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AI Helper shows "Heuristic mode active"

When you open AI Helper, a yellow banner at the top might say "Heuristic mode active." That means AI Helper couldn't use a real LLM and is falling back to simple pattern matching.

Heuristic mode catches the most common flow shapes (webhook + SMS, email + call), but it's noticeably less helpful than the real AI Helper. Anything beyond basic prompts produces "I didn't quite understand that" responses.

Why it happens

AI Helper uses your tenant's AI provider API key — OpenAI or Anthropic — to call a real language model. If the key isn't set, is invalid, expired, or hit a rate limit, the system silently falls back to heuristic mode rather than failing outright. Better degraded service than no service.

How to fix it

99% of the time, the key just isn't configured for your tenant. To set it:

  1. Sign in to JAMS Incident Management.
  2. Top-right user menu → AI Provider Key (also reachable via /dashboard?open=ai-key).
  3. Paste your tenant's API key — either an OpenAI key (starts with sk-...) or an Anthropic key (starts with sk-ant-...).
  4. Save.
  5. Reload AI Helper. The "Heuristic mode" banner should be gone.

You don't choose a provider. The key tells us which vendor it belongs to, and the dialog confirms what it detected before you save. To switch vendors, paste the other key — there is no setting to change and nothing to restart.

If you don't have a key yet, pick either provider:

OpenAI

  1. Go to platform.openai.com.
  2. Sign up (uses a separate billing account from your JAMS Incident Management billing).
  3. Settings → API Keys → Create new secret key.
  4. Copy the key (only shown once).
  5. Paste in JAMS Incident Management as above.

Anthropic

  1. Go to console.anthropic.com.
  2. Sign up (again, separate billing from JAMS Incident Management).
  3. Settings → API Keys → Create Key.
  4. Copy the key (only shown once).
  5. Paste in JAMS Incident Management as above.

Cost: AI Helper uses minimal tokens per flow draft (~$0.01–$0.05). Typical JAMS Incident Management tenants spend under $1/month even with daily flow building. Both providers let you set a usage cap in their own dashboard if you're worried about runaway costs.

Other reasons for heuristic mode

If the key IS set and you're still seeing the banner:

Likely causeWhat to check
Key was revoked or rotatedOpen your provider's dashboard → API Keys → confirm the key listed is the one in JAMS Incident Management. If you rotated it, paste the new value here.
Provider account has no creditBoth OpenAI and Anthropic need a payment method on file, and trial credits expire. Check your provider's Billing page.
Rate-limitedNew accounts on either provider start with low default limits, and these usually rise on their own as the account ages. For an immediate workaround, request a limit increase from that provider.
Network issueIf your tenant is hosted on a private network blocking outbound HTTPS to api.openai.com or api.anthropic.com, AI Helper can't reach the model. This is rare in JAMS Incident Management's hosted environment.

How to verify the key is being used

After saving the key:

  1. Reload AI Helper.
  2. Type a simple prompt: Alert me by SMS when something hits a webhook.
  3. Submit.
  4. If the response is a thoughtful, multi-line draft → AI is working.
  5. If the response is a generic "I built a basic webhook flow for you" with no follow-up questions → still heuristic. Re-check the key.

What heuristic mode CAN do

Heuristic mode isn't useless — it just has narrower vocabulary. It correctly handles:

  • Webhook trigger + SMS or call to a single recipient
  • Email-from-keyword trigger + alert
  • Simple escalation timing (1–10 minute interval)

What it CAN'T do without real AI:

  • Complex multi-step prompts ("monitor X and if it happens twice in 5 minutes alert Y")
  • Inferring missing details (recipients, channel preferences) from context
  • Plain-English variations beyond a handful of templates

If you're stuck in heuristic mode but need a complex flow, use the manual flow builder instead — it has the same expressiveness as AI Helper, just clickier.

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