✨ Form assistant: build forms by chat
The form assistant is a chat right inside propform. You describe in your own words what you need – "Create a contact form for prospective buyers with name, email, phone and message" or "Make the phone number required" – and the assistant builds the form for you: it finds the matching fields in your onOffice field configuration, adds them and sets up rules, emails and the PDF template. You can even give it a photo or PDF of your paper form – it reads out the fields and rebuilds the form.
The assistant is included in all plans – no AI account of your own and no API key needed. It works with the same rules as the form editor; whatever it changes, you see right away in the editor.
Beta: The assistant is still in beta. Check its changes before you activate a form – and we would love to hear your feedback at hello@propform.io.
Contents
What the assistant can do
- Create new forms – from a short description, with matching onOffice fields, sections and sensible required fields
- Change existing forms – add, remove, rename and reorder fields, make them required, change how they are displayed
- Create rules (conditions) – e.g. "Only show the living area for apartments or houses"
- Set up emails – e.g. a confirmation email to the sender or the notification to you
- Adjust or regenerate the PDF template of the PDF generator
- Check the form – "Check my form for errors" finds typical problems such as hidden required fields, unknown onOffice fields or missing recipients
- Answer questions – e.g. which onOffice fields exist for a topic or how a feature works in propform
The assistant handles small changes straight away. For bigger rebuilds (many fields at once, deleting, replacing all rules) it first briefly describes its plan and asks for your okay.
How to start
Changing an existing form: open the form in the editor and click Assistant at the top. The chat opens on the right. The assistant always works on this one form.
Creating a new form: in the form overview, click New form via chat and describe what you need. The assistant creates the form and then opens it in the editor – the chat stays open so you can keep making changes.
Good to know:
- Save first: if you have unsaved changes in the editor, the chat asks you to save first.
- While the assistant is working, editing and saving in the editor are locked. Afterwards the editor reloads automatically and shows the result.
- You can leave the page – the assistant keeps working. When you come back, you'll see the result.
- Cancel is possible at any time. Anything already changed up to that point stays in place and can be reversed with "Undo".
- New forms are inactive. Take a look at them in the editor and activate them when everything fits.
- When things are very busy, your request waits briefly in a queue and then starts automatically.
Rebuilding a paper form from a photo or PDF
Do you have a self-disclosure form, a handover protocol or a valuation sheet on paper? Attach it in the chat – using the paper clip below the input field or by drag & drop.
Allowed files:
- one PDF with at most 6 pages – or
- up to 6 photos (JPG, PNG, WEBP; iPhone photos in HEIC format preferably as JPG)
- at most 10 MB per file; do not mix PDF and photos
- password-protected PDFs cannot be opened – upload an unprotected version or photos of the pages instead
The process has two stages:
- Recognise: the assistant reads the pages and shows you a list of the recognised fields, grouped into sections. Nothing in the form is changed yet.
- Build: if the list is right, click Create like this (or Add like this in the editor). If you want to change something first, click Change something and simply write what should be different – e.g. "Leave out the employer field".
Building usually takes 3–5 minutes, because the assistant looks up the matching onOffice field for every field. Fields without a suitable field in your onOffice are not created; the assistant lists them at the end – you can create them in onOffice and then have them added.
Tip: straight, well-lit photos without shadows give the best results. It is best to leave out pages without fields (cover page, cover letter).
Undo
Before the assistant changes an existing form, propform automatically creates a backup. A button Undo the changes of this request then appears below your message – it reverses all changes of this request at once.
- Only in order: Undo always works only for the most recent request with changes. To go back further, first undo the more recent requests.
- Also editor changes since then: Undo restores the form to the state it was in before the request. If you changed something yourself in the editor afterwards, that is gone too. That is why propform asks you once more first.
- Undo does not remove a newly created form – if needed, simply delete it in the form overview.
- Undo does not count towards your quota.
Quota: 50 requests per month
Every account has 50 requests per calendar month. On the 1st of the month you start again at 50. The chat shows how many you have left below the input field.
A request is every message you send to the assistant – no matter how many steps it needs for it. Create like this / Add like this for a paper form and Next (when a reply became too long) each count as one request as well. A turn that ends at the time or step limit (the assistant then asks you to write “continue”) counts too – the changes made up to that point stay saved.
Not counted are:
- requests that did not go through because of an error at the AI service (also when the service did not answer in time)
- requests you cancel before the assistant has started
- undo, reading the history and opening the chat
What the assistant cannot do
- No submissions: it does not read any data that visitors have sent via your forms.
- No onOffice configuration: it does not create fields in onOffice or change anything there – it only uses the fields that already exist in your onOffice.
- Only the open form: in the editor it works exclusively on the form that is open. To change another form, open the chat there.
- No account settings: staff area, webhooks, folders and account-wide settings stay in the normal menu.
- AI can make mistakes. Take a quick look at the result in the editor before activating a form – especially required fields, rules and email recipients.
Tips for good instructions
- Say what the form is for and who fills it in. "Self-disclosure for prospective tenants" gives better fields than "form with name and income".
- Mention everything at once. "Add date of birth, employer and net income, all required" is faster and saves requests compared with three separate messages.
- Use your usual terms. You don't need to know any onOffice field names – the assistant finds matching fields by itself.
- Be specific about rules. "Only show the field type of pet if Yes is selected for pets".
- Have it checked at the end. "Check my form for errors" finds typical problems before a prospect does.
- Small things are quicker in the editor. You can type a label directly in the editor faster than you can describe it.
- New conversation for a new topic. The + at the top of the chat starts afresh – that keeps the replies short and precise.
Data protection
- The assistant runs on the AI service of IONOS in Germany. IONOS is already a processor for propform – no new service provider is added.
- The AI service receives your messages, the structure of the form (fields, rules, email settings, PDF template) and the field names from your onOffice field configuration. Submissions from your prospects are never sent to the AI service.
- Uploaded photos and PDFs are deleted automatically after 30 days.
- Your chat histories remain stored in your account.
- If possible, upload blank templates, not completed forms containing your customers' data.
More about data protection in propform: Data protection & data minimisation.
Prefer Claude or ChatGPT?
If you would rather work with your own AI assistant – such as Claude or ChatGPT – you can connect it directly to your propform account via MCP. This offers even more tools (e.g. folders, webhooks, staff area and, if you wish, submissions), but runs through your own account with the respective provider: AI assistants (MCP).