> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.forepost.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Honest "I don't know"

> Why Forepost refuses to invent a story from a bag of zeros, and what happens when your data isn't ready.

Most AI products hallucinate before admitting limits. Forepost takes the opposite stance:

> *"I won't guess from zeros. That's not what a chief of staff does."*

This document explains the rule, where it applies, and what you'll see when it triggers.

## The rule

Every AI surface in Forepost (Daily Brief, Horizon, Board Pack, AI Business Case) checks workspace completeness before generating. If you don't meet the bar, the surface returns a templated message in the Forepost voice naming exactly what's missing. No Anthropic call. No fabricated story.

**The threshold:** at least 4 of the 5 core metrics filled, **plus** at least one named agent. Specifically:

* Volume *(core)*
* CSAT *(core)*
* First response time *(core)*
* Open tickets *(core)*
* Agent utilisation *(core)*
* AI deflection *(optional)*
* Backlog age *(optional)*
* One-touch resolution *(optional)*

A field is considered filled if it's a non-zero, finite number. Empty strings, zeros, and `null` all count as not filled, because in support data, real zeros are extraordinarily rare and almost always indicate a missing input.

## Where you'll see it

### The CompletenessBanner

An amber strip appears at the top of the **Daily Brief**, **Horizon**, and **Watchlist** pages when the workspace isn't ready. It names the missing fields with a one-click link to Settings:

> *I need CSAT score, first response time, and open tickets before I can give a real read. I won't guess from zeros.*

### Inline brief text

If you click into a brief, you see the templated message instead of streamed prose. Same for Board Pack and AI Business Case.

### Email

The hourly cron checks completeness before sending. If your workspace isn't ready, **no email is sent**. Better silence than a bad brief.

### Manual sends

`Send brief now` and `Send digest now` return a `400` with a structured response listing what's missing.

## What about Ask Forepost?

The chat surface isn't pre-gated, you can ask anything, even with no data. Instead, the system prompt has an explicit honesty clause:

> *A metric showing "0" almost certainly means the user has not entered it yet. Never extrapolate from a zero. If a relevant metric is missing, name that gap explicitly rather than inventing a story.*

So if you ask *"what's driving my CSAT trend?"* without CSAT entered, the model will say so directly rather than guess.

## Why this matters

Trust is the substrate. A CX leader who forwards a Forepost brief to their CEO needs to know it's grounded in real numbers, not an inference from absent fields. The first time a leader catches Forepost making something up, the product is dead in their mind.

Honesty over hallucination. Every time.