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

# Maven

> Maven is Mercor's Slack-native AI assistant for day-to-day project support. Learn how to ask Maven effectively, what it can help with, and when to expect a human follow-up.

<Note>
  Maven should always be your first stop for any project-related question. It lives inside your project's Slack workspace and answers most onboarding, tooling, task troubleshooting, and project guideline questions on its own, usually within seconds. In practice, Maven resolves around 80% of the requests it receives without escalating to a human, so asking Maven first is almost always the fastest way to get help.
</Note>

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card icon="slack" title="Slack-native">
    Maven is available inside your project's Slack workspace. No additional account, app, or login is required.
  </Card>

  <Card icon="bolt" title="Instant answers">
    Maven usually responds within a few seconds and cites the project documents and policies behind its answer.
  </Card>

  <Card icon="book-open" title="Grounded in your project">
    Each Maven deployment uses your project's onboarding document, task guidelines, Mercor's expert policies, and the public Slack channels of your project. Every answer reflects your project's rules and the latest context shared by the team.
  </Card>

  <Card icon="headset" title="Human handoff when needed">
    When a request requires human judgment, Maven routes the thread to your project team, and you receive a follow-up within one business day.
  </Card>
</Columns>

***

## How to Ask Maven

<Steps>
  <Step title="Find Maven in your project Slack workspace">
    Once your project is set up with Maven, you will see `@Maven` as a member of the dedicated support channel (typically named `#<project>-support`, `#maven-help`, or similar). Your Project Lead will confirm the exact channel during onboarding.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Tag @Maven in a new message">
    Start a new message and tag `@Maven`. Maven only replies to messages where it is mentioned directly.

    <Warning>
      Please ensure you are tagging `@Maven`, not `@Maven-bot` or another similarly named user. If autocomplete returns several options, select the one labeled *Maven*.
    </Warning>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Provide clear, complete context">
    The quality of Maven's answer depends on the context you share. In a single message, please include:

    * What you are trying to accomplish
    * Where you are stuck, and what you have already tried
    * Any relevant task ID, link, or domain
    * Screenshots or images of errors or unexpected behavior, when applicable

    <Note>
      Maven can read images and screenshots attached to your message. It does not process audio files, voice notes, or video. If you would otherwise record a voice note, please describe the issue in text or attach a screenshot instead.
    </Note>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Wait for Maven's reply in the thread">
    Maven will either answer directly, including citations to the underlying project documents, or post a notice that your request has been routed to the project team for human review.

    <Tip>
      Please avoid editing your original message after sending it. Maven processes new messages only. If you need to add information, send it as a new reply instead.
    </Tip>
  </Step>
</Steps>

***

## What Maven Can Help With

Maven handles the day-to-day questions that come up during active project work.

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card icon="clipboard-list" title="Guidelines, rubrics & task questions">
    Clarifications on task workflows, rubric definitions, formatting requirements, edge cases, common pitfalls, and what is or is not allowed on the project.
  </Card>

  <Card icon="code" title="RL Studio task troubleshooting">
    On projects that run in RL Studio, Maven can look up your specific tasks and help troubleshoot many task-level issues, such as missing fields, validation errors, or unclear requirements.
  </Card>

  <Card icon="circle-info" title="Project announcements & updates">
    Maven indexes the public channels of your project, so it can recap the latest announcements, such as sprint status, project pauses, schedule changes, and other updates shared by the team.
  </Card>

  <Card icon="user-tie" title="Identifying your Project Lead">
    Maven will tell you who to contact for project-specific approvals or escalations beyond its scope.
  </Card>

  <Card icon="screwdriver-wrench" title="Common troubleshooting">
    Maven provides standard fixes for Okta access, Slack workspace synchronization, Insightful/Workpuls setup, and other tooling.
  </Card>

  <Card icon="credit-card" title="Payment basics">
    Maven explains how payouts work, payout schedules, and where to find your earnings, based on Mercor's published policies.
  </Card>
</Columns>

***

## What Maven Cannot Help With

Some requests require human judgment, manual platform changes, or information that Maven does not have access to. In these cases, please contact the relevant team or resource directly.

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Adding or removing people from Slack channels">
    Channel membership is managed by your Project Lead or Mercor administrators. Maven does not perform write actions in Slack.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Case-by-case situations or specific exceptions">
    Personalized exceptions, for example an individual hour adjustment or a one-off deadline extension, must be reviewed by your Project Lead or the Mercor team.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Issuing or modifying payments">
    Maven can explain how payments work, but it cannot trigger, adjust, or expedite a payout. For payment issues, please contact [support@mercor.com](mailto:support@mercor.com).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Disputes or appeals">
    Any dispute regarding a task review, contract status, or compensation must go through the appropriate human escalation path with the project team or Mercor Support.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Task status, queue counts, or task assignment">
    Maven does not have live access to the task queue. Questions such as *"How many tasks are left?"* or *"Can you assign me a task?"* must be directed to your Project Lead.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Account-level support (login loops, identity verification, payments setup)">
    Account-level issues are handled by Mercor Support. Maven will recognize these requests and direct you to email [support@mercor.com](mailto:support@mercor.com), where our team responds promptly.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Platform status, outages, or service availability">
    Maven does not have visibility into the health of Mercor's platforms (for example, whether RL Studio, Insightful, or other tools are offline or experiencing issues). If you suspect a platform-wide outage, please contact [support@mercor.com](mailto:support@mercor.com) so our team can investigate.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Info>
  If Maven cannot answer a question, it usually means the information has not yet been shared in the project documentation, or the request requires human review. In either case, Maven will route the message to the project team, and a team member will follow up directly in the same thread.
</Info>

***

## Tips for Better Answers

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card icon="bullseye" title="Be specific">
    *"How do I format the answer key for a multi-document task?"* is far more useful than *"How do I do this task?"*
  </Card>

  <Card icon="image" title="Attach screenshots">
    Visual context, especially for error messages or platform issues, helps Maven respond more accurately.
  </Card>

  <Card icon="link" title="Include links and IDs">
    Paste the relevant task link, project page, or document URL whenever possible.
  </Card>

  <Card icon="filter" title="Keep messages focused">
    Please keep each message focused on a single topic. Maven provides more accurate answers when each question is clear and self-contained.
  </Card>

  <Card icon="comments" title="Continue follow-ups in the same thread">
    If your question has not yet been escalated to the team, tag `@Maven` again within the same thread to ask a follow-up. Maven retains the full context of that specific thread and will use it to refine its next answer. Maven only remembers the current thread, not unrelated conversations.
  </Card>

  <Card icon="plus" title="Start a new thread for new questions">
    Always open a fresh top-level message for each new question. Do not reply inside another person's thread to ask your own unrelated question. Maven will associate it with the wrong context, and the original requester's notifications will be disrupted.
  </Card>
</Columns>

***

## What Happens When Maven Escalates

When a request requires human review, Maven posts a short confirmation in the thread, similar to:

> *Your request has been routed to \[Project Team Member] for further review. They will carefully look into it and get back to you within 1 business day.*

You do not need to take any further action. The relevant team member is already notified and will respond directly in the same thread.

<Warning>
  Once Maven has escalated a thread to the team, Maven will no longer respond inside that thread. If you have a new, unrelated question, please start a new top-level message in the channel and tag Maven again from there.
</Warning>

<Tip>
  If your issue is time-sensitive and you have not received a response within one business day, you may also email [support@mercor.com](mailto:support@mercor.com) with the link to the original Slack thread.
</Tip>

***

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Availability & access

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Is Maven available on every Mercor project?">
    Maven is rolled out on a project-by-project basis. If Maven is not yet available in your project's Slack workspace, please continue to reach out to your project team using the existing support channels.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Where exactly should I message Maven?">
    Maven listens only inside the designated project channels where it has been deployed, typically your project's main help-desk or support channel. Your Project Lead will share the exact channel during onboarding. Some projects use two channels: one for project and task questions, and a dedicated one for tooling issues. Please post your question in the matching channel. Maven does not monitor unrelated channels or general workspace traffic.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Do I need to install anything to use Maven?">
    No. Maven is built into Slack. As long as you have access to your project's Slack workspace, you can message Maven directly. No extensions, accounts, or additional tools are required.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What languages can I use with Maven?">
    Maven primarily operates in English. For the most accurate answers, please write your questions in English. Maven may attempt to respond in other languages, but the documentation it draws from is predominantly in English, which can affect quality.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

### Asking effective questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Why has Maven not responded to my message?">
    The most common reasons are:

    * The message did not tag `@Maven` (or tagged a similarly named user, such as `@Maven-bot`).
    * The message was edited after sending. Maven only processes new messages.
    * You posted in a channel where Maven has not been deployed.
    * Your message was placed inside a thread that Maven had already escalated to the team. Maven no longer responds in those threads.

    If none of these apply and the issue persists, please contact [support@mercor.com](mailto:support@mercor.com).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I ask several questions in a single message?">
    It is best to ask one question per message. Combining multiple unrelated questions tends to dilute Maven's response and may cause it to skip parts of your request. If you have several questions, please send them as separate top-level messages so that each one receives a focused answer.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I share images, files, or voice notes with Maven?">
    Maven can read images and screenshots, which help its accuracy, particularly for error messages, UI issues, or platform behavior. Maven does not process audio files, voice notes, or video. If you would otherwise record a voice note, please describe the issue in text or attach a screenshot instead.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How long does Maven take to respond?">
    Maven typically replies within a few seconds. If you do not see a response after approximately one minute, the cause is usually one of the issues listed above (missing tag, edited message, or wrong channel). Please send a new message with `@Maven` and the full context.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

### Threads, follow-ups & escalation

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can I keep asking follow-up questions in the same thread?">
    Yes, as long as the questions are about the same topic and Maven has not yet routed the thread to the team. Tag `@Maven` again in the same thread, and it will use the prior context to refine its next answer. Maven only remembers the current thread, not unrelated conversations.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="My request was routed to the team. Can I still talk to Maven in that thread?">
    No. Once Maven escalates a thread, it stops responding inside it so that the project team can take over without interference. If you have a new question, open a fresh top-level message in the channel and tag Maven there.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I use someone else's thread to ask my own question?">
    No. Each question should start as its own top-level message. Replying inside another person's thread with an unrelated question confuses Maven's context, disrupts the original requester's notifications, and slows down both responses.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="How long does the team take to respond after Maven escalates?">
    The team aims to follow up within one business day. You do not need to take any further action. Maven has already notified the relevant team member, and they will reply directly in the same thread. If the matter is time-sensitive, you may also email [support@mercor.com](mailto:support@mercor.com) with the link to the original Slack thread.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

### Maven's limits

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Can Maven make decisions on my behalf (for example, approve a task or change my hour cap)?">
    No. Maven is a guidance-only assistant. It can explain policies, walk you through the correct workflow, and point to the right documentation, but it does not take administrative actions. Any decision that affects your contract, hours, payments, or task status must be handled by a human reviewer.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does Maven know if Mercor's platforms (RL Studio, Insightful, Work) are down?">
    No. Maven does not have visibility into the health or status of Mercor's platforms. If you suspect a service is offline or experiencing issues, and the question is not about your specific task or project documentation, please contact [support@mercor.com](mailto:support@mercor.com) so our team can investigate directly.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can Maven help with account-level issues such as Okta login, payments setup, or identity verification?">
    Maven can explain how these flows work and direct you to the right documentation, but it cannot resolve account-level issues directly. For login loops, payment configuration, identity verification, or anything tied to your Mercor account rather than the project, please contact [support@mercor.com](mailto:support@mercor.com). The team responds promptly.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Are Maven's answers always correct?">
    Maven draws from your project's official documentation, announcements, and Mercor's expert policies, and it typically includes citations so that you can verify the source yourself. That said, Maven can occasionally make mistakes, particularly on nuanced, judgment-based, or case-by-case questions. If in doubt, please escalate to your Team Lead or Engagement Project Manager (EPM). If you receive an incorrect answer, reply in the same thread to flag it. The project team monitors accuracy and can issue corrections.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

### Privacy & behavior

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Is my conversation with Maven private?">
    Maven operates inside your project's Slack workspace, so its responses are visible to anyone with access to that channel, including the project team. Please avoid sharing personal information such as government IDs, full payment details, or other sensitive data with Maven. For account-level matters, always use [support@mercor.com](mailto:support@mercor.com).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Will Maven ever message me proactively or send me a direct message?">
    No. Maven only responds when you tag it in a designated channel. It will never initiate a direct message, ask for personal credentials, or contact you without being prompted. Please treat any such message as suspicious and report it to [support@mercor.com](mailto:support@mercor.com).
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does Maven remember my past conversations?">
    Maven retains context within the current thread to support follow-up questions. It does not carry that context across unrelated threads or channels. Each new top-level message starts fresh. This keeps conversations focused and ensures that unrelated questions remain separate.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

***

## Related Resources

<Columns cols={2}>
  <Card title="Project Onboarding" icon="rocket" href="/working/project-onboarding">
    Walk through the project onboarding flow and find your project documentation.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Use Insightful for Time Tracking" icon="timer" href="/how-to/use-insightful">
    Set up and use Insightful to log your project hours.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Okta Access" icon="key" href="/how-to/okta-access">
    Access Slack and other Mercor work tools through Okta.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Get in Touch with Support" icon="life-ring" href="/support/get-in-touch">
    When to email Mercor Support and what to include.
  </Card>
</Columns>