Separate private tool access from group tool access
Separate private tool access from group tool access in Cortex Chat: practical steps, setting explanations, result checks and troubleshooting.
Private conversations and group conversations have separate permission contexts. A tool available in the private assistant may be intentionally unavailable in a shared group. That difference helps prevent a group from inheriting unrelated private capabilities.
Before you start
Effective tool access depends on the connected account, workspace authority, the owner’s approval ceiling and the Sidekick’s saved context-specific policy. These settings are deliberately separate. A checkbox can represent an unsaved choice, while the running assistant may still be using its previously saved tools until refresh. Review the description and read/write annotation rather than granting everything in response to one error. Private and group policies can differ even for the same assistant. If the interface reports owner approval needed, follow its exact account/context/application guidance. Restarting cannot manufacture missing approval and can affect the Sidekick in other conversations.
Step-by-step
- Open the tool controls from the actual context where the action is needed.
- Read Private conversations or the named group under the Sidekick heading.
- Review the owner approval and saved policy for that specific context.
What the settings mean
| Control or state | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Owner ceiling | The maximum tools an administrator may delegate. |
| Saved policy | The actual operations selected for this Sidekick/context. |
| Unsaved selection | Draft choices that have not yet taken effect. |
| Runtime refresh | How the running assistant receives a saved policy change. |
Check the result
The permission change applies to the intended context rather than a similarly named assistant elsewhere.
If it does not work
If a task works privately but fails in a group, inspect the group policy. Do not assume a private grant should automatically propagate.
Continue with the right context
Return to the Cortex Chat guide index to choose another task. Keep the current account, assistant and conversation in view when following the next guide. To use the product, open Cortex Chat.
- Review a Sidekick’s tool permissions
- Search tools by operation or category
- Distinguish read-only tools from tools that change data
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