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Views and visibility

AI-School adapts the application to your role, your environment, and your personal settings. As a result, you may not see a button, model, tool, or integration that someone else does see.

That is usually not an error. AI-School only shows components that are currently available, allowed, and relevant for your account.

Why doesn’t everyone see the same thing?​

The interface is built from multiple layers:

  1. Your role: student, staff member, admin, board admin, or super admin.
  2. Your teacher status: for staff, it can be separately indicated whether someone is a teacher or has no teaching duties.
  3. The environment: settings of the school, organization, or tenant.
  4. Restrictions and access: for example, whether students or staff may use certain features.
  5. Available models and providers: which AI models are enabled by the environment.
  6. Tool settings: which tools are visible, automatically available, on, or off.
  7. Integrations and MCP access: whether integrations are allowed and whether you are logged in with the correct provider.
  8. Your personal preferences: for example the Starter or Default view, default provider, and personal tool exceptions.
  9. The current chat context: some buttons disappear or are disabled during an ongoing response, in an assistant, in document mode, or with a specific integration.

A missing button does not automatically mean you do not have permission. Sometimes the feature is turned off in your environment. Sometimes you are using the Starter view. Sometimes the feature belongs only to another model or provider.

Starter and default view​

Users with a non-student account can choose in Preferences how many options they want to see in the app. In the app, these modes are called:

  • Starter: calm view with fewer options.
  • Default: all options and settings are visible.

On the preferences page, this setting is not shown for students. For students, the available view is mainly determined by the environment configuration.

Default​

In Default, you see the full interface within what your role and environment allow. For example, you can:

  • choose the default AI provider in Preferences;
  • set general instructions and extra instructions;
  • use the model switcher in chat settings and on responses;
  • use the direct input modes for chat, text to image, text to audio, and documents if available;
  • open the extra options for chat;
  • switch on the home screen between sections such as links, files, images, and statistics;
  • start tools and integrations from the home screen;
  • set personal tool exceptions;
  • manage drive integrations, except for student accounts.

Starter​

In Starter, normal chat remains available, but AI-School hides a number of advanced options. This makes the interface calmer.

In this view, the following disappear, among others:

  • the default AI provider in Preferences;
  • general instructions, extra instructions, and personal response style;
  • the model switcher in the chat side panel and on responses;
  • the direct input mode buttons for image, audio, and documents;
  • the chat extra-options button;
  • the dashboard switcher for links, files, images, and statistics;
  • the tools and integrations block on the home screen;
  • the button to create a new assistant from the home screen;
  • personal tool exceptions;
  • drive integrations.

Not everything disappears. History and available assistants may still be visible. Some chat-bound settings or tools may also still appear in an existing chat context, depending on the chosen chat, assistant, or workflow.

On responses in Starter, the buttons to stop a response, copy it, read it aloud, regenerate it, and view the sources remain available. Only model selection and export to Word, PowerPoint, or PDF are hidden.

Why don’t I see the model switcher?​

The most common reason is that Starter is enabled.

The model switcher is hidden in Starter:

  • in the chat side panel;
  • on earlier responses;
  • in parts of the chat window where you would normally switch models.

Want to choose models or retry answers with a different model? Then set the view to Default via Preferences.

Roles and role view​

AI-School uses roles to determine which parts of the application are loaded. A role is not the same as a full job description. The final view also depends on permissions, environment, school or board scope, and personal settings.

For staff there is also an important distinction: teacher or non-teacher. This is not a separate main role like student or admin, but a property of the staff account. A staff member can therefore be a staff member and also a teacher, or be a staff member without teaching duties.

Student​

A student account uses the student view. This view is intended for use of AI-School within the student context, for example chatting, working with available lessons, or student access to components allowed by the environment.

A student does not see the general management environment. Some features may also be available or unavailable depending on access hours, limits, or individual settings.

Staff member​

A staff account uses the staff view. This is the normal work environment for staff: chatting, using available assistants, viewing history, managing files, and setting personal preferences.

Whether a staff member sees extra options, such as MCP integrations, voice chat, or creating documents, depends on the environment settings and any individual access.

Teacher​

A teacher is a staff member whose staff profile has Is teacher? set to Yes. This status can be set manually by an admin, imported via staff import, or taken from an integration such as Somtoday.

Within the staff view, a teacher sees additional education-focused components. For example:

  • Groups in the main menu;
  • Select groups in settings;
  • the Lessons tab on the assistants page;
  • their own lessons that the teacher can manage or test;
  • options related to sharing lesson materials or assistants with groups.

At the same time, a teacher remains a staff member. The teacher status does not grant general admin rights and does not automatically make someone an admin.

Non-teacher staff member​

A non-teacher staff member has the same base role staff member, but without teaching duties. This staff member can still chat, use available assistants, view history, manage files, and set personal preferences.

What is usually missing compared to a teacher:

  • no Groups in the main menu;
  • no Select groups for lesson groups;
  • no Lessons tab on the assistants page;
  • no own teacher lessons to manage or test.

Non-teacher staff members can still see assistants or workflows if they are shared with them and if the environment allows it.

Admin​

An admin account has access to the management environment within the own school or location scope. Which management panels are visible is then further filtered by permissions and scope.

An admin can also view the app as a staff member. In that role view, admin-specific components disappear from the normal user interface, so the admin can better see what staff experience.

Board admin​

A board admin has a broader management role than a regular admin. This role can see settings at environment or board level that are not always available to school admins, such as broader environment settings, permissions, or central AI settings.

A board admin can also look along as school admin or staff member using role view. This means the same user may see different interfaces depending on the active role view.

Models and providers​

The available language, image, and speech models come from the model configuration of the environment. A school or organization can determine which providers and models are available.

As a result, it may happen that:

  • OpenAI, Claude, Google, or European AI are not all visible;
  • a model mentioned in a news item or example is not present in your environment;
  • image models or speech models differ from language models;
  • an assistant works with a fixed model;
  • a tool is not available for the selected model.

The built-in Google and Microsoft integrations are provider-independent. They can be used with OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, and Mistral, as far as the selected model supports tool use.

Tools: automatic, on, off, and not visible​

Tools can be configured in different ways.

Automatic​

The tool is available, but the AI decides for itself whether the tool is needed. This is the normal setting for many tools.

On​

The tool is explicitly on for you or for the chat. AI-School then tries to make the tool available more directly.

Off​

The tool is visible as an option, but not available for you or for this chat.

Not visible​

This is the strongest restriction. If an admin sets a tool to Not visible, the tool disappears from the chat window and from your personal preferences. You cannot turn this tool on yourself.

Personal tool settings are therefore only exceptions to what the environment has made visible. They cannot bring back a hidden tool.

Provider-specific tools​

Not every tool works with every AI provider.

Examples:

  • OpenAI has its own native tools, such as web search and code interpreter.
  • Claude has its own tools, such as web search, fetching web pages, and running code.
  • Google has its own native tools, such as Google Search, URL context, Maps, and code execution.
  • Some general tools work provider-independently.

So if you switch model provider, the list of tools can change. That is expected behavior. AI-School adapts the tool settings to the provider associated with the selected model.

For Google-native tools, there is an extra caveat: they cannot always be combined with general function tools. If Google-native tools are active, AI-School can disable other tools in that round to ensure the model call works technically.

Integrations and MCP tools​

Under Tools on the home screen, different types of integrations may appear:

  • built-in AI-School tools;
  • personal MCP servers;
  • organization-wide MCP servers;
  • built-in integrations such as Google Calendar, Google Drive, Gmail, Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and SharePoint.

Whether you see these depends on several conditions.

MCP access​

The environment separately determines whether staff and students may use MCP integrations. In addition, an admin can set an individual exception per staff member or student:

  • allowed;
  • not allowed;
  • default, meaning follow the environment setting.

If MCP access is turned off, you will not see a button to add an MCP server, and organization-wide or personal MCP integrations disappear from your view.

Logged-in provider​

Some connectors are only visible if you are logged in with the correct provider.

Examples:

  • Google Calendar, Google Drive, and Gmail require separate Google permission.
  • Outlook, Microsoft Teams, and SharePoint require separate Microsoft permission.

Your regular AI-School login may use email and password. The connector opens a separate OAuth sign-in and then stores the permission server-side.

Grant permission again​

Some integrations require you to grant extra permission. A normal login is then not enough, because the connector needs extra rights, for example to read calendars or search files. AI-School asks for that permission when you start the integration.

Desktop and local MCP​

Local MCP servers and local file access belong to the desktop app. If you use the web version, you will not see desktop-specific options.

Chat context: why is something temporarily missing or disabled?​

Some components are only temporarily hidden or disabled.

That can happen when:

  • a response is being generated;
  • you are in a controlled assistant or lesson;
  • you are working with a fixed prompt type, such as document mode;
  • a previous chat has saved its own tool setting;
  • a message is being regenerated;
  • the selected local model does not support tool use;
  • a tool is not supported by the selected model;
  • you are on mobile and the layout is more compact.

In that case, wait until the response is finished, open a new chat, or check whether you are in an assistant, document mode, or integration chat.

Management settings that affect visibility​

Admins can influence visibility in different places.

Restrictions​

In restrictions, an environment can set whether staff or students have access to features such as:

  • MCP integrations;
  • voice chat;
  • creating documents;
  • usage limits and access hours.

In addition, admins can set exceptions for individual staff members or students.

Models​

In model settings, the environment determines which language, image, and speech models are available. If a provider or model is not included there, it will not appear in the model switcher.

Tools​

In tool settings, it can be set per provider whether tools are automatically available, on, off, or not visible. Not visible in particular is important: users cannot restore such a tool themselves.

Integrations​

Built-in Google and Microsoft integrations and organization-wide MCP servers are managed separately. They appear only if they are enabled for the environment and the user meets the access conditions.

FAQ: Help! I can’t see something​

I can’t see the model switcher​

Check whether you are using the Starter view. Go to Preferences and set the view to Default. If you do not see that setting, your role or environment may determine which view you get.

I can’t see Assistants in the menu​

In Starter, Assistants is hidden from the main menu. Available assistants may still be visible on the home screen. Switch the view to Default if you want to open the separate assistants page via the menu.

I can’t see Lessons under Assistants​

The Lessons tab is intended for staff members who are set as teachers. If you do see Assistants, but not Lessons, then you are probably a staff member without teacher status. Ask an admin to check whether Is teacher? is set to Yes in your staff profile.

I can’t see Groups or Select groups​

These components belong to the teacher view. A staff member without teacher status normally does not see them. Students may see their own group selection, but that is a different view than the teacher group function.

I can’t see Tools or Integrations on the home screen​

In Starter, the tools and integrations block on the home screen is hidden. Switch the view to Default. Then check whether your environment allows MCP access and tools.

I can’t see a certain tool​

The tool is probably set to Not visible in the environment, is not available for the chosen provider, or does not fit your current chat context. You cannot restore hidden tools yourself via preferences.

I can see a tool, but it does not work in this chat​

The tool may be disabled for this chat, may not fit the selected model, or may be temporarily unavailable while generating. Start a new chat if needed and check your tool settings.

I can’t see Google Calendar, Gmail, or Google Drive​

These integrations must be enabled by the environment. Open Preferences → Tools, turn on the desired Google integration, and complete the separate Google permission flow.

I can’t see Outlook, Teams, or SharePoint​

These integrations must be enabled by the environment. Open Preferences → Tools, turn on the desired Microsoft integration, and complete the separate Microsoft permission flow.

I can’t add an MCP server​

MCP access may be turned off in the environment for your role. An admin may also have set an individual exception for your account to not allowed. Without MCP access, the Add tools button will not appear in Preferences → Tools.

My colleague sees more models than I do​

First check whether you are both using the Default view. After that, the difference may come from a different role, school/location, active chat context, personal preference, or environment.

My colleague sees Lessons or Groups and I don’t​

Check whether you both have the same teacher status. A staff member with teacher status sees education-focused components such as Groups, Select groups, and the Lessons tab. A staff member without teacher status normally does not see these components.

I don’t see a model mentioned in an article or training​

The guide may mention examples of models that are not enabled in every environment. The admin determines which models are available in your environment.

A model is greyed out or cannot be selected​

Check whether the model is available through the environment and fits your view. An active integration does not grey out other models; it is available with any suitable model that supports tool use.

I can’t see General instructions or Extra instructions​

These settings belong to the extended preferences. Set your view to Default. In Starter, these advanced preferences are hidden.

I can’t see Drive integrations​

Drive integrations are only available in Default and are not visible to students. In addition, you must be able to log in with the correct provider or grant permission again.

I can’t see local AI or local MCP​

Local AI, local file access, and local MCP servers belong to the desktop app. In the web version, these components do not appear.

I can’t see something on mobile​

On small screens, AI-School uses a more compact layout. Open the side menu via the hamburger icon or try the same page on a larger screen.

What should I tell support or my admin?​

Provide as concretely as possible:

  • which button, tool, integration, or model you are missing;
  • where you expected to see it;
  • whether you are a student, staff member, admin, or board admin;
  • whether you are a staff member with teacher status or without teaching duties;
  • whether you are using Starter or Default;
  • which login provider you used, for example Google, Microsoft, or email/password;
  • whether you are working in a normal chat, assistant, document mode, or integration chat.

With that information, an admin can usually quickly check whether it is a personal preference, role, environment setting, or technical limitation.

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