Frequently asked questions

What CDIA is

What does CDIA actually do? You load a project’s records, reports and contract into CDIA on your Windows PC. You ask questions in plain English. CDIA gathers the relevant evidence from the sources you selected, shows it to you for review, then writes a cited answer. Every citation opens the source document. From the same evidence you can ask for labelled analysis (Advice) or a cited draft section (Draft), and export to Word.

Is CDIA delay-analysis software? No. CDIA does not calculate critical paths, programmes or entitlement, although delay investigations are a common use. Payment, variations, instructions, design information, access, notices and responsibility are all everyday questions. Where you have loaded programme files, Activity Investigation can check programme activities against the records, but the analysis is yours.

Does CDIA give legal advice or decide entitlement? No. CDIA never determines liability, quantum or entitlement. Advice is clearly labelled AI analysis for your professional judgement, not a legal opinion.

Is it a chatbot? No. Ask CDIA is conversational, but it is a governed investigation. CDIA gathers evidence from your selected sources, pauses so you can review it, and answers only from what you approved. Documentary facts always come from the records, never from earlier chat.

Privacy

Do my documents leave my computer? Your documents are stored and prepared on your computer in every case. With Private AI, everything stays on the machine. With Cloud AI, only the prepared evidence extracts for the task, with your question, are sent to the AI provider through your own account key. Your original files and your whole project are never sent.

Does CDIA Technologies ever see my documents? No. We run no AI service and receive no project material. The only thing CDIA sends us is the licence check: your licence email and an anonymous machine identifier. The application sends no usage data or telemetry.

What exactly does Cloud AI send, and to whom? The selected evidence extracts with document names and page numbers, recent questions and answers from the same investigation where relevant, and your question. It goes to the AI provider (OpenAI) under a pay-as-you-go API key that you create and control. Relevant evidence may be sent during preparation and reading as well as when the answer is written. The Investigation Review, which comes before the final answer, controls what goes into that answer; unticking cannot recall material already processed during preparation. The “What is sent to Cloud AI?” button in the product shows the current explanation.

Where is my API key kept? In the Windows credential store, not in a settings file. We never receive it.

Can I work fully offline? Private AI runs without an internet connection. CDIA itself needs a connection at first launch to activate, and then revalidates online when it can; it can run for up to 30 days at a time without one. Cloud AI needs a connection.

Accuracy and limits

How far can I trust the answers? Treat them as a professional’s first pass with the sources attached. CDIA issues and checks the citations itself, and gives source locations where it holds them; some full-document reads cite the document rather than a page. It keeps records, reports and contract wording visibly distinct. It tells you what was considered in a scope note. But AI-generated analysis and drafting can still be wrong, incomplete or overconfident. Click the citations. Verify before you rely.

What happens if the evidence does not answer my question? CDIA says so. It prefers refusing to guessing. If a question is ambiguous it asks what you mean. If two documents conflict it states both accounts and identifies the conflict.

Will it find everything? It works from the documents you gave it and the sources you selected. Evidence Listing is exact and exhaustive for a phrase you give it, because it is a search rather than an AI answer, but it does not find synonyms. For AI answers, the scope note tells you how much of the selected evidence was considered and whether anything was left out for capacity.

Does it read scanned PDFs? Yes. CDIA detects pages with no text layer and reads them with its built-in text recognition. Nothing to install. Text recognition currently reads English-language scans. Page numbers from scans are real, so citations behave like any other PDF. Quality follows scan quality; poor photocopies, handwriting and heavy stamps reduce accuracy. If a scan cannot be read, CDIA names the file rather than silently treating it as read.

Does it read emails? Outlook .msg files, yes. Standalone .eml files are not read in this release; convert them first.

What file types are supported? PDF (including scanned), Word .docx, Excel .xlsx and .xlsm, CSV, Outlook .msg and plain text. Not legacy .doc or .xls, and not standalone image files. Anything CDIA cannot read is reported by name after preparation.

How big a project can it handle? Projects with thousands of files are the intended use. The limit that matters is the AI’s working capacity for a single answer. CDIA checks the evidence against it before anything is sent and tells you if the selection needs narrowing. Cloud AI can review large investigations in stages; Private AI has a smaller capacity.

Cloud AI and Private AI

Which should I choose? Cloud AI for the strongest analysis and drafting, quickest setup, and pence-per-request running cost on your own key. Private AI when material must not leave the machine; it needs a one-time download of several gigabytes and 16 GB of memory is recommended, and its analysis is noticeably less strong. Switch at any time without affecting your project.

Do I need a ChatGPT subscription for Cloud AI? No. Cloud AI uses a pay-as-you-go developer API key, which is separate from a chat subscription. CDIA guides you through creating one.

Do I need to install LM Studio? Only for Private AI. CDIA’s guided setup checks for it, opens its download page if needed, and downloads the model for you.

Cost and subscription

What does it cost? The Early Adopter rate is £19.99 a month for the first 100 subscribers, locked while continuously subscribed. £79 a month after that. No VAT is added. Cloud AI provider usage is billed by the provider on your key, typically pence per request. Private AI has no usage charge.

Is there a free trial? 30 days, all features, no payment card. Enter your email on the checkout page, install, and enter the same email when CDIA first starts.

How do I cancel? At any time through Manage Subscription. Cancelling stops future renewals; access continues to the end of the paid period. Your projects stay on your computer whatever happens to the subscription.

Support

How do I get help? Email contact@cdia.co.uk. In CDIA, Help > Support & Contact shows the support email and copies diagnostics (version, build and AI status) to your clipboard. Never send project documents unless we ask and you are content to.

Is there a manual? Yes, the full User Manual and the Quick Start Guide are on this site, and Help > User Manual in CDIA opens the manual.