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Plan in Glean Chat

When Glean Assistant receives a complex query, it can generate in Glean Chat a visible, interactive plan before and during execution. This gives users transparency into what Assistant is doing, why it's doing it, and how far along it is.

How it works​

For queries that require multi-step reasoning, such as analyzing tickets across systems, building reports from multiple sources, or researching a topic in depth, Glean Assistant follows three stages:

1

Create a plan

Glean Assistant breaks the task into a numbered sequence of steps, displayed in Glean Chat as a card. Each step includes a brief description of what Assistant will do.

2

Execute the plan transparently

As Glean Assistant works through the task, the task list updates in real time so users can follow progress. Glean shows:

  • Its current status
  • Intermediate reasoning traces
  • Tool invocations

This helps users understand what's happening and why.

3

Adapt as new information appears

If Glean Assistant uncovers new information during execution, it can revise the plan in real time by:

  • Adding steps
  • Removing steps
  • Reordering steps

This allows Assistant to stay flexible rather than following a rigid sequence.

Human-in-the-loop controls​

Users can stop Glean Assistant at any time during plan execution and provide new direction. Assistant can then generate a new plan or update the current one based on that feedback. This keeps users in control of more complex workflows, especially when a task needs additional guidance.

Task list states​

The plan appears in Glean Chat as a task list card with different states depending on progress.

During execution

The task list shows live progress, including:

  • Status indicators for each step: Pending, In Progress, or Done
  • Multiple steps marked In Progress when work is happening in parallel
  • An overall progress bar showing completion (for example, 3/5 tasks)

After completion

Once the task is finished, the task list collapses into a compact card showing:

  • The title
  • Number of completed tasks

Users can expand the card to review the status of each individual step.

When the plan is triggered​

A plan is generated only when Glean Assistant determines that a query requires multi-step execution. Simple queries, such as "What's our PTO policy?", are answered directly without a plan. Assistant decides when planning is appropriate based on the complexity and scope of the task.

Requirements​

The plan feature is:

  • Available in Thinking mode in Glean Assistant
  • Available to all users on Glean Universal Key and Glean Hosted

Example​

The image below illustrates a plan generated to analyze AI industry updates. The plan consists of three steps, with the first step shown as currently in progress.

A user interface showing a plan to analyze AI industry updates. The plan includes three steps: gathering updates, synthesizing developments, and drafting a report. The first step, 'Gather recent AI industry updates from major external sources covering the last 2 weeks,' is currently in progress, indicated by a progress bar and a spinning icon.

This next image shows the final output after the plan has been completed: a report on AI industry updates from March 12-26, 2026.

A screenshot of a document titled 'AI Industry Update: March 12-26, 2026', which includes an executive summary highlighting a shift in the AI industry towards execution, agentic AI, AI infrastructure, and physical AI. The document is part of a larger workflow, indicated by 'Plan 3 of 3 complete'.

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