Look for the AVA icon in the top bar of your screen. It displays "Not sure what to focus on? Ask me" to help you get started. Select the icon to open a conversation, type your question and press Enter or select Send.

The first time you open AVA, you will see a welcome message that explains what AVA can help with and which apprenticeship standard you are working towards. This message only appears once.

While AVA is preparing a response (shown by three pulsing dots), you cannot send another message. Wait for the response to appear before asking your next question.

AVA can help with a range of topics. Below is a summary of what you can ask about and some example questions to try.

Learning plan and progress

Ask AVA about what is on your learning plan, what to focus on next and how you are progressing. AVA shows any overdue components first, followed by the next two weeks of work. If you want a different time period, just ask.

Example questions:

• "What's on my learning plan?"
• "What should I do next?"
• "How is my progress?"
• "What do I need to do for [component name]?"
• "What's been marked since I last logged in?"
• "Summarise my progress so far"

Reviews

Ask AVA about your upcoming and past reviews, including dates, preparation and signing.

Example questions:

• "When is my next review?"
• "What is my next review?"
• "Who is my review with?"
• "What do I need to prepare for my review?"
• "Do I have any reviews that need signing?"
• "What reviews do I have?"

Review actions

Ask AVA about the actions set during your reviews. You can filter by who set them, whether they are outstanding or completed, and when they are due.

Example questions:

• "What are my actions from my last review?"
• "What actions do I have outstanding?"
• "What actions have I completed?"
• "Are there any actions set by my employer?"
• "What do I need to do this week?"

Off-the-job training

AVA can help you work out whether an activity counts as off-the-job training (OTJ). Its guidance follows the Department for Education's OTJ rules.

Describe the activity you did and ask AVA whether it qualifies. AVA will explain why it does or does not count. If it needs more information, it will ask follow-up questions about what was covered, how long it lasted and what you learned.

Once AVA has enough detail, it can draft a structured log entry for you covering the activity, what you learned and how you will apply it.

Example questions:

• "Does [activity] count as off-the-job training?"
• "I attended a workshop on [topic] -- is that OTJ?"
• "Can you help me write an OTJ log entry?"

Catching up after time away

If you have not logged in for a while, ask AVA what has changed. AVA uses your last login as the starting point and shows you new actions, marks, feedback and completions.

Example questions:

• "What's happened since I last logged in?"
• "Have any new actions been set for me?"
• "Has anything been marked?"
• "What have I completed since my last login?"
• "What's changed since last week?"

Safeguarding support

If you share a concern about your safety or wellbeing while using AVA, such as anything relating to safeguarding, the Prevent duty, or your mental health, AVA will recognise this and respond with supportive contact details. Your tutor or provider may also be notified so they can follow up, in line with your organisation's safeguarding procedures.

When this happens, the message you sent is replaced in your conversation with "Your message has been received." This is so your conversation stays clear and private. It doesn't mean anything has gone wrong, and you can continue using AVA as normal.

AVA's reply includes contact details for the person at your organisation who can support you. If these details aren't available, AVA will let you know that your tutor can help.

If you are ever in immediate danger, contact emergency services directly rather than relying on AVA.

Your safeguarding contact details are also available in the Help and Support section.

Example questions:

• "Who is my DSL?"
• "I need help with safeguarding"
• "I have a safeguarding concern"

How Aptem works

AVA can answer questions about how to use the Aptem platform and direct you to relevant Help Centre articles where available.

Example questions:

• "How do I access my learning plan?"
• "How do I complete a review?"
• "How do I log an activity?"
• "What does my dashboard show?"

You can change how AVA communicates with you. Go to Settings and select Virtual assistant preferences.

Engagement style

Choose how you prefer AVA to communicate with you:

• Default -- AVA's baseline style with no changes applied
• Coached -- supportive but accountable
• Guided -- clear and instructional
• Directed -- honest and concise

Formatting

Choose how you prefer AVA to structure its responses:

• Default -- AVA's baseline formatting with no changes applied
• Concise -- bullet points and shorter sentences
• Extended -- paragraphs with fuller detail

Accessibility preferences

You can select more than one of these. They work alongside your engagement style and formatting choices:

• Plain language -- simplified vocabulary, shorter sentences, abbreviations written out in full
• Bold key terms -- the most important words or instructions appear in bold
• Literal language -- no idioms or figures of speech
• Include examples -- a practical example when explaining something new

Your changes apply to all of AVA's responses straight away.

Select the speaker icon on any AVA response to hear it read aloud. You can pause, resume and stop playback at any time using the audio controls.

Read aloud uses your browser's built-in text-to-speech. The voice may vary depending on your browser and device settings. You can hover over the speaker icon to see a message confirming this.

If text-to-speech is not available in your browser, AVA will let you know.

• Ask specific, direct questions for the best results.
• Give AVA relevant context where it helps, for example the name of a component or review.
• Keep questions related to your apprenticeship and learning.
• Avoid sharing personal or sensitive information in your messages.
• Always check important information with your tutor. AVA is here to support your learning, but its responses are a starting point, not a substitute for your tutor's guidance.

Best practices for using the Aptem virtual assistant (AVA)

If AVA does not have the information you need, it will tell you: "That information isn't available to me right now - your tutor will be able to help."

You can rate AVA's responses using the thumbs up (helpful) or thumbs down (unhelpful) icons. Your feedback helps improve AVA for all learners.