace it before treating it as your site boundary.

Saving your work

• Review & create on the map toolbar — creates a project from your current selection and can carry unsaved site options into the project.
• Save option — on a project, save a named site option from the site summary or Scout approval card.
• Saved site options — durable options you can reopen, rename, or archive inside a project.

Zoning and building rules

Use this when you want to know what a parcel allows — setbacks, height, density, permitted uses, or building-code topics like fire separation.

Example prompts:

• Check zoning rules for 123 Main St, Vancouver
• What can I build here?
• What are the setbacks and height limits for this address?
• What are the building codes for this location?
• Check setbacks and what I can build here

Designs and completed builds

Use this to browse the marketplace — prefab and modular designs, or real completed homes you can use as comparables.

Example prompts:

• Find completed builds near an address
• Show me townhouse designs I can browse now
• Show townhouse design options in the catalog
• Show comparable completed builds near this project
• Generate a clay model render from a design

Clay renders ask for your approval before they run.

Professionals and builders

Use this to find people who can help — architects, contractors, and other professionals — or builders who carry specific design catalogs.

Example prompts:

• Find professionals near my project area
• Find experts near Vancouver
• Show me designs for a laneway house
• Find a builder that makes modular townhouses

To book time with a professional, use the booking flow in the marketplace — BuckyAssist helps you discover and compare, not schedule appointments directly in chat.

Cost and grants

Use this when you want a rough construction estimate from comparable builds, or to check grant eligibility.

Example prompts:

• Estimate construction cost from comparables
• Estimate construction cost for this scope
• Am I eligible for grants or incentives for this project?

Grant checks are available for individual accounts.

Project workspace

Use this when you have a project open — tasks, reports, documents, and project details.

Example prompts:

• List my projects
• Add a task to follow up with the planner
• Draft an investor report from this project
• What do my documents say about setbacks on this site?
• Search my project documents for title issues

Memory

BuckyAssist can remember durable facts about your preferences so you do not have to repeat them every session.

Example prompts:

• Remember my budget is $800K
• Remember I prefer modular construction
• Remember my target move-in date is fall 2027

If a new fact conflicts with something BuckyAssist already knows, you may see an approval card to confirm the update.

Skills

Skills are focused workflows you can pick from the Skills selector. Each skill starts with a template you can finish in your own words.

Where you chat matters

BuckyAssist behaves slightly differently depending on where you open it:

• Project Scout (map dock) — site exploration first; start with the prompts above. Marketplace browsing is secondary.
• Main chat — full marketplace discovery, zoning research, and project help.
• Skills selector — a narrow workflow with a starter template and focused follow-ups.

You can also pick a tool mode (Building Codes & Rules, Designs, Experts, Locations) to pre-fill the start of your message — for example, “What are the building codes for …” or “Find experts near …”.

What to expect in the conversation

BuckyAssist may not answer only in text. You might see:

• Clarifying questions — multiple-choice or short-answer cards when your request needs one more detail.
• Visual results — design lists, maps, exploration plans, and comparison tables instead of long plain-text lists.
• Approval cards — before saving memory, editing project fields, or generating a clay render.

Follow the cards on screen; they are part of how BuckyAssist completes the task.

Limits and good judgment

• Coverage varies by city. BuckyAssist will tell you when it cannot ground an answer in data for your jurisdiction.
• Do not treat estimates as quotes. Construction cost ranges come from comparables and scope — they are a starting point, not a bid.
• Exploration drafts are not legal boundaries. Block previews and drawn areas are planning aids; confirm dimensions and ownership with official records.
• Booking happens in the product. Use marketplace booking flows to schedule with sellers — not chat commands.

Quick reference

For the concepts behind these workflows, see Core concepts. When you are ready to run an analysis end to end, start from the quickstart.